The Joy Of The Jungle: Gamboa Delivers
The chunky little bus that takes us on the night safari is called The Night Chiva. Absolutely no prizes then for guessing which Bee Gees song is in our heads as we peer into the darkness hoping to see something incredible. Apart from a pair of jewels which we are assured is the eyes of a caiman staring back at us, and some algae moving because the turtles are stirring below, we see nothing but darkness and the guide’s flashlight. So humming 80s disco music while eating dinner is tonight’s high.
But who cares if the brief (and free with room reservation) night trip doesn’t deliver: pretty much everything else at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort does. The Resort provides opportunities to ride the aerial tram above the forest canopy, take a boat trip to Monkey Island, get up early for a birdwatching walk, hike trails with guides, hike trails without guides, visit an Embero peoples’ tribal village, wander off alone into the jungle or into Gamboa town, see mammals, insects and reptiles, eat good food and drink decent Chilean red. With the exception of the tribal village tour which sounds a bit exploitative, we decide to set about doing all of it.
One of the joys is, you don’t have to work too hard to see great sights here, being in the heart of the rainforest means that exotic flora and fauna is right outside the door. And unlike that cockroach in El Valle, it stays outside the door.
Having already experienced the serene feel of the aerial tram and with a number of short hikes already completed, it’s time to hit the water with a boat trip which is described as a “trip to Monkey Island” but is in reality so much more. Out from the river jetty, under the low road and rail bridges and out on to the canal, our little motor boat is quickly in the company of several of those giant container ships as we make our way across the water.
We do indeed see monkeys on the islands, both capuchin and howler monkeys, and in fact witness what surely is a fairly uncommon sight, two howler monkeys busily copulating up In the trees. “Oh my God, are they f***ing!?”, shouts an American girl, decorum in absentia, obviously.
The Rainforest Resort has a butterfly garden and a frog pond, each packed with free ranging colourful specimens, and a sloth sanctuary where rescued young ones are reared in the hope of rewilding – though those which are injured and too old to return to the forest will spend the rest of their days here. All three places are good, but you can’t beat the joy of seeing sloths in the wild, which we also do on our hikes.
It is those hikes which are the biggest highlight. Although the guided ones are good, we actually have even more joy in terms of bird and mammal spotting on the walks on our own. Some set trails exist, but they are fairly short, and the real fun we have is in following sketchy, unclear trails deeper and deeper into the forest, and it’s on these unguided, unplanned hikes that we see some of our best sights, including the sloths.
Walking through the dense forest our senses are alive: the sounds, smells and sights of the jungle are continuously stimulating – and, in fact, our sixth sense is alive too, as is there is the constant unshakeable feeling that animal eyes are upon us, following our every step. Each hike brings these sensations, each hike brings something special, right up to the last one – they also bring a considerable amount of toil and sweat and the cold Balboa beer at the end, as we study our latest collection of wildlife shots, is always so welcome.
Talking of those shots, we have no intention of listing what we’ve seen, not when Michaela’s photography does the talking for us….
Gamboa Rainforest Resort has without doubt been the biggest highlight so far in this whole tour of Jamaica and Panama. We’ve seen some wonderful places over these last eight weeks, but Gamboa surpasses all of them; it’s been absolutely great here. And so we’re off now for one last leg for the final week of this trip, something which once again promises to be very different.
36 Comments
wetanddustyroads
A funky bus indeed! And not only wildlife, but beautiful flowers too! Amazing photos (thanks Michaela 😉) – I especially like the monkeys. But my favourites are definitely those of the sloths!
Andrew Petcher
Is that bus supposed to be camouflaged?
Phil & Michaela
It’s to make you think it’s a Jaguar…
Andrew Petcher
XJS?
John and Susan Pazera
Night chiva, night chivaaaa . . . now you’ve done it! I have a disco beat in my head 🙂 Love the wildlife and bird sightings. You’re whetting our appetites more and more for a visit there – and we can use our Panama residency cards one more time! Keep those posts coming.
