We are further exploring Panama City today. It was not until this trip that I understood how the Panama Canal actually works. It was so fun to see the ship crossing the Miraflores Locks. We were lucky to catch the last ship that would cross the locks in the morning!
But the history of the canal is a sad story. Tens of thousands of French workers died here due to malaria. The canal was finally constructed by the U.S. and was opened in 1914. The fun fact is that the canal itself brings $2 billion revenue, which makes up about 15 percent of the total revenue of the Panama government.
Biomuseo focuses on diversity of wildlife in Panama and protection of the environment. We got a super nice guide whose name is Luis that led us around the museum. Animal migration of the America continent was the best part of the day, and each of us picked our favorite animal and tried to imitate their motions. Sadly we were informed that a lot of these animals have already extinct due to hunting, habitat loss, etc. There are things that human beings can do to help protect those beautiful creatures.
At the end of the day, we took a classic rotorcraft to Bocas Del Toro. The Caribbean Sea is so beautiful that the sea water looks like perfect emerald. We are so exited and looking forward to the following days staying with native communities and doing chemical measurements.
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Qixiang O.
