Before we arrived in Panama, Lyn had made a booking for us to spend 2 days and a night in Panama City to save driving back and forth.
We were up early and on the road by 6am as we were first going to visit the Gamboa Rainforest, Sloth Sanctuary and Frog Farm. To see the forest itself, it was our plan to take a ride over the canopy on the Aerial Tram. It was beautiful. This area of Panama is very abundant in trees and plants being on the Atlantic side of the mountains and gets rain most of the year. The soil is very rich having come from the volcanic eruptions.
At the entrance to the Rainforest Reserve
Gamboa is very close to the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal and lies on the banks of the Rio Chagres and Lago Gatún. To book for the Aerial Tram we called at the Gamboa Rainforest Reserve which offered a number of photographic opportunities. While we waited for the bus to take us to the Tram station we wandered around the hotel grounds and verandahs and enjoyed the beauty.
These 4 flags are in the Atrium of the hotel with the 4 symbols of Panama
View from the hotel verandah
Hotel pools and the Rio Chagres
Orchid Garden in hotel entrance with artificial sloth and lizard
The bus first stopped at another ticket station for those who had not purchased them, to get tickets and then continued on to the Tram Station itself. We then followed a tour group up the ramp to the station where one boards the car which seats 4 or 6 persons. We were each given a hand held radio to listen to the commentary on the forest by an expert naturalist. The 85m ride to the top of the hill took approx. 15 mins at a gentle pace. As we glided over the top of the canopy and listened to the commentary we were able to identify a number of the trees. We saw just a couple of birds and could hear the Howler Monkeys in the forest but not see them.
A Tram car in the middle of the trees
Across the treetops to the town and the river
In the centre is what is known as a Rastafarian Palm due to its flowering organ
The Rainforest
At the top was a 30m high observation tower and it proved easy to climb up to the top as there were no stairs, just well-designed non-slip ramps with easy inclines. One could push a pram or a wheelchair up the ramps with ease but getting this equipment into tram car might prove challenging.
Resting on the way to the top
Once at the top we were treated to the most magnificent 360deg view of the Gamboa Forest, Rio Chagres and Lago Gatún, all within the Soberania National Park The commentary continued informing us of what we were seeing starting at one point of the viewing platform and working all the way around. We were at the point where the River flows into the Lake and were fortunate to be able watch a ship progress through the Lake from the Pacific end and making its way to the Agua Clara Locks.
Looking up the lake to see a ship coming towards the Agua Clara Locks
Ship passes below the Viewing Tower
Chagres River flowing into the lake
A hawk on a tree stump
On one of the river banks we saw a settlement of the Emberἀ Indians, one of the original tribes of Panama. They live their traditional life undisturbed.
A house in the village is just visible in the trees
On our return to the lower station we went to the Sloth Sanctuary which forms part of the Rain Forest Sanctuary. The Sloths are brought in if they require any special attention such as recovering from an injury or having been orphaned. They really are fascinating animals to watch and are very difficult to see in the wild.
A Sloth climbs a branch
Lyn and Vicky at the Sloth Sanctuary
Next door to this was another Orchid Garden with plenty of the plants in bloom. Just beautiful. Here are some of the blooms.
Finally there was a very large pond where various species of Panamanian frogs are kept. These were very difficult to photograph.
A green frog
We were taken back to the hotel to collect our vehicle and move on to Panama City. On the way down the hill from the hotel there was a lane of Caribbean style homes that seemed so different from any others we had seen in Panama that I had to get photos of them.
One of the Caribbean style homes
The 25km drive to Panama City didn’t take long and we decided to book into our hotel before doing any exploring.