Gatun Lake, Panama Canal
Good morning, Panama! Our first morning in Panama found us off the shore of Barro Colorado Island in the middle of Gatun Lake. In 1914, with the completion of the Panama Canal and the damming of the Chagres River, Gatun Lake was created. At the time it was the largest manmade lake in the world, now beaten only by Lake Meade. The waters of the newly formed lake flooded a large area of forest, and all higher land became islands in the lake. Among those was Barro Colorado Island, once a hilltop. Since 1923, Barro Colorado Island has been a biological reserve dedicated to protect and research the tropical rainforest. In 1946 a research station belonging to the Smithsonian Institution was set up on the island, and it has been used for intense scientific research ever since. It is almost impossible to read a book about tropical ecology without running into some study done on Barro Colorado. With more than 300 publications a year, the island has become an icon within the scientific community, with thousands of scientific papers written about it. The Sea Voyager is one of the few passenger ships allowed to visit the island. Shortly after sunrise we visited the island: while some decided to explore by boat taking a Zodiac ride along the shore, others hiked through the different trails. Every group got to see some of the exciting tropical wildlife and colorful birds. Among the day’s sights were howler monkeys, white-faced monkeys, spider monkeys and red-naped tamarins, which are the four species of monkeys present on the island. We also got the chance to see chestnut mandibled toucan, keel billed toucan, red brocket deer and the collared anteater. Perhaps the more exciting mammal of the day was this collared anteater, or northern tamandua. This animal is hardly ever seen, as it visits the floor rarely and lives mainly in the canopy. Our group was doubly lucky, as on returning to the ship, we discovered that not only some of the forest hikers but also the Zodiac riders got to see an anteater. After our successful morning, we started the transit of our second half of the Panama Canal, an engineering wonder of mankind that is an exciting part of our trip. As we finished our typical Panamanian dinner we started the crossing of the Pedro Miguel locks on our way to the Pacific Ocean.
The day finished on the waters of the Pacific Ocean, as we considered the contrast of the power of nature in building exotic creatures such as the tamandua anteater and the power of man in building a shortcut between two oceans.
Good morning, Panama! Our first morning in Panama found us off the shore of Barro Colorado Island in the middle of Gatun Lake. In 1914, with the completion of the Panama Canal and the damming of the Chagres River, Gatun Lake was created. At the time it was the largest manmade lake in the world, now beaten only by Lake Meade. The waters of the newly formed lake flooded a large area of forest, and all higher land became islands in the lake. Among those was Barro Colorado Island, once a hilltop. Since 1923, Barro Colorado Island has been a biological reserve dedicated to protect and research the tropical rainforest. In 1946 a research station belonging to the Smithsonian Institution was set up on the island, and it has been used for intense scientific research ever since. It is almost impossible to read a book about tropical ecology without running into some study done on Barro Colorado. With more than 300 publications a year, the island has become an icon within the scientific community, with thousands of scientific papers written about it. The Sea Voyager is one of the few passenger ships allowed to visit the island. Shortly after sunrise we visited the island: while some decided to explore by boat taking a Zodiac ride along the shore, others hiked through the different trails. Every group got to see some of the exciting tropical wildlife and colorful birds. Among the day’s sights were howler monkeys, white-faced monkeys, spider monkeys and red-naped tamarins, which are the four species of monkeys present on the island. We also got the chance to see chestnut mandibled toucan, keel billed toucan, red brocket deer and the collared anteater. Perhaps the more exciting mammal of the day was this collared anteater, or northern tamandua. This animal is hardly ever seen, as it visits the floor rarely and lives mainly in the canopy. Our group was doubly lucky, as on returning to the ship, we discovered that not only some of the forest hikers but also the Zodiac riders got to see an anteater. After our successful morning, we started the transit of our second half of the Panama Canal, an engineering wonder of mankind that is an exciting part of our trip. As we finished our typical Panamanian dinner we started the crossing of the Pedro Miguel locks on our way to the Pacific Ocean.
The day finished on the waters of the Pacific Ocean, as we considered the contrast of the power of nature in building exotic creatures such as the tamandua anteater and the power of man in building a shortcut between two oceans.
