Eight Hours in Paradise: A Walk Through the Panamanian Rain Forest

The year was 1986. Google, the digital camera, and the iPhone were years from being invented.

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My wife Jane and I were in Panama, tasked with capturing and tagging tropical birds as part of a 14-day Earthwatch expedition deep in the rain forest.

The work was taxing, and we all gave it our best every day. Everyone also got one complete day off to do what they wanted. Most took their day to rest, sleep, and do laundry in the water hole, but Jane and I had different ideas.

We begged our expedition leader, Jim, to let us explore the forest on our own. Jim knew how easy it is to get lost in the forest, but after much pestering he finally agreed with one condition: We must go up the dirt road to the small river and then walk only in the river with no deviation. We could then use the river to navigate our way back to the road and to camp.

We packed our backpacks with sandwiches, water, and binoculars, and off we went.

Our goal was simple: We wanted to immerse ourselves in nature, to see it as undisturbed as possible. We moved slowly and quietly along the river, ankle deep in some spots and chest deep in others, holding our backpacks over our heads.

Bugs and birds were everywhere. Snakes swam past us. Coatimundi washed their food in the river. Fish that we recognized from our tanks at home swam at our feet – lemon tetras, Plecostomus, and more, in their natural habitat!

Lizards ran across the water in front of us using their large feet and rapid speed to skim the surface. These were basilisks, also known as Jesus Christ lizards because they walk on water.

We would often just stay motionless to listen and observe.

Coming around one bend in the river, we saw a family of white-faced monkeys in trees beside and above the river. We froze and watched for about 20 minutes. They had not seen us, and we were able to observe their normal activity.

They were grooming each other, feeding, nursing babies, playing, washing food. It was beautiful. After a while, one of the males discovered we were there and set off the alarm.

Tranquility exploded into hooting and hollering as they threatened us by jumping up and down and screaming, grabbing the babies and scampering back into the forest.

The show was over.

And after four hours out and four hours back, completely immersed in a land practically untouched by humans, our day was over, too.

Jim was very glad to see us when we returned to camp because we had stayed away longer than agreed upon.

Jane and I didn’t feel too guilty for worrying him. We both still agree that our journey into the heart of Panama’s rain forest was probably the best day of our lives.