We boarded our bus early for a 45 minute bus ride to the Panama Rain Forest Discovery Center. We had to take a much smaller bus in order to drive on the narrow roads inside the center. The thick growth of the rainforest is home to 10% of the world’s birds, colorful butterflies and other insects , monkeys, sloths and crocodiles.
I saw several blue morpho butterflies but they change directions so quickly they were impossible to photograph.
This one is my picture of a howler monkey!
We headed back to our hotel, ate lunch and were off again. This time to the Miraflores Locks Visitors Center. We watched a documentary in the IMAX theater on the building of the Panama Canal.
France began work on a canal in 1881 but stopped because of engineering problems and so many of the workers dying. The U.S. took over the project in 1904 and the canal open in 1914. This was the biggest and most difficult engineering project ever done. The health problems of yellow fever and malaria had to be addressed. A doctor figured out that mosquitoes were causing malaria. Getting rid of every last mosquito solved the problem.
Digging a sea level canal through the thick jungle was an overwhelming task. The expression “Another Day, Another Dollar” comes from the canal construction workers who were supposedly paid a dollar a day.
Finally an engineer came up with the idea of damming the Chagres River, forming Lake Gatun. Then locks were made on the Carribean and the Pacific sides to bring ships up and down from the 80 foot level of the lake. This idea meant a lot less digging and blasting to make the canal.
It takes about 11-12 hours to pass through the canal. The America Society of Civil Engineers has cited the canal as one of the seven wonders of the modern world. Another wider lock was opened in 2016 to accommodate bigger ships. It only has one lane so the direction of the ships going through the canal changes on a set schedule.
We stopped at a Nature Center along the Causeway outside the city to see their frog exhibit. Then we went to the marina where we were tendered to our ship that was our base for the next three nights crossing through the canal.
Once we were all aboard, we got assigned our rooms. We had to attend a safety orientation and then were introduced to the crew.
We then tendered to the pier on Taboga Island. It is known as the “Island of Flowers” because of the many colorful flowers that flourish here. Our cruise director Joshua led us on a walking tour. The artist Paul Gauguin once visited the island and afterward began adding bright colors to his paintings.
When we got back on board our boat, strong winds made it rock back and forth. Although I quickly took a Bonine, I felt sick when it was time for dinner. A staff member got me a Coke and chicken soup while the rest of our group enjoyed the Captain’s Welcome Dinner. I felt much better when we anchored for the night. We were scheduled to go through the Pacific entrance of the canal at 6 am. Time to call it a day. Don’t want to miss any of the action through the locks!
Another great blog! I love your pictures! Sorry to hear you got sick. 🙁 I guess we never know when motion sickness will pop up! I would have loved seeing the monkeys and butterflys.