September 15, 2017
My dad and I wanted to do something special on our final full day of travels. Not only were we to leave the next day, but September 15 is also my birthday. I wanted to leave my 28 years with a full day of adventure and exploring. My dad purchased two tickets for a tour to see the Panamanian rainforest. I could not imagine a more fitting way to spend my birthday than to see and learn more about another country.
Unfortunately, I had caught a cold the day before. With the humidity, heat, and my cold, my body did not enjoy the trip as much as it should. However, my mind loved it. We found a great tour online, Ocean to Ocean Panama Canal and Jungle Tour with wonderful tour guides. They picked us up at 7 am from our hotel and picked up another family from Colorado! Two families from Colorado reminded me just how adventurous my home state can be.
The tour started with a boat ride along Chagres River and into the Panama Canal. We stopped at Monkey Island in Gatun Lake where we saw and played with Tamarins and Capuchins. Generally, tourists should not play with wild animals; however, the monkeys at Monkey Island frequently interact with tourists, so with the guidance of tour guides, they are quite safe for interaction. After boating around Gatun Lake and under rainforest canopies for two hours, returned to the car to travel to our next destination.
We drove to the other side of the canal to visit Fort San Lorenzo and Agua Clara Locks. Along the way, we could see more Capuchins hanging in the trees as well as a few sloths lazying the day away. On our way to Fort San Lorenzo, passed the old canal and learn more about the history of the Canal. We arrived at Fort San Lorenzo along the Caribbean. Our guides gave us a short tour of this UNESCO World Heritage Site and then we sat down for a picnic lunch. Here, we had a few minutes to spare to wander around a little and just relax. It seems that although Fort San Lorenzo is a World Heritage Site, it does not receive much attention. We did not see many other tourists and listening to the Caribbean water created a sense of peace, even though Fort San Lorenzo has a long history of battles.
Our final stop were the Agua Clara Locks on the Caribbean side of the Panama Canal. By this point, the humidity and heat wore out my body and my mind became fuzzy from my cold. I mostly just wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep. Instead, I took a short walk along a rainforest walking path alone, while the rest of the group watched the ships pass by or enjoy the museum. Despite the cold, I made the best out of my two week trip to Colombia and Panama as I could.
Until next time,
ㅅ_ㅅ