Langford adventure company active eco travel

Boat trip on the Panama Canal

January 26th 2012

Before our 20 foot skiff had gone 20 feet from the dock, our naturalist pointed out 2 crocodiles lying in the shallows.    Clearly people don’t swim here!  In fact, two people have been killed on the Panama Canal in the last two years. One of them lost his keys overboard his small boat. He dove into the clear water to retrieve and was never found again.   The other was pulled from his boat while fishing in the shallows. Our two hour boat trip on the canal was to include information about the Panama Canal and an opportunity to see monkeys.  This crocodile sideshow is unexpected   and very exciting!

We motor down Gatun Lake and immediately see a huge tanker. Gatun Lake is part of the Panama Canal which amazingly is made up of mostly natural water corridors. Surprisingly, the canal is largely “organic” in that the sides of the lake constantly shift due to the massive amount of rainfall causing erosion on the shore. The canal has dredging operations going 24/ 7 taking out the sludge that continues to pour in.

Much of the canal lies next to Soberania National Park, which has one of the world’s richest diversity of bird and animal species. On this trip we come within 2 metres of a chest thumping white capuchin and floated below a big family of howler monkeys. On the way back, a family of Mesoamerican slider turtles catch the late afternoon sun on a log. And one more crocodile!

A great start to a Panama family adventure!

Tagged in: Langford Tropical, Panama Multi Adventures, Explore Panama Family Adventure