Barro Colorado Island and the Panama Canal, Panama
Today was a great start to our Photo Expedition on the Sea Voyager. After spending the night at anchor on Lake Gatun, we arrived at Barro Colorado Island just before sunrise.
Lindblad Expeditions has a special invitation to visit Barro Colorado Natural Monument (BCI), a research station managed by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). The island itself is quite unique, as it was the top of a mountain before the building of the Canal and the flooding of Gatun Lake. The lake’s water isolated the mountain-top, and since 1923 has been the focus of many research projects on the flora, fauna, and tropical rainforest ecology. In fact, the pristine rainforest of Barro Colorado is the most studied tropical real estate on the planet.
During the morning we made hikes of various lengths through the rainforest, while others joined Zodiac cruises along the forested shoreline. All groups had great sightings of birds and also several different species of monkeys in the canopy, including howler, capuchin, and spider monkeys. Among the thousands of photos that were snapped today, the prize image of a spider monkey flying through the air was taken by one of our guests from a Zodiac.
This afternoon we made our transit through the Panama Canal all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Out on deck, we marveled at this amazing work of engineering, and the cameras clicked constantly as we made our way through the locks back to sea level.
Today was a great start to our Photo Expedition on the Sea Voyager. After spending the night at anchor on Lake Gatun, we arrived at Barro Colorado Island just before sunrise.
Lindblad Expeditions has a special invitation to visit Barro Colorado Natural Monument (BCI), a research station managed by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). The island itself is quite unique, as it was the top of a mountain before the building of the Canal and the flooding of Gatun Lake. The lake’s water isolated the mountain-top, and since 1923 has been the focus of many research projects on the flora, fauna, and tropical rainforest ecology. In fact, the pristine rainforest of Barro Colorado is the most studied tropical real estate on the planet.
During the morning we made hikes of various lengths through the rainforest, while others joined Zodiac cruises along the forested shoreline. All groups had great sightings of birds and also several different species of monkeys in the canopy, including howler, capuchin, and spider monkeys. Among the thousands of photos that were snapped today, the prize image of a spider monkey flying through the air was taken by one of our guests from a Zodiac.
This afternoon we made our transit through the Panama Canal all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Out on deck, we marveled at this amazing work of engineering, and the cameras clicked constantly as we made our way through the locks back to sea level.
