Gamboa 2007

Gamboa Rainforest Resort: One Last Walk

December is the end of the rainy season in Gamboa, but it wasn’t giving up without a fight; on my last afternoon, the skies opened and we had a downpour the likes of which I hadn’t seen in years. But as is apparently typical at this time of year, it lasted only a couple of […]

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Gamboa Rainforest Resort: Out Pipeline Trail

Pipeline Trail, one of the most famous birding sites in the world, disappointed me on my first visit, earlier this year. But the half day I spent there this month was spectacular, and I came away understanding why it should enjoy the reputation it does.
We started with a fine meal at Los Lagartos, where Great […]

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Gamboa Rainforest Resort: Above It All

The view from the canopy tower at Gamboa is incredible: the hotel grounds, the Chagres, and the Panama Canal all at once. And birds to boot!
The most dazzling and least expected constellation of my entire trip was had atop the tower, where a fine Bay-breasted Warbler fed in the treetops at eye level while a […]

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Gamboa Rainforest Resort: Panamammals

Rainforest mammals are notoriously difficult to see, but the grounds of the hotel itself proved very productive. Red howler monkeys and white-faced capuchins were tolerably common, and agoutis were everywhere, like gawky squirrels on lawns.

I ate a red-rumped agouti in Guyana in November, and after that not entirely successful gustatory experiment, I was just as […]

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Gamboa Rainforest Resort: Jacobins and Jacobins

December shaped up to be a month of quick visits this year, and four days in Panama, though well worth it indeed, was hardly enough to do anything but whet the appetite.
After a great first morning of balcony birding, I met my guide and we headed out to the canopy tram and tower. The rain […]

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