Barro Colorado Island and the Panama Canal, Panama
Our first full day of an Elderhostel 30th anniversary celebration trip through Panama and Costa Rica began at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) located on the island of Barro Colorado. This large island was created during the building of the Panama Canal, and by damming the Chagres River to form the Gatun Lake, a number of former mountaintops became islands as the man-made lake level began to rise. In the 1920s, the Smithsonian began long-term ecological studies on the island, and this research has become the backbone of what we now know about tropical forest ecology, as this 70+ years of continuous research is now one of the longest ecological studies anywhere.
We were able to be guided along some of the trails by researchers who are dedicating their lives to solving some of the mysteries of the forest, or are searching for new pharmaceutical products, or studying climate change, etc, etc. It was truly fascinating and some of us were fortunate enough to see monkeys and toucans and sloths. But, no matter which walk or Zodiac cruise we ventured on, we had to be impressed by the dedication of the researchers and the luxuriance of the forest.
By lunchtime we were all back on board for lunch and a well-deserved short siesta. In the later afternoon we watched the video “A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama” (read it backwards!) narrated by David McCullough, who also wrote the wonderful book “The Path between the Seas.” Following the video our pilot came aboard and we continued our transit through the Panama Canal, surely one of the engineering marvels of the history of mankind.
As we headed for the Gaillard Cut we fulfilled an Elderhostel tradition as everyone introduced themselves, even a subdued “Dick Cheney,” what was unusual was our location: sunset cocktails on the sundeck. What a great way to start our adventure.
Our first full day of an Elderhostel 30th anniversary celebration trip through Panama and Costa Rica began at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) located on the island of Barro Colorado. This large island was created during the building of the Panama Canal, and by damming the Chagres River to form the Gatun Lake, a number of former mountaintops became islands as the man-made lake level began to rise. In the 1920s, the Smithsonian began long-term ecological studies on the island, and this research has become the backbone of what we now know about tropical forest ecology, as this 70+ years of continuous research is now one of the longest ecological studies anywhere.
We were able to be guided along some of the trails by researchers who are dedicating their lives to solving some of the mysteries of the forest, or are searching for new pharmaceutical products, or studying climate change, etc, etc. It was truly fascinating and some of us were fortunate enough to see monkeys and toucans and sloths. But, no matter which walk or Zodiac cruise we ventured on, we had to be impressed by the dedication of the researchers and the luxuriance of the forest.
By lunchtime we were all back on board for lunch and a well-deserved short siesta. In the later afternoon we watched the video “A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama” (read it backwards!) narrated by David McCullough, who also wrote the wonderful book “The Path between the Seas.” Following the video our pilot came aboard and we continued our transit through the Panama Canal, surely one of the engineering marvels of the history of mankind.
As we headed for the Gaillard Cut we fulfilled an Elderhostel tradition as everyone introduced themselves, even a subdued “Dick Cheney,” what was unusual was our location: sunset cocktails on the sundeck. What a great way to start our adventure.
