Barro Colorado research -monkey island

Island created when Gatun lake was flooded during the building of the Canal . Has been a Smithsonian research station since 1923.

slightly disappointing tour with loud guide who didn't know any birds, and a couple of loud people whose phone kept ringing, and would shout "Look, there's an animal" very loud prompting it to disappear into undergrowth. saw 2 howlers, a small troop of white faced monkeys and an agouti. a few birds spotted but guide barely knew them.

Quite like the huge trees called Beer belly tre&es due to their shape. no commercial value as so full of water but a huge size.

After lunched a few hardy soles braved what looked like terrible weather to hear off in Pangas to monkey islands where we saw a wealth of wildlife. Geoffroys tamarinds, capuchin and howler monkeys, green iguanas, a sloth, and many birds including Toucan. especially enjoyed tamarinds (very curious, come very close) and the tiny bats.

Returned to vessel, woke Caroline up and went out for a second run - much more rewarding than the research station.Les mer