Welcome to the Jungle!!

Friday, February 28th - Gatún Lake, Panama

So, we have made it back down to Gatún Lake, which is the man-made lake that was created during the construction of the Panama Canal.  We shall arrive in Colón by tonight and pick up a new group of guests tomorrow, making our way back to Costa Rica...talk about déjà vu!

Anyway, today was a day off for me!  I disembarked from the ship to Barro Colorado Island, where the Smithsonian Tropic Research Institute is located.  The island was once a mountain looming above a valley, but once the construction of the Panama Canal began, the waters rose and the mountain became an island and, in turn, a micro-ecosystem.  There are various species of animal families on this little island.  We were led by a guide along the trail, and the first sight we came upon was this giant cicada, and I used Miguel to truly depict its size...

We also managed to snag glimpses of these little fellas: lizards and a poison dart frog...

 As well as this red-billed toucan, who was trying to avoid our gaze...

Bashful little bugger...

Continuing up the path, we heard a LOUD, ominous howl from above in the trees.  Turns out that we weren't actually in Jurassic Park (as I had initially concluded) but simply hearing the usual howl from a howler monkey.  Apparently, this howler monkey was letting everyone know it was going down for a nap, and I attempted to play paparazzi and get a shot of it in its "compromising" position....

I also tried to photograph the little "monklets" at play...

We also encountered plenty of flora on the island, like the barrigon ("beer belly") tree, which provides the flower seen below...

...and this palm that receives signals from the leaves, telling it to grow out its roots on the sunny side...

There was also some warning regarding bot flies and "kissing bugs."  Bot flies bite you, or they bite a mosquito or other carrier who bites you, and deposit eggs under your skin.  The larvae grow and use the deposit hole as an air hole...sounds like fun, eh?

Look up images on Google and try not to have nightmares, haha.

The only ways to kill them include putting gel over the hole to suffocate the larvae or placing something like raw meat over the hole, which draws the larvae out to get air, ultimately placing them outside of your skin.  You're welcome.

The "kissing bugs" are similar, in action, to the bot flies.  As the story goes, they approach you when you are sleeping, bite you (usually around the mouth area) and then defecate into the bite, leaving a parasite.  As I am told, this typically leads to Chagas Disease, which is treatable but not curable.  I don't know how to really avoid them...be careful when you are in tropical areas, I guess.

For now, that is all.  I need to get to bed...finishing up the second trip tomorrow.  ONWARD!!

(By the way, my posts are going to become a weekly occurrence, due to the fact that I need to ration out my internet time.  Sorry! Y'all will just need to let the suspense build.)