Day 4 – Gamboa Town and Rainforest
Biodiversity is a very important factor, not only for the Canal and its infrastructure, but also for the citizens of Panama and the indigenous groups who live near this thoroughfare. On our final day, we traveled to Gamboa and Gatún Lake.
We traveled in a small boat across the Panama Canal waters, dodging LNG carriers, container ships and huge neopanamax vessels. While visiting islands and canals, we were met with majestic wildlife and flora, white-headed and howler monkeys, different kinds of birds, sloths, turtles, caimans and crocodiles.
This tributary serves an important role for the Canal, where it helps to move ships as they pass through, and for communities of the Embera ethnic group and other indigenous communities.
Embera Drua is a small indigenous community of just more than 100 individuals about an hour outside of Panama. They keep their traditional ways alive by practicing and living them every day and are welcoming to tourists.
We had a group Lunch at Gamboa Rainforest Hotel with a view of the rainforest and Gatún Lake.
Following lunch, we visited the Gamboa Sloth Sanctuary. The Gamboa Sloth Sanctuary is a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center for sloths and other animals, operated by the Pan American Conservation Association. The sanctuary offers an opportunity to see and learn about sloths and their conservation, and includes other attractions, such as a frog terrarium, a butterfly enclosure, and a botanical garden.
The delegation gathered for a final group dinner with music at Santa Rita – Restaurante Casco Viejo Panamá.
Blog By
(Mrs.) Susanne Stirling
Vice President, International Affairs
susanne.stirling@calchamber.com