Two Spectacular Boat Adventures in Panama: See Humpback Whales and tour the Panama Canal

The stunning country of Panama, which until the early part of the 20th Century was part of Colombia, is a bridge or Isthmus between Colombia to the East and Costa Rica to the West.

It’s a tropical paradise with only 4.5 million people and a vibrant, exciting, modern city.  It has a huge number of species of animals, fish and birds and over 80% of the country touches the Ocean.

To the North, the Caribbean and to the south, the mighty Pacific.   And through the middle of the country at the narrowest section (51 miles long) from Colon in the North to Panama City in the South is the magnificent and spectacular Panama Canal.

No wonder that boating, sport fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, surfing and free diving are popular activities in Panama. 

Brief History
The Panama Canal is one of the 7 wonders of the Modern world and was one of the most difficult feats of Engineering of the 20th  Century.   It was started by the French in the 1880’s and completed by the Americans in 1914.  The inaugural sailing was on August 15th 2014, just 14 days after the breakout of the first World War.

The Canal was managed and operated by the USA until the year 2000 when it was finally turned over to Panama to operate it independently (Carter-Torrijos agreement).  And since then, the Canal has been expanded with a second set of locks to allow larger vessels to pass through.

The history of this incredible engineering feat is well worth reading up on before you visit Panama.  The most recommended book is “The Path Between the Seas” by David MacCullough.  It’s an awesome read!

The most spectacular way to experience the Canal is on an exciting jungle boat trip into the Canal and to the Gatun Lake.  The Gatun Lake acts as a water reserve or dam to hold water to operate the locks.  And there are a series of islands and inlets which have become a nature reserve for monkey’s, sloths, armadillos, Caimen, various types of exotic birds and many other insects, frogs and animals.

We took this trip 20 years ago when we first arrived in Panama and our trusted and experienced guide is still running the same private tour today.  Many of our guests have taken the tour and fell in love with the views, the beauty of the Canal and the wildlife that lives there.

• Enter the Canal at Gamboa and speed alongside massive Container ships, Cargo ships and Cruise ships transiting the Canal.
• Visit Monkey Island plus the beautiful little inlets and islands up to Gatun lake.
• Depending on the season, you can see many different types of birds including Toucans and other exotic varieties, incredible trees and flowers (magnificent yellow Guyacan blooms in February) and three types of monkey as well as sloths and caimans that inhabit the canal.  On our very first trip we were absolutely amazed to come across a sloth, swimming across the Canal (who we rescued!).

Afterwards, why not visit the Sloth sanctuary and Butterfly house at the Gamboa reserve only a 5 minute drive away.

Want to find out more?  Get in touch.  Contact us now and let us know how we can help you.