Tim Johnson
Sep 12, 2025 – 5.00am
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″We are right now in the middle of the world,” exclaims Mauricio Hoyos, as he steers our sturdy little Zodiac away from the fantail of our ship, and out onto Gatun Lake. If you were to zoom out, he says, and look down at our current location from above, you would see the bellybutton of the Americas. Flora and fauna from two continents, meeting right here. “That’s why it’s so biodiverse.”
The thick rainforest on all sides combines with the warm air and tropical sun, splashing off small waves, to cast a spell. Above, a kite leaves its perch on a branch, flapping away, a snail firmly clamped in the bird’s beak. A morpho butterfly flutters just out of reach, the vibrancy of its purple-green wings almost otherworldly. Hoyos notes that the area is home to three types of monkeys, as well as hundreds of species of birds and butterflies. The lake itself swims with fish and marine mammals – including a few manatees.
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