Barro Colorado Island & Gatum Locks
Before dawn the Captain repositioned the Sea Voyager closer to the Barro Colorado Island or BCI. Our marine vessel is the only ship from the 800,000 or so ships that cross the Panama Canal each year that is actually allowed to visit this well known research station.
Most of us have heard sometime in our life about the different research projects or discoveries done at the Smithsonian Research Institute. And for most of the naturalists on board, it is the base of much of our knowledge.
It was created by act of Congress in 1846 in accordance with terms of the will of James Smithson of England, who in 1826 made a bequest to the United States of America “to found at Washington, under the name of Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.”
So that was exactly what we did, we went to get the knowledge from the source – the rain forest in Barro Colorado, that by the way means Red Clay, which all of us could notice all around and inside our hiking shoes.
Debating between 2 hikes on the BCI, or one Zodiac cruise or a walk in the recent addition to the Natural Monument, the Gigante Peninsula, every one finally knew what the tropic weather feels like. Yes, hot, humid and … humid.
But the forest itself rewarded us with close views of white-throated capuchin monkeys, howler monkeys, tamandua anteaters, brilliantly-dressed birds and a spectacular lowland rain forest ecosystem.
Definitely we would love to stay longer on the BCI but we needed to be near the Gatun Locks around 3pm. Everything happened so smooth and easy, and in a couple of hours we were in the Atlantic.
The Sea Voyager went down the same 85 feet than we were lifted a day ago, and back at sea level. We were lucky enough to enjoy the path between two oceans during the moonlight and the sunlight, the still amazing Panama Canal.
Before dawn the Captain repositioned the Sea Voyager closer to the Barro Colorado Island or BCI. Our marine vessel is the only ship from the 800,000 or so ships that cross the Panama Canal each year that is actually allowed to visit this well known research station.
Most of us have heard sometime in our life about the different research projects or discoveries done at the Smithsonian Research Institute. And for most of the naturalists on board, it is the base of much of our knowledge.
It was created by act of Congress in 1846 in accordance with terms of the will of James Smithson of England, who in 1826 made a bequest to the United States of America “to found at Washington, under the name of Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.”
So that was exactly what we did, we went to get the knowledge from the source – the rain forest in Barro Colorado, that by the way means Red Clay, which all of us could notice all around and inside our hiking shoes.
Debating between 2 hikes on the BCI, or one Zodiac cruise or a walk in the recent addition to the Natural Monument, the Gigante Peninsula, every one finally knew what the tropic weather feels like. Yes, hot, humid and … humid.
But the forest itself rewarded us with close views of white-throated capuchin monkeys, howler monkeys, tamandua anteaters, brilliantly-dressed birds and a spectacular lowland rain forest ecosystem.
Definitely we would love to stay longer on the BCI but we needed to be near the Gatun Locks around 3pm. Everything happened so smooth and easy, and in a couple of hours we were in the Atlantic.
The Sea Voyager went down the same 85 feet than we were lifted a day ago, and back at sea level. We were lucky enough to enjoy the path between two oceans during the moonlight and the sunlight, the still amazing Panama Canal.
