Travel From the Panama Canal to Chilean Patagonia

The first decade of the twentieth century saw the completion of one of the great endeavors of mankind with the construction of the Panama Canal. A century later, National Geographic Explorer includes a transit of the canal at the start of two extraordinary voyages along the Pacific coast of South America: "From the Panama Canal to the Andes" and "The Nazca Lines to Chilean Patagonia." These waters have played a central part in transforming our appreciation of the natural world through the work of pioneer naturalists Alexander von Humboldt and Charles Darwin. We honor their work in an exciting sequence of off-the-beaten-track expedition calls, ranging from the fabled treasure island of Cocos, off the coast of Costa Rica to the Juan Fernandez archipelago off the Chilean coast, the latter home to the castaway Alexander Selkirk, model for Robinson Crusoe.

Places of wonder and beauty, as are the national parks at Isla Coiba in Panama and Pumalin in Chilean Patagonia, and the nature reserves of Isla Malpelo, off the Colombian coast. The Fray Jorge National Park in Chile was designated a UNESCO World Biosphere for its unique forest flourishing in a desert climate. Pre-Columbian archaeology will be another highlight of these voyages. In Peru, the temples of the sun and moon of the Moche culture were active in the fifth century. By the first millennium, the Chimú people had constructed the world's largest adobe city at Chan Chan. We view the mysterious Nazca Lines from the air and appreciate the exceptional collections of pre-Columbian artifacts -- pottery, textiles and gold -- in some remarkable museums. In short, a not-to-be-missed opportunity to savor some of the planet's most remarkable natural and cultural heritage as a guest during the inaugural season of National Geographic Explorer.