CAG on travel: Exploring the Panama Canal



Plaza, Casco Viejo Panama



This is the last time I brag about my trip to Panama, but just wanted to say a few things about what we got up to in the capital city. Having arrived from some lovely days in El Valle and Santa Catalina, we were all a little worse for wear unfortunately. We were still pretty determined to enjoy the capital city of Panama and take advantage of the tour we had kindly been offered through my gorgeous artist friend, whose grandfather was very involved with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute located on Isla Barro Colorado.

After a few days of wandering around Panama City, and seeing some of the not so exciting parts…

Financial district view

And some truly lovely parts of the city,

Church in Casco Viejo

Some older city ruins at night

…we embarked on our adventure to the Canal Zone and explored the Island of Barro Colorado by water and land. The Smithsonian field station on Barro Colorado began in 1923 and serves as a key center presenting the opportunity to study tropical ecology that allows researchers to study the interactions of complex organisms.

http://www.stri.si.edu/

Isla Barro Colorado

The trip to the institute consists of a boat launch from Gamboa, an area with an interesting history and a well preserved historic feel as the residences of the area used to house canal workers with a once thriving community. Now there is very little in the area, but it is still a point of interest in terms of its history.

Navigation buoys on the canal

Sailboat passing from the Pacific to the Caribbean

After the about an hour boat trip you arrive to Barro Colorado, and accompanied by Dr. Allen Herre we had the most fabulous personalized tour around the island. I learned more about wasps and insects than I could ever imagine, and it was all very interesting (except when a most likely poisonous spider jumped onto my shoulder and I lost a few years off of my life).

Parasite growing out of a dead tree

Dr. Herre taught us about the tropical plants we were seeing and the very best part was actually jumping into the canal for a swim… despite the warning two seconds previous about crocodiles.

Canal swim!

While you swim in the canal, the water levels change whenever a boat and especially cargo ship pass by. So while you’re inside the water you could be pushed towards the sandy beaches of the bay you’re swimming in (where these notorious crocodiles live) as water is pumped into the canal to make it deep enough for ships to pass.

Cargo ship passing

Then when the ship passes, you’re pulled out towards the main ship throughway again as the water levels decrease, and this tidal effect occurs all throughout the islands within the canal. It was pretty exciting.

We ended our trip to the island by following some trails into the rainforest of Barro Colorado and seeing some very amazing animals, plants, and even more poisonous spiders. I’m all poisonous spidered-out to be honest, but I had the most amazing time with the Smithsonian –with a special thanks to Dr. Allan Herre!

Fungus tree