Nearly every year my husband, Steve, and I take a cruise in
December. It’s our Christmas present to each other. We usually settle on a
five-seven day cruise in the Caribbean, but this year we decided to do something
different. We went to the Panama Canal and South America on the Island Princess.
Our favorite stop was the Panama Canal and a trip through
the Panamanian rainforest. Early in the morning, special canal pilots boarded the ship to steer it through the locks. As our ship entered the Gatun locks
(there are three), Steve and I stood on the balcony of our room and watched the
process while the sun came up. It was an interesting scene. The canal is 50
miles long, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Isthmus of
Panama, but once we went through the locks, our ship only traveled as far as
Gatun Lake. The port lecturer on the ship provided a running commentary over
the loudspeaker as we passed through, giving us plenty of detail.
Once we entered Gatun Lake, we left the ship and were
tendered to shore to meet our tour bus for our trip to the rainforest. 
This is a view of the Gamboa rainforest (inside the Soberania national
forest) from the main balcony of the Rainforest Resort, looking out at the Chagres River. We stopped there for a
few minutes on the way to the aerial tram that took us across the jungle canopy
(where we saw sloths sleeping in the trees and listened to toucans calling each
other). The view of the rainforest is amazing! Panama has set aside one quarter
of their country as protected lands so there is plenty to see.
This is a view of the Gamboa rainforest (inside the Soberania national
forest) from the main balcony of the Rainforest Resort, looking out at the Chagres River. We stopped there for a
few minutes on the way to the aerial tram that took us across the jungle canopy
(where we saw sloths sleeping in the trees and listened to toucans calling each
other). The view of the rainforest is amazing! Panama has set aside one quarter
of their country as protected lands so there is plenty to see.
At the end of the tram ride through the jungle canopy we
encountered a visitor, just hanging around, waiting for nice tourists to
provide free treats.
By the time we finished the tour, it began to rain steadily.
I grabbed my umbrella and spent a couple minutes just strolling around. I
figured I might never experience a shower in that rainforest again and I wanted
to enjoy it while I could. Perhaps one day I’ll be fortunate enough to see the
Amazon rainforest. I certainly hope so.
~ ~ ~
She wrote her first book, a mystery, at age thirteen and has been writing ever since. Merry Christmas, Darling is a light romantic comedy and the first book in the "Counting Your Blessings" series. She's currently hard at work on book two. To find out more about Denise, please visit her at www.deniseannettedevine.com