Saturday, September 5, 2015

El Crucero de la Selva (The Jungle Cruise)


¡Buenos Dias!

The Water Taxi to Almirante
            On the fifth day in Bocas del Toro, Panama, we journeyed over to the mainland to spend the day visiting the San San Pond Sak Wetlands Reserve. We first traveled across the bay via water taxi to the coastal city of Almirante where we met two local taxi divers that shuttled us to the reserve. The city of Almirante was appealing because it was originally designed as a major port of banana exports, although out of commission today, the history and the indigenous people of the town are still very prevalent. While driving through the town on our way to the reserve, we got to see a part of Panama that we have yet to experience. The indigenous people of the Ngäbe-Buglé indians occupied the town of Almirante. We were able to experience some of the everyday activities they went about doing as they were either on their way to school, playing around in the grassy yards, or hard at work helping to raise and support their families.  I thought it was very interesting to see how the town functioned compared to the society in which we live and the similarities and differences amongst us. 

Homes in Almirante
San San Pond Sak Wetlands Reserve 
            After we passed through the city and crossed the mountains of the Changuinola region, we arrived at the San San Pond Sak Wetlands Reserve located on the upper part of the San San River. We were first introduced to a man named José, a local that has been working with the San San Pond Sak Wetlands Reserve for quite some time and knew a lot about the history and current status of the reserve. Shortly after, we learned that José did not speak any English and it would of made it very difficult for us to learn about the reserve if it wasn’t for the help of one of our classmates, Katalin Plummer, who was able to translate and relay the information to the rest of the group. Thanks to her, we started the tour off with a short introduction about the reserve and all that it does for the protected wetlands. We learned that the San San Pond Sak Wetlands is an internationally important protected area that focuses on the restoration of Panamanian forests, as well as the protection and restoration of local manatee and sea turtle populations.

José
            

           After the introduction, we all piled into a boat and headed down the river for the start of our tour of the reserve. As we cruised down the river, we were surrounded on both sides by dense walls of luscious green forest, full of wildlife. After being warned that we were not expecting to see any manatees in the river, we focused our attention on the animals of the surrounding forest. We were able to see lots of birds including some pelicans, swallows, and a few terns, as well as a couple of iguanas posting up in the treetops lining the river bank. The most exciting thing we got to see today was a three-toed sloth hanging around in the trees. We ended up seeing about a half dozen of them throughout the rest of the tour. This was the first sighting of a sloth that we have seen on this trip and I think it’s safe to say that it made everyone’s day because the group couldn’t have been more excited after witnessing the sloths!
Three-toed Sloth Hanging Out
            

          The first stop we made along the river was at a piece of land that was donated by the Chiquita Banana Company in 2009 for restoration purposes. A few years ago trees were planted across the land in order to help restore the forest. We wanted to walk back into the land but unfortunately, it had rained the day before and we quickly realized that the shoes we had were no match for the muddy area so we weren’t able to go too far. Instead, we gathered near the dock where a man, who turned out to be José’s father, showed us a few of the plants growing nearby; including some abnormally shaped square bananas. These were unlike any bananas I’ve ever seen before. With their unusual four-sided figure and much larger size, we didn’t really know what to expect; but after trying some we were amazed by how delicious they were.   
Square Bananas are a Bunch of Fun
Fresh Coconut Water for Lunch
            The last stop we made was at the site along the river, close to the river mouth, where the Leatherback Sea Turtles came to breed. Unfortunately, this was not the breeding time of the year for sea turtles so we didn’t get a chance to see any. Instead, we walked the beach for a short period of time and then took a break for lunch. During lunch we were given our own freshly cut coconuts from a local neighbor that we enjoyed while finishing our lunches. Afterwards, we packed all of our things, got back on the boat, and headed up the river for our departure back to STRI.  
Newborn Leatherback Sea Turtles
            After a bit of unwinding back at STRI, we concluded the night with the first nighttime snorkeling adventure. We suited up after dark at the STRI dock and headed into the water just beyond the dock. Fully equipped with our snorkeling gear and flashlights, we plunged into the water and snorkeled around for about 20 minutes. During the swim, we encountered tons of baseball-sized green sea urchins meandering around among the seagrasses. We also got to see a little puffer fish, a few Caribbean reef squids, and many grunt fish swimming about. We even encountered several box-jellyfish, called Sea Wasps, which were drifting along just below the surface of the water.  Due to the nasty, painful sting it can induce on a person’s skin, we decided to turn around and head back to the dock in order to prevent any incidents. Although the night snorkel was concluded early, the night snorkel adventure was by far one of the most fun and exciting snorkeling trips we’ve had.

Hope you have enjoyed reading about all of our incredible adventures in Panama thus far. 


-Craig Stuart

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