[Above: A howler monkey at play on Isla Barro Colorado.]

Journal by Todd Borgie

While everyone else had to drive the Land Rovers to Colon, Chanda and I threw on our educator hats and headed out to Isla Barro Colorado, a Smithsonian research site located in the middle of the Panama Canal.

Although we had to get up at 5:30am we both figured it was a better draw than having to deal with the vehicle bureaucracy. We stumbled out of the hotel just after 6:00am with our packs in tow. We were wearing long pants and boots and we were equipped with bug spray, water, cameras and a map. The arrangements were made hastily the day before, so we were at the cab drivers mercy and hoped he knew were he was going. Unfortunately I only had a rudimentary map that I could follow to navigate from the back seat.

He got us to where we were going and asked us if we needed a ride back. I hadn’t thought this far ahead, so he had the drop on me. I told him I hadn’t quite figured out what we were going to do, so he suggested he pick us up. He also warned me that if he comes all the way out here that we had better be here. I understood his concern, but said we would only wait for a half an hour beyond our meeting time, at that time we could do whatever we wanted. He understood that and we had a deal.

We arrived in Gamboa, where we would depart for the island, and grabbed some breakfast at a roadside stand. Meat and veggie empanadas were served with small cups of coffee. We all so had corn tortillas that seemed like corncakes, rather than the corn tortillas that we had been used to earlier.

Soon we were at the dock where we met the boat to take us to the island. Apparently the boat comes and goes only twice a day to take researchers and workers to and from the workplace. The boat ride took about 40 minutes, pressing north further into the canal, and finally ending up at Barro Colorado, an island that had been formed by the building of the Panama Canal.

After the flooding of the lake (which was the largest man made lake at the time), Barro Colorado remained higher than the waterline, thus it became an island.

Our tour group consisted of only six people, including Jim Malcolm (the English Ambassador to Panama). It was a great size as we could hike and see animals and not scare them away -- a liability of larger groups.

Anna, our guide, was great; she was informative and friendly. We hiked throughout the day and saw a lot of wildlife. We saw howler monkeys, toucans, agoutis, white-faced monkeys and many different types of plants and insects.

Altitude: Sea level
Breakfast: Empanadas and coffee
Lunch: Chicken and eggplant
Dinner: Lasagna

Logbook for December 17th, Day 47
Start: Panama City, Panama
Finish: Panama City, Panama
N: 8* 58.204'
W: 79* 32.085''
Mileage: 079
Notes: Today we were up and ready in anticipation of loading our vehicles into containers for shipping around Panama. Unfortunately, we arrived at the port after quitting time for the paper shufflers, and we will have to try again tomorrow. (N.O.)

Help support our cause: The LONGITUDE Expedition is the longest journey ever attempted with a focus on Parkinson's Disease. The Drive Around the World team aims to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research by driving four certified pre-owned Land Rover Discoverys around the globe following lines of longitude. Readers are encouraged to pledge small amounts of money per expedition-kilometer via a pledge form that can be found on our Parkinson’s page by clicking here. 100% of donations received go directly to Parkinson's research and all who donate $10 or more will be entered into a raffle to win an expedition-equipped Land Rover Discovery.