Barro Colorado & Panama Canal
This was the first day of our adventure in Central America. After a successful crossing through the Gatun Locks last night, we anchored in Gatun Lake. This morning we were ready to disembark at the famous Barro Colorado Island, an icon of tropical research. The 6 square miles of Barro Colorado are meter by meter one of the most studied places on Earth!
Before the construction of the Canal, Barro Colorado used to be just the top of a hill, but when the Panama Canal was built and the Chagres River was dammed, the island was created, between 1911 and 1914. By incredible foresight it was set aside as a biological preserve in 1923 and is supervised today by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
After a hearty breakfast we were split into smaller groups to explore the island, either by hiking through its rugged terrain (Remember it was a hill top!) or cruising around it by Zodiac. BCI naturalists, that provided information on the island’s natural history, escorted us all.
It was very interesting to hear about some of the research that has been here. Very quickly we had our first sightings of the trip! Mantled howler monkeys, they were incredibly loud this morning. There were at least a couple of troops in the vicinity and it seemed that all of the members were participating in howling at each other. The bigger male monkeys were the loudest with their chinned resonance box. A real display of bravado is more show than anything else. Some people also saw white faced capuchin monkeys and several birds, including black headed and slaty-tailed trogons, and rufous motmots.
Today, we also had a great view of the vibrantly colored yellow poui trees among the dominant greenery. During this time of the year they drop most of their leaves, and are completely covered with intensely yellow colored flowers. The brightly colored flowers act as a beacon in the forest, to attract the insects that pollinate their flowers.
After a successful morning in BCI, we returned to the National Geographic Sea Lion for lunch, and prepared for our second leg of Canal crossing; this time during the day. What an incredible feat of engineering the Panama Canal is! It is hard to imagine the people during the many years of construction, the hard work, the tough living conditions and all the lives that were lost. Nowadays, we cruise so easily through the infamous Culebra Cut, the toughest spot to get through during the construction. In the distance, the intense 24/7 labor of the Pedro Miguel locks, and down we go. Later the Miraflores Locks on our southbound transit, and finally the Pacific Ocean. We have been finally released into the open ocean! Free to roam to the new adventures that await us these next few exciting days!
