Early in the morning, a pilot from the Panama Canal Authority came on board National Geographic Sea Lion. His mission was to guide us to our anchorage area for our morning activity. It was still dark when we weighed anchor and cruised toward Barro Colorado Island.
We arrived when the sun began to show up behind the lush forest that surrounds the water way of the Panama Canal. We were welcome by several groups of howler monkeys. The blue-headed parrots, mealy amazon and red lore parrots were departing from their evening hostel towards their feeding grounds.
Jen, our wellness specialist, organized the stretching class with all the wild sound of the forest as a background. Our toes were itching with the desire to go ashore immediately after breakfast. So as we geared up, we waited patiently for the visit of Dr. Anthony Coates., a prominent paleontologist of BCI. He gave us a glimpse of most of the research that has been done in the island.
Once on shore, we divided in groups with the local staff guides of the island. The staff talked about the different research that is being done on the island. We met several of the scientists and they shared with us some of the data that they had collected.
Back one board, everyone had good comments about their sightings. Some of the animals had collards and some birds were banded. What an exciting morning.
Right after lunch, another pilot came on board and National Geographic Sea Lion weighed anchor. We were going to complete our southbound transit through the Panama Canal. Our Panamanian naturalist, Jose, shared with us all the new updates of the new set of locks that are being built. We could see several Panamax vessels heading towards Pedro Miguel Locks and part of the projects of widening the Gaillard Cut.
By the time the sun had set, we completed our transit. It had been a great day in our voyage and we all knew that there is still a lot more adventures to come.
