Barro Colorado Island and the Panama Canal, Panama
A tropical rainforest is indeed a different world, a hot and often sticky one, as most of us found out today (though New Orleans is probably worse during the summer). Barro Colorado Island in the Gatun Lake is an isolated world, accessible only by boat. This world is not easily comprehended, a visitor’s first impression is usually that of an overwhelming confusion over the undifferentiated greenery. Great effort is needed to bring this blur of plants into its several elements. Vines, palms, tall trees and short contribute to this magnificent variety. Since 1923, Barro Colorado Island was set aside for the study of tropical nature and after that a new era of biological research began. Scientists such as Alexander, Chapman, Eisenmann, Fairchild, Skutch, and many others provided the groundwork for ecological and behavioral research. We were all enchanted and fascinated this morning by the humid, rich and mysterious rainforests that engulfed us as we walked the trails of the island or cruised the dark waters of the Gatun Lake.
Our adventure continued this afternoon, as our third Panama Canal pilot arrived and we began the second half of our Canal transit. We had started our crossing yesterday evening, when we met the Sea Voyager. Immediately immersed in the crossing of the Gatun locks, on the Caribbean side of Panama, the first half of the transit went without any mishaps. As we moved along the Gatun Lake towards the Gaillard Cut, we started the descent from the lake into the Pacific Ocean. The Panama Canal could accurately be described as a water elevator, when ships enter the locks they are raised eighty-five feet above sea level. As we reached the Pedro Miguel Locks and waited for our companion for the crossing the MS Barcelona, we witnessed the dredging operation.
As we passed under the bridge of the Americas, we pondered over the idea of having crossed from one ocean to the other at the narrowest point of the American continent.
A tropical rainforest is indeed a different world, a hot and often sticky one, as most of us found out today (though New Orleans is probably worse during the summer). Barro Colorado Island in the Gatun Lake is an isolated world, accessible only by boat. This world is not easily comprehended, a visitor’s first impression is usually that of an overwhelming confusion over the undifferentiated greenery. Great effort is needed to bring this blur of plants into its several elements. Vines, palms, tall trees and short contribute to this magnificent variety. Since 1923, Barro Colorado Island was set aside for the study of tropical nature and after that a new era of biological research began. Scientists such as Alexander, Chapman, Eisenmann, Fairchild, Skutch, and many others provided the groundwork for ecological and behavioral research. We were all enchanted and fascinated this morning by the humid, rich and mysterious rainforests that engulfed us as we walked the trails of the island or cruised the dark waters of the Gatun Lake.
Our adventure continued this afternoon, as our third Panama Canal pilot arrived and we began the second half of our Canal transit. We had started our crossing yesterday evening, when we met the Sea Voyager. Immediately immersed in the crossing of the Gatun locks, on the Caribbean side of Panama, the first half of the transit went without any mishaps. As we moved along the Gatun Lake towards the Gaillard Cut, we started the descent from the lake into the Pacific Ocean. The Panama Canal could accurately be described as a water elevator, when ships enter the locks they are raised eighty-five feet above sea level. As we reached the Pedro Miguel Locks and waited for our companion for the crossing the MS Barcelona, we witnessed the dredging operation.
As we passed under the bridge of the Americas, we pondered over the idea of having crossed from one ocean to the other at the narrowest point of the American continent.
