Monkey Watch in Panama

January 9, 2023 (Sorry for the delay in publishing, we have been mostly without Internet as we are crossing the Pacific.)

Today, my tour headed back to Gatun Lake inside the Panama Canal. We rode in a bus to a hotel on the shore of the lake. On the way, we spotted some coatimundis, a relative of the raccoon. Our guide also told us a bit about Panama. In Panama there are only two seasons—the wet and the dry season. Children go to school during the wet season from March through December. The dry season (from December through March) is like our summer holiday.

Once at the hotel, we headed directly to the motorized boats that would take us on a high speed ride across the lake to areas where monkeys are often spotted. Vultures perched on a tree right at the dock. Once everyone was on, we raced off. We sped past cargo ships awaiting their turn in the locks and a giant crane from World War II.

As we got close to the area where we would look for animals, we slowed down. Someone spotted a caiman (a smaller cousin of the alligator), but most of us could not see it. Our next stop was more successful. The guides imitated the call of capuchin monkeys and flashed some food. Before we knew it, they had come down from the trees into the front boats. Sadly, we were not the first to arrive so by the time got to the bank, the monkeys were full and had gone deeper into the forest. We continued on, spotting a snake kite and an iguana before finding the next monkeys – howler monkeys. The final animals we spied were another snake kite and more howler monkeys.

Then it was back to the bus. On the way back we saw crates waiting to be shipped and a train carrying crates as well. We drove by the Dr. Arnulfo Arias Monument. He served three terms as President and was also overthrown three times by coups. His wife, Mireya Elisa Moscoso Rodríguez de Arias, erected the monument to him. She became Panama’s first female president in 1999. We also passed by the colorful Biomuseo, a museum of natural history celebrating Panama’s diverse animal and plant population.

My husband Brent experienced a different adventure. He watched boats transiting through the Mira Flores locks. He then went to an Embera village. The Embera are one of the indigenous peoples of Panama. They displayed their crafts including their exquisite woven baskets and trays. Then they performed some traditional dances. Brent joined in one of them! Finally, he also did a boat ride in Gatun Lake. He didn’t see monkeys, but did spot a sloth and an iguana.

Once back on the ship, I relaxed on the verandah, waiting for Brent to return. Pelicans and frigate birds flew by. Suddenly I was shaken by a large boom! I had thought it was exceptionally loud thunder, but shortly thereafter the captain announced that lightning had hit the ship’s antennae.

Fog shrouded New Panama as the sail-away party began. We waved farewell to Volendam as we parted ways – her continuing her journey around South America and Zuiderdam heading West across the Pacific Ocean. As the sun began to set, the fog dissipated leaving clear views of the city skyline once again.