Barro Colorado Island & Panama Canal
Having spent our first night anchored in Gatun Lake, we awoke to a beautiful day, with the National Geographic Sea Lion anchored off Barra del Colorado Island. Early birds joined Becky on the first deck for a sun-up stretching class. After breakfast, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Professor Emeritus Tony Coates gave an entertaining and enlightening presentation about STRI’s research programs on the island. We then departed by Zodiac to explore this island reserve, preserved as an unadulterated study area for tropical science research.
The more adventurous guest hiked into the hills along the Donato Trail; some chose a more leisurely hike along the Fausto Trail; while others explored the perimeter of the island by Zodiac. Qualified STRI guides led these interpretive trips. Participants on the “serious” hike had tremendous fortune with birds. Close-up encounters of the avian kind included with a tinamou, chestnut-mandibled toucan, black-throated trogon, and a male and female slaty-tailed trogon pair, so close as to almost be within fingertip reach.
We returned for a hearty and healthy lunch and the anticipation of completing our Panama Canal passage. After lunch, the ship’s crew performed their fire drill, followed by the mandatory safety drill for passengers.
However, our passage was delayed by the inching progress of two maximum-draft vessels ahead of us and we didn’t enter the Gaillard Cut, with its fascinating physical profile, until the close of the afternoon. We passed under the Centennial Bridge at sunset—a wonderful accompaniment to our “Panamanian evening,” when staff dressed in guayaberas and Panama hats served delicious ceviche hors d’oeuvres alfresco on the upper deck. After we tied up to the central wall we passed through Pedro Miguel Lock and, eventually, Miraflores Lock. Naturalist guide Rick Morales gave a lively and informative description of the canals functionality over the PA system. We completed our passage of the lock about 10:40pm. Our first full day of the expedition closed with the spectacular sight of Panama City’s skyscrapers silhouetted against the nighttime sky.
