Panama - Canopy Lodge - Day 1

The straight line from the top down was the flight, the squiggly line was the drive.

Not much to report today.  I left for the Houston airport at 7:00am, anticipating bureaucracy and crowds only to have check-in go smoothly and TSA Pre-check + Clear taking only about 15 minutes. Thus, I got a little time to sit and contemplate what the hell I was thinking going on a trip by myself to a country where I don’t speak the language to potentially be a smorgasbord for countless bugs.  That gave way to visions of toucans and optimism was restored. Interestingly, there were 9 out of 11 people from my tour on the same flight - not that you could tell, the birders blended in quite well.  (We did however all identify each other while standing in line for customs, so that was kind of funny.). The flight to Panama City took about 4 1/2 hours and was uneventful.  The Canopy Lodge team met us right outside customs and we met up with our guide, Tiffany, and another couple who arrived a day early.We loaded into two vans nd made our 3 hour drive to Canopy Lodge.  <- That was the part I didn’t expect.  It was a long drive, especially after sitting on a plane, through rush hour traffic and windy roads up and over a mountain.  We drove about 77 miles in 3 hours…oh vey. Needless to say there was no birding today.

Once we arrived at 6:30pm, we were shown to our rooms (my roommate Michelle is great, she’s from Sedona, AZ) and then fed dinner (Sea Bass, salad and rice).  Now I am lying in bed, listening to the insects, frogs, and birds lull me to sleep.  Tomorrow I will have a full day of birding :) Good night.  See you at sunrise!