Cheers,
Susan
Phil & Michaela
Yeah use those cards! We were wondering, while we were in Boquete, whereabouts in the town your house was…
Toonsarah
Fabulous indeed! I love the monkey and sloth photos in particular, and those colourful frogs too, but it all sounds wonderful 🙂 Definitely my sort of place (and I confess I’d probably do the tribal tour too)
Phil & Michaela
Was a very enjoyable few days there Sarah
Jane Lurie
Wonderful wildlife and flower images. Some I’ve never heard of or seen so thank you for the introduction. The Tiger Heron and the Agouti are two that made me stop and wonder! 🙂
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Jane, and thank you for taking the time to leave your message. We really enjoyed Gamboa – can definitely recommend!
Heyjude
Michaela’s photography is wonderful, so difficult to capture birds and she has done an excellent job. I like the flowers too. How hot and humid is it though?
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Jude – she caught so many good ones that these are just a small selection. Temperature was around 30 every day in Gamboa, but humidity was off the scale – five minutes into a hike and we were drenched in sweat. Just had to get used to it. And carry loads of water.
Alison
Some fantastic photos and I’m with the others, the sloths are the clear favourites. Oh my god that American girl, did you feel you were in TV show? I agree definitely the best of your trip so far.
Phil & Michaela
It was so good there Ali
Mike and Kellye Hefner
You have us wishing we could book our tickets to Gamboa today! Michaela, your photos are spectacular, and Phil your writing is inspiring. I really didn’t want this post to end. Can hardly wait to see what you are up to next. Oh, and my apologies for the crude fellow American. Safe travels.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you guys!
leightontravels
A veritable festival of wildlife, no wonder your time here has thrilled you so. Such incredible creatures, though like others, I feel the sloths are “top of the pops”.
MrsWayfarer
Nature at its best! I’d love to see a sloth up close.
grandmisadventures
what a wonderful colorful collection of creatures great and small! And sloths for the win! Always a good day when there is a sloth 🙂
Lookoom
Sorry Phil, this time the photos took over and they are captivating, so much variety in nature!
Phil & Michaela
Yep, the photos were winners!
Monkey's Tale
So did they play Beegees? I’ll have to keep Gamboa in mind, it looks amazing. The tiger heron does look like a tiger. We were told we saw them in Bolivia but they were very different. Maggie
Phil & Michaela
Ha no they didn’t, it was just in our heads and unshakable for about three hours!
rkrontheroad
The best rainforest wildlife tour ever! Enjoyed this post with all those varied creatures.
Phil & Michaela
You’re obviously having a catch-up on our posts, Ruth – really appreciate you reading through and taking the time to comment, thank you so much. Gamboa was so good, it’s a really good blend of comfort right there in the midst of wonderful rainforest. Really good few days.
rkrontheroad
I haven’t been reading blogs for a few weeks, then I tend to binge. ☺️
mochatruffalo
Very tempting…
Annie Berger
Also catching up on your posts, Phil. So glad I didn’t miss this one as the photos Michaela took while you were in Gamboa are superb.
Phil & Michaela
Was a great place to stay, Annie
Susie Sowar-McMillan
I just ran into your site while checking out Gamboa. We lived there from 1964-1967, in the 5th house down on the left from the “clubhouse”. Any idea if expats are starting to come back there now they have the new bridge? If I weren’t so old now I’d go back in a heartbeat!
Tim
Hi, is it easy to take pictures of the poison dart frogs, or are they behind glass? Thanks!
Phil & Michaela
Not behind glass so yes easy to photograph. The frogs live in a man made wet environment so it’s possible to just lean over the wall to take photographs
David
Hi, is it easy to take pictures of the poison dart frogs, or are they behind glass? Thanks!
Phil & Michaela
Easy, and not behind glass.
David
Thanks! Sorry for duplicate comment.
Phil & Michaela
I gave a slightly longer reply on the other one!