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We docked outside of Panama City, Panama on a series of former islands connected to the mainland from the construction debris of the Panama Canal. Panama City is a large city with a skyline of skyscrapers similar to Miami Beach.

We boarded a tour bus around 8:30AM for what was supposed to be a 4 hour excursion to the Gamboa Rainforest Reserve, about an hour northwest of Panama City. Turns out it took about 6 hours to get back.

Gamboa Rainforest Reserve is a private resort with a hotel and various activity facilities for their guests, such as mountain biking, hiking, boating, aerial tram and wildlife sanctuary. Our stops were at the hotel for a bathroom break, the aerial tram, and the wildlife sanctuary. The hotel was very beautiful overlooking the Chagres River and surrounding rainforest mountains.

The aerial tram has 6-person open air gondolas that takes you up through the rainforest canopy to an observation tower on top of a small mountain. The plant diversity is amazing, with some wildlife visible. The gondolas go up slowly, as the whole tram stops to load and unload each gondola. So it was a totally enjoyable slow ride up and then down later.

There were lots of birds, as you could hear them. Seeing them and getting a picture was a different story. Quite a few with bright colors might fly across your field of vision and then disappear back into the canopy, likely scared by the constant nervous chatter of a gentleman seats behind us in the gondola who was clearly nervous about heights. Going up, we saw some animals on the branches. At first we thought they might be sloths, but then realized they were lying in top of the branches, not hanging down underneath. So we decided they were howler monkeys. Given the dark forest, I could only capture them as silhouettes. On the way down, I got some better monkey pictures of a mother and child.

From the top of the aerial tram, it was a easy walk on the trail to an observation tower for more panoramic views. The trail itself was like walking along through a jungle.

It was a little quieter going down without the chatter. Laura is the one that spotted the monkey and child hidden between foliage.

Next stop was the sanctuary. We walked through 3 different sections. First was an amphibian area with numerous tiny rainforest frogs. We’re told the red one was poisonous.

The next section was a display of orchids. Many were just hanging down under a shade or attached to a wooden plank.

There was a quick walk through a butterfly tent. They were flying all over the place, but rarely resting down to get pictures. There were even a few humming birds flying around as well.

Then there was the sloth sanctuary where injured sloths are brought to get better. Some keep coming back because they get fed so well. I think these are ugly animals. Lots of other people thought they were cute.

Before loading back on the bus, we went through the obligatory gift shop and got some snacks to eat, as by this time it was nearly 1:30PM. We didn’t arrive back at the ship until after 2:30. That was disappointing to me because I wanted to get to the Biomuseo, the famous Biodiversity Museum just 10 minutes from the ship. We passed by it, and I had asked the tour guide if he could drop some of us off on the way back, but he said no. The museum was only open until 3PM, so we couldn’t get there in time since the excursion took an extra 2 hours. Part of the Bimuseo’s fame is its architecture, by world renowned architect Frank Gehry. It shows the natural history of the Panama Isthmus, how it was formed by volcanos and how the resulting bio diversity evolved. Laura says I can just buy a book on the museum. Here’s some stock photos of the museum, since I wasn’t able to take any myself. I think I’ll just have to go back.

We had a memorable dinner tonight. My dish was one of the best I’ve tasted so far on board. It was Smoked Beef Strip Loin with Colorado Chile Sauce. I ordered it medium rare, and it was presented on the plate as thin slices of the beef loin. It had a slight smoked flavor and the chili sauce was delicious (the best part). Laura and I also shared a vegetable entree of slow baked zucchini, another winner. Our waiter promised to provide a printout of the recipe to me!

Tomorrow we go through the Panama Canal.