STRI Panama - June 13

Clockwise from top left: A mother howler monkey with her baby; Jordan Davis '14 is mesmerized by hummingbirds feeding; Our merry band of adventurers

 Greetings from STRI Panama, Day 2. As mentioned in yesterday's blog, Day 2 began with another ascent up the 166 steps of the Canopy Tower and some fabulous bird watching commencing at 6:30 am! The group that went up the tower the first day went on a jungle hike in search of the Howler monkeys that we heard as we drove up. They were excited to spot a female Howler monkey and her baby and see plenty of amphibious life. After a solid two hours of nature observance, we all returned to our house for a brief respite and preparation for the next stop of the day, a visit to one of the seven modern wonders of the world, the Panama Canal.

Clockwise from upper left: Welcome to one of the seven engineering wonder of the modern world;  huge container ship from Hong Kong prepares to dropped nearly 100 feet before our eyes as we eat lunch,  the biggest lock gates in world open; Maddie Spear '14, John Napolitano '14 and Alex Ghenea '14 rev the engines at Miraflores Locks simulator; Hlif Olavsdottir '14 and Cailey Crow '14 enjoy their artistic genius

Our arrival at the Miraflores Locks just north of Panama City was timed perfectly, as we were able to witness the passage of two large container ships heading south and multiple ships heading north. The students were amazed by the engineering genius that allowed for some huge boats to rise or fall nearly 100 feet. A walk through the Panama Canal Museum give the students the opportunity to appreciate both the history of the canal's construction and function of the modern canal and some of the boys including, Jack Scanlon '14 and Jordan Davis '14 took particular pleasure in using the simulator to guide a ship through the locks (with only few small accidents!). This was then followed by an excellent lunch at the Locks Cafeteria, which was highlighted by the delivery of a small birthday cake and the singing of "Happy Birthday" to a slightly embarrassed, but nonetheless happy, Brooke Castleberry '15.

Clockwise from upper left: Tiny frog found on the morning nature hike; Brooke Castleberry '15 get ready to enjoy her birthday cake as Lucy Willis '15 looks on; Bradley Skeen '15 caught in a moment of enjoyment; Colorful tropical birds

The next stop on our busy day was a quick swing into French Quarter of Panama City where the students got an opportunity to understand some of the history of Panama as a colonial possession of the Spanish, a part of Colombia, and finally the influence of the French as they made the first attempt to build the canal. After our visit to the French Quarter, we traveled over to the BioMuseo, which is being constructed on a spectacular piece right near where the Panama Canal empties into the Pacific Ocean. after a brief lecture on the remarkable biodiversity of our host country, we all donned hard hats and toured the colorful shell that will someday fulfill the vision of the world-famous architect Frank Gehry. Tommy DiBona '15 spoke for all of us when he stated that he hoped to come back and see the Museum when it is finished one day.

Group shots from the construction site of the BioMuseo

Finally we returned home to find another superbly cooked and filling dinner, featuring a Panamanian delight, cassava chips, along with spiced meat, rice, a wonderful salad, and, of course, the amazing fruits that have accompanied every meal. After dinner we enjoyed another interesting lecture, this time from a young STRI researcher on Cutter ants. After the lecture we headed to bed; gratefully so after an exceptionally busy 17 hour day!

We will look forward to telling the story of day three soon!

Click images to view full size!