In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle

Sometimes you find a place that speaks to your heart. For me it has been hiking in the jungles of Panama, just outside the Shelter Bay Marina. The access is wonderful, the jungle begins right across the street and the paths are easy and plentiful. This is a sampling of some of the things we have been enjoying in the jungle. 

Everywhere you look there are wonderful geometric shapes. This is the curled end of a palm frond.

Young leaf rolls can make great hiding places for a variety of critters.

These seedpods turn brown and then release their seeds to the wind. I have no idea what the name of the plant is.

Large white blossoms come crashing down from the treetops and the road is covered in them.

Shelter Bay Marina is located in the former Fort Sherman built beginning in 1912. This is one of the Batteries that were in use.

There are many abandoned buildings that the jungle is taking over and the roads provide wonderful access to the wildlife.

The traffic to and from the Panama Canal is not far away.

I love the contrast of the traditional fisherman and the modern, massive cargo ships.

Leaf strewn paths are cut through the jungle.

The dark object up in the tree is a termite nest.

In contrast, this is an ants nest. It is much lighter in color, and the ants build it from the top down, unlike the termites. The bottom point here is the newest section of this nest.

Everywhere throughout the jungle you find evidence of the leaf cutter ants.

Some trees have see through leaves, thanks to the ants.

We enjoyed birdwatching, discovering new species and listening to the calls. This picture shows two woodpeckers, very much in the style of Woody Woodpecker.

We did not see a lot of these trogons, but they were spectacular when we did spot them.

We saw many Caracara

This Caracara let us get quite close because it had some delectable item that it did not want to abandon.

This fence was a very popular spot for the Caracara, we could usually find one there on any given day.

Coati crossing the road. This road has very little traffic on it and we often saw a variety of animals sauntering down the street. 

This Coati is checking us out, trying to assess how dangerous we are (very) and how fast we can run (not very) 

At one spot in the road we could pretty much count on seeing a family of Coati.

One of the highlights was the monkeys, both Capuchin and Howler monkeys. Both types of monkeys travel way up high in the tree tops. You can pick them out by the rustling leaves, branches moving, looking like they are moving in the wind, but they are moving faster than the surrounding leaves and branches. Once you have identified the area the monkeys are easy to spot. The important thing to remember is that when you are looking up to find the monkeys, keep your mouth closed! Often they are directly overhead and all manner of things can come raining down on you.

This video is for sound purposes. If you turn up the volume to maximum you will get closer to the noise that the Howlers make. The sound travels through the jungle in waves as one group passes the sound to the next, and then it returns to the starting point.

A lone Palm tree next to the forest of sailboat masts in the marina.

And I leave you with a series of hearts, signifying the joy I have had hiking through this jungle, learning new things, enjoying the sounds and the smells and the good company. May you soon be a place that speaks to your heart.