Gatun Lake and Barro Colorado Island
At the crack of dawn, National Geographic Sea Lion sailed to the entrance of Gatun Locks. Several guests joined us out on deck to enjoy the spectacular scenery. A cool breeze added a sweet touch to our view of the new set of locks being built parallel to Gatun Locks. A lush tropical forest could be seen from our ship while several Red Lore Parrots and Mealy Amazon Parrots flew over us. Frigate birds and Pelicans were soaring close to our vessel, waiting for any disturbed fish to swim close to the surface and catch. Not only had we seen interesting birds but also ten feet long crocodiles and the biggest rodent of America, the capybara.
We were eager to start our transit and experience this wonder of the world. A big “Panamax” Vessel sailed next to us. It was going to share the locks with us in order to save water. With each transit through the Panama Canal there is an average of fifty two million gallons of fresh water spilled to the ocean; twenty six million gallons on each end. Here in Gatun Locks we were raised a total of eighty five feet above sea level in order to reach Gatun Lake. It was so impressive to see how fast we were raised in each of the three chambers of this first set of locks.
As soon as we completed our transit through the locks, National Geographic Sea Lion sailed towards the biggest island in Gatun Lake, Barro Colorado Island. This island used to be a hill known as Palenquilla Hill. During the construction of the canal, the Chagres River was damned to create Gatun Lake. They flooded the valley of the Chagres River and as the water level began to raise, a great number of animals gathered in this hill that later became isolated. It is here were the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute took control and turned it into one of the biggest labs in the world. Once in Barro Colorado, the Smithsonian guides were waiting to take us to explore several of their trails. Once on land, we divided in groups and the local guides took us through the amazing tropical forest.
Back onboard, we all shared what we had seen on the trails and Zodiacs cruises. It had been a great morning. As the day began to pass, we all gathered up at the sundeck to share our thoughts and enjoy a delicious “Ceviche” that the galley had prepared for us. We started sailing towards Pedro Miguel Locks while the sun began to set. It had been a great day that will be hard to forget.
