Day 4 - 2/1/2026 - Monkeys and Sloths

This morning we had an early excursion from Panama City back into the canal to see Gatun Lake and some of the wildlife there. Gatun Lake is a mostly freshwater reservoir to the south of Colón, Panama. It sits at 26 meters above sea level, it forms a major part of the Panama Canal, carrying ships 33 km of their transit across the Isthmus of Panama. It was created June 27, 1913 when the gates of the spillway at Gatun Dam were closed. The locks on the Atlantic side of Lake Gatun raised our ship from sea level at Colon up to lake level at 26M and then the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks lowered us back down to Sea Level on the Panama City/Pacific side.

We went by van to a marina close to the lake and then boarded small boats for the rest of our excursion. We saw quite a few birds, monkeys and even a sloth as well as Iguanas and Caymans and Turtles.

Green Iguana, most common Iguana in Panama

Green Iguana, most common Iguana in Panama

Jacana

Jacana

Jacana

Container ship that we passed in the canal

We went into some of the smaller waterways along the lake and first saw a sloth, he was sleeping and it was hard to get pictures

Sloth

Some of the monkeys were very curious and brave and would board the boats looking for food, especially the White Faced Capuchins

White Faced Capuchin

White Faced Capuchin

White Faced Capuchin

Howler Monkey

Howler Monkey

Howler Monkey

Purple Gallinule

White Faced Capuchin

White Faced Capuchin

White Faced Capuchin

Snail Kite

Snail Kite

Tamarin

Tamarin

Fruit Eating bats

We finished the boat ride and headed back to the ship again by van passing through what used to be the American Canal Zone where the military and other buildings are. This area has now been handed over to the Panamanians and has a lot of different branches of the Police and government as well as housing.

Once we got back to the ship we had some lunch and had the rest of the day to lounge around until dinner time where there will be a large deck BBQ and staff dancing. Just outside of our room in the water are a lot of Pelicans. This harbor where we are anchored has a lot of fishing vessels and the Pelicans try to steal fish from them.

Pellican

Pellicans

Conrad took some pictures of the Frigate Birds that are all over near the ports. These are from our balcony.

Frigate Bird

Frigate Bird

Frigate Bird

Frigate Bird

Tonight we had an on deck BBQ which was very nice. The staff set up tables out on the pool deck and cooked lots of different dishes for us to sample. It was warm and breezy and a perfect night. After dinner they did a line dance party out on the deck led by the entertainment director.

Dance party on deck after the BBQ

Dance party on deck after the BBQ

Dance party on deck after the BBQ

Dance party on deck after the BBQ

Dance party on deck after the BBQ

Tomorrow we have a sea day as we head to Isla Parida for more fun adventures.