After our relaxing morning navigating the Pacific coast of Panama, we arrived at the anchor area of the Panama Canal. This place has vessels from all over the world, each waiting their turn to go through the system of locks. Panama City was also part of the scenery, and many people were surprised to find a city of that size in Central America. While we were waiting for our canal pilot, we took out our spotting scopes and binoculars to identify bird species: we saw Cocos boobies, blue-footed boobies, magnificent frigatebirds, several gulls, and even some dolphins. The bay of Panama is a great observation point — not just for the busy operations of the canal, but also for the incredible number of bird species that can be seen at the beginning of the dry season. At that time this section of the country is directly impacted by trade winds that trigger the upwelling and attract more species.
After a great cocktail hour on the sundeck, we received the instructions of the Panama Canal and began our transit: Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks were the first for us to enjoy. We also saw the Bridge of the Americas, Centennial Bridge, the famous Culebra Cut, and finally Gamboa. It was a great day.
