Barro Del Colorado Island, Gatun Locks Panama Canal
Today was our last day in Panama and the last day of our voyage, and for our grand finale we paid a visit to Barro del Colorado Island. This wasn’t an island long ago; actually it was a mountaintop on the main land of Panama. With the construction of the Panama Canal and the damming of the Chagras River (which created the fresh water man-made lake that now serves as the water passage for the ships going through the canal) this mountain top became an island. Not long after it was made into an island, this area became one of the most studied sites in the Neotropics. In 1946 the place became a bureau of the Smithsonian Institution and now hundreds of scientists visit this place making this little island one of the Meccas for anyone interested in tropical nature. Today we had the opportunity to walk on the island and learn about the research going on.
So after breakfast we walked along some of the trails or explored the forest by Zodiac, guided by some of the local scientists. Among the many species we saw were crested guans, lattice-tailed trogons and black-breasted puffbirds.
Once our morning visit finished, we started cruising through Gatun Lake on our way to cross the last three set of locks of the Panama Canal to be lowered 85 feet to the sea level of the Caribbean Sea. All the while, we looked back at the week about to end in which we hiked, kayaked, swam, snorkeled, cruised in Zodiacs and enjoyed this beautiful tropical forest while we still can.
Today was our last day in Panama and the last day of our voyage, and for our grand finale we paid a visit to Barro del Colorado Island. This wasn’t an island long ago; actually it was a mountaintop on the main land of Panama. With the construction of the Panama Canal and the damming of the Chagras River (which created the fresh water man-made lake that now serves as the water passage for the ships going through the canal) this mountain top became an island. Not long after it was made into an island, this area became one of the most studied sites in the Neotropics. In 1946 the place became a bureau of the Smithsonian Institution and now hundreds of scientists visit this place making this little island one of the Meccas for anyone interested in tropical nature. Today we had the opportunity to walk on the island and learn about the research going on.
So after breakfast we walked along some of the trails or explored the forest by Zodiac, guided by some of the local scientists. Among the many species we saw were crested guans, lattice-tailed trogons and black-breasted puffbirds.
Once our morning visit finished, we started cruising through Gatun Lake on our way to cross the last three set of locks of the Panama Canal to be lowered 85 feet to the sea level of the Caribbean Sea. All the while, we looked back at the week about to end in which we hiked, kayaked, swam, snorkeled, cruised in Zodiacs and enjoyed this beautiful tropical forest while we still can.
