Last year at about this time I was making final preparations for my trip to Panama with Panama la Verde. Recalling this, I began looking through my collection of the many photos taken during this magical week of my life and remembering fondly all the people I met, places we visited, and things we saw while there. Since my trip I have acquired some of what have become my most relied-upon camera lenses and other optical equipment; tools I dearly wish I had then owned and been able to take with me on the journey to record some of the wonders of nature I was privileged to witness while there. However even with the limited camera gear I was able to bring, I recorded some images that I consider some of the most personally significant I have taken to date. I share them here to encourage all who are able to seriously consider visiting this remarkable country under the guidance of those with whom it was my privilege to travel: Panama la Verde.
Fresh bananas, conveniently hanging over the breakfast table for easy picking, at Los Quetzales Ecolodge and Spa in Guadalupe.
An as-of-yet unidentified (by me at least) butterfly species of the Genus Methona seen in the gardens of Hostal Casa De Campo, Cerro Azul.
Helicopter Damselfly, Megaloprepus caerulatus; one of the most remarkable damselflies I’ve ever seen. When they fly their wings produce a rotating visual pattern that resembles the rotors of a helicopter.
One of the many Blue-chested Hummingbirds, Polyerata amabilis, which we were able to approach to astonishingly close distances at Panama Rainforest Discovery Center, Parque Nacional Soberania.
A Dirce Beauty, Colobura dirce, discovered resting motionless on a tree on the grounds of Park Eden Bed and Breakfast in El Valle.
Astonishingly vivid red ginger blooming in the gardens of the Albrook Inn, Panama City.
The local church near Park Eden Bed and Breakfast in El Valle. If more churches looked like this I’d be the first one in the front pew every Sunday.
Portrait of the naturalist contemplating the wonders of nature in paradise. (This photo courtesy of Jeffrey Gordon.)
Sadly, I do not have a photo of our ever-present, always genial, and remarkably tolerant (believe me, our group put this last quality to the test far more times than decent and respectable people should have done) tour director, Yenia Mendoza of Recontour S.A., who along with Ana Maria Sanchiz and the other owners and staff of all the member hotels and inns of Panama la Verde made the entire trip possible. To them all I offer my most sincere thanks and gratitude, and the assurance that they shall all ever remain in my memories and in my heart.
