Barro Colorado Island and the Panama Canal
Our adventure began last night! As soon as we arrived to our home-away-from-home, the Sea Voyager, we gathered up in the lounge for a few guidelines.
Our first Panama Canal pilot arrived to lead us through the first set of locks. This is the only Canal in which the Captain surrenders the command of the vessel completely to another Captain, the Canal pilot. Heading south we crossed the well-lit Gatun locks and spent the night anchored in the Gatun Lake.
The second pilot arrived around five in the morning to take us to our morning’s destination: Barro Colorado Island (BCI). This biological station was established in the 1920s, on an island that formed from a hilltop when the valley was flooded to create the lake, and has been one of the most productive tropical biology research stations in the New World. We had the chance to hike the island’s trails or take a Zodiac cruise along its edge. The sighting of a West Indian manatee should have been an omen for a fantastic morning! Some of us have been guiding in the region for over 6 years and have never seen one, that’s how rare a sighting it is. Whatever activity we chose to do was rewarded with yet more exciting findings: red-eyed tree frogs, snail kites, chestnut mandibled toucans, crested guans, red tailed squirrels, howler and white throated capuchin monkeys, Geoffroy’s tamarin, collared anteaters, leaf-cutter and army ants… What treats to begin our rainforest outings!!
Back on board, our third pilot arrived to let us continue our transit towards the south. The first part of our move took us through the Gaillard or Culebra Cut, which is the narrowest stretch within the Canal and represents 15% of the waterway’s total length. The Cut crosses the Continental divide and leads us to the last two sets of locks, the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks.
Our adventure began last night! As soon as we arrived to our home-away-from-home, the Sea Voyager, we gathered up in the lounge for a few guidelines.
Our first Panama Canal pilot arrived to lead us through the first set of locks. This is the only Canal in which the Captain surrenders the command of the vessel completely to another Captain, the Canal pilot. Heading south we crossed the well-lit Gatun locks and spent the night anchored in the Gatun Lake.
The second pilot arrived around five in the morning to take us to our morning’s destination: Barro Colorado Island (BCI). This biological station was established in the 1920s, on an island that formed from a hilltop when the valley was flooded to create the lake, and has been one of the most productive tropical biology research stations in the New World. We had the chance to hike the island’s trails or take a Zodiac cruise along its edge. The sighting of a West Indian manatee should have been an omen for a fantastic morning! Some of us have been guiding in the region for over 6 years and have never seen one, that’s how rare a sighting it is. Whatever activity we chose to do was rewarded with yet more exciting findings: red-eyed tree frogs, snail kites, chestnut mandibled toucans, crested guans, red tailed squirrels, howler and white throated capuchin monkeys, Geoffroy’s tamarin, collared anteaters, leaf-cutter and army ants… What treats to begin our rainforest outings!!
Back on board, our third pilot arrived to let us continue our transit towards the south. The first part of our move took us through the Gaillard or Culebra Cut, which is the narrowest stretch within the Canal and represents 15% of the waterway’s total length. The Cut crosses the Continental divide and leads us to the last two sets of locks, the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks.
