Barro Colorado and the Panama Canal
As the sun rises over Panamanian land, we saw something that surprised everybody. The Panama Canal is surrounded by rainforest and the view is amazing. There are more than 120,000 hectares surrounding the Panama Canal and much of the area is in several national parks. The diversity of the flora and fauna is tremendous. In one area there has been 525 species of birds spotted in a one-day period. To see some of this diversity in flora and fauna we have been allowed to stop at the most significant research area in the New World tropics, Barro Colorado Monument and Reserve. This area includes both islands created when Gatun Lake was formed and mainland areas. Managed and administered by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the area serves as a natural laboratory for studying the rainforest ecosystem and its components.
People chose between hiking or Zodiac cruising in order to enjoy Barro Colorado Natural Monument and the beautiful views. Because this is a natural area the wildlife is very unpredictable so different groups of people saw different things. Some of the groups sighted; crested guans, slaty-tailed trogons, white-whiskered puffbirds, chestnut-backed antbirds, snail kites and surrounded by the noise and views of mantled howler monkeys, white-faced capuchins and coatimundis.
Just before mid-day we went back to the ship to enjoy the coolness of the lounge and a refreshing drink before sitting down to another wonderful meal made by the crew. As we were finishing lunch, the Canal pilot boarded and we started heading towards Gatun Locks on a beautiful sunny and warm afternoon. For the afternoon we all were able to observe how this engineering wonder of the early 1900’s lowers our ship 85 feet down to sea level. Just as the last lock chamber began to empty we were able to admire several keel-billed toucans flying along the forest edge just next to the mules holding us in the middle of the lock. Just amazing!
As the sun rises over Panamanian land, we saw something that surprised everybody. The Panama Canal is surrounded by rainforest and the view is amazing. There are more than 120,000 hectares surrounding the Panama Canal and much of the area is in several national parks. The diversity of the flora and fauna is tremendous. In one area there has been 525 species of birds spotted in a one-day period. To see some of this diversity in flora and fauna we have been allowed to stop at the most significant research area in the New World tropics, Barro Colorado Monument and Reserve. This area includes both islands created when Gatun Lake was formed and mainland areas. Managed and administered by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the area serves as a natural laboratory for studying the rainforest ecosystem and its components.
People chose between hiking or Zodiac cruising in order to enjoy Barro Colorado Natural Monument and the beautiful views. Because this is a natural area the wildlife is very unpredictable so different groups of people saw different things. Some of the groups sighted; crested guans, slaty-tailed trogons, white-whiskered puffbirds, chestnut-backed antbirds, snail kites and surrounded by the noise and views of mantled howler monkeys, white-faced capuchins and coatimundis.
Just before mid-day we went back to the ship to enjoy the coolness of the lounge and a refreshing drink before sitting down to another wonderful meal made by the crew. As we were finishing lunch, the Canal pilot boarded and we started heading towards Gatun Locks on a beautiful sunny and warm afternoon. For the afternoon we all were able to observe how this engineering wonder of the early 1900’s lowers our ship 85 feet down to sea level. Just as the last lock chamber began to empty we were able to admire several keel-billed toucans flying along the forest edge just next to the mules holding us in the middle of the lock. Just amazing!
