DAINTREE RAINFOREST and MORE

                                A Great Visit
       When we reached the Daintree River our guide drove the van onto a small cable ferry to get across the river. After crossing the road was narrow and winding, and it seemed like a long ride as much of it was done in the dark and the last part in the rain.

     We stayed in the Daintree rainforest where the lovely cabins we built on stilts. It was morning before we could see just where we were settled. During the night we listened to lots of nature noises, and that was great. The first morning I was quiet so not to wake my travel buddy, but I am an early riser. I sat in our lounge area in front of huge picture windows with my coffee, and all I could see was lush foliage and vegetation! Great care had been taken to design the resort to blend into its surroundings and to be ecologically sensitive to the World Heritage Area. Elevated wooden pathways protected the ground from being trampled. The 250 acre site showcases a towering mountain range in the background. The mountains collects the rain clouds and then sends rain to the valley and coast. The normal rainfall is 60-inches a year,

     Early one morning we walked down to the beach for a ride out to the Great Barrier Reef to do some snorkeling. We learned that at certain times of the year box jellyfish  wash down from the rivers bringing the stinging devils close toshore. This deadliest of all jellyfish is but fist-size but has four meter-long tentacles. At these times some beaches drop nets to enclose an area for safe swimming.

     It was a bit over an hour boat ride out to the reef. The Great Barrier Reef,  the largest coral system in the world, protects hundreds of small off shore islands on Australia’s east coast fom Brisbane north to Cairns. I found the snorkeling here much better than a previous trip when we went off of Green Island which pretty much has been trampled by many tourists. It was a pleasant day and a new experience for my travel buddy.

   Another day we walked down to Coopers Creek where our skiff captain was waiting to take us on a boat ride through the estuary. We learned the brackish estuary is hoe to 20 of the 69 known mangrove species. Mangroves in this area grow 30-50-feet tall protecting 70% of the tropical shore around the world. Only 70% of the mangrove is above water surface; the rest in underwater where a filter at the bottom of each root filters the water. Sitting in the motorized skiff looking up at the mangroves was amazing.

    After a while the captain started talking about crocodiles saying, “Crocks prefer temperatures of at least 30 degrees centigrade. Female crocks are territorial and reach 14-feet long. Males reach 23-27-feet and can way up to two ton. They wander in and out of territories. It is possible for them to live 80-100 years. Crocks eat mud crabs, wallaby, and mud pigs among other things.

    “ They can swim 100km into the ocean. Capable of slowing their heartbeat, they can stay submerged in the water for an hour. Breeding season is December to April, and mama lays 30-80 eggs in a nest. The crock goes into a trance-like state when laying eggs, then afterward returns to her vicious self. Gestation is 6-8 weeks. Mom monitors the nest for 90 days, then uncovers it removing the 10-inch hatchlings to the water. The temperature of the nest determines the sex of the egg; 85 degrees is good for a female, 90 degrees for a male.

    “A baby crock is not safe to be on its own until 4-5 years old. The survival rate is ½%! Crocodiles have been protected since the 1970s, and there is a fine for anyone caught poaching. The growth rate is about a meter every 10 years.

    “The cold blooded reptiles can move up to 30 km an hour and cannot zig zag. He has no tongue and cannot swallow under water. It has piercing but no grinding teeth. The brain is in its head between the eyes. They thermos-regulate through an open mouth.”

    The talkative entertaining guide/captain ended saying,”It’s always a good idea to give a crocodile its space!” was a full fun morning.

    That afternoon we met a botanist who took us on an interesting hike through the rainforest. Enthusiastic, she obviously loved her job. She pointed out the coral cycad tree, corkscrew vine, matchbox bean vine, black palm and black walnut tree. She said, ”Studies are being done on the black walnut bark as possibly helping in nerve regeneration.”

     She also talked about the flightless cassowary and two tree climbing kangaroos found only in the rainforest.

    This delightful place is definitely on my return-to list!

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

                                            Pedestrians Beware

       Situated along the banks of Lake Geneva, Europe’s largest alpine lake, and at the foot of the Alps, Geneva sparkles as one of Europe's most beautiful cities.

       Most of the time I’ve spent in Geneva has been through the airport, but I was lucky enough to have a full day there  recently after hiking the Alps. Arriving at the airport hotel early in the morning our rooms were not ready so after leaving our luggage with the concierge, our guide gave us transit tickets and accompanied us by tram to the city center. He tramped us all over the city leaving us in Old Town. The bell tower down town was out landmark.

       One can’t miss one of the city’s famous landmarks---the Jet d’Eau fountain. One of the largest fountains in the world, it is featured on the city’s official tourism web site.  Five hundred liters (132 gallons) of water per second are pumped 140 meters (459 feet) in the air by two 500 kw pumps, using one megawatt of electricity.  The water leaves the nozzle at a speed of 200 km/hour. At any given moment there are about 7,000 liters (1849 gallons) of water in the air. The original Jet d’Eau, installed in 1886, was a little further downstream from its present location.  Originally it was used as a safety valve for a hydraulic power network and was not a tourist attraction.  When factories closed down in the evening the valve was used to release pressure in the system.  In 1891, its aesthetic value was recognized and the fountain was moved to its present location.   The present Jet d’Eau was installed in 1951 in a partially submerged pumping station to pump lake water instead of city water!

      Lake Geneva is surrounded by a lovely pedestrian promenade and manicured city parks. Geneva  is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva.     With a city population of 192,300 and a canton population of 468,000, Geneva is the second most populous city in Switzerland---after Zurich.  

      Geneva is a global city, a financial center, and worldwide center for  diplomacy. Over 200 international organizations, including the headquarters of many of the agencies such as the United Nations and the Red Cross are located here, as well as corporate headquarters for international companies such as P&G and IBM. The Geneva Conventions, which chiefly deals with the treatment of wartime non-combatants and prisoners of war, were signed here.  

      Geneva has 200 pianos around the city that anyone can sit down and play at anytime. We heard a couple people playing. These people are ordinary people, not street performers. Interesting.

      Geneva's Old Town, a gothic maze of cobblestone streets and is   topped by historic Saint Pierre's Cathedral and the Town Hall where the League of Nations and the Red Cross were founded.

      Being without a car we bought tickets for the city tram to get to some of the places out of the city center. Riding around we came upon the Broken Chair Monument. Made of wood, it stands 39-feet tall and is constructed from 5.5 tons of wood. The chair stands across the street from the Palace of Nations and symbolizes land mines and cluster bomb injuries. Erected in 1997 by Handicap International, it was intended to remain for only three months. Forty countries ratified the Ottawa Treaty, but because of the failure of several significant countries to sign and public support for the sculpture, it remained in place until 2005 when it was removed for remodeling of the Place des Nations. It was reinstalled in 2007. We got around the city, including by the major buildings, on the tram.    

      The traffic in Geneva is horrendous. The cars are high-end and bigger than in the villages. There are a lot of bicycles and even more motor cycles where the drivers abide by their own rules! It is a pedestrian beware city.

      Hiking friends wanted to introduce us to reclette. After a bit of walking around and reading restaurant menus we found a restaurant in Old Town that served  this specialty. Reclette is melted cheese of the same name that is scraped into a dish and served with cooked but small firm potatoes, gherkins and pickled onions.  We each enjoyed a single portion and a good size salad which was a most adequate lunch.

      We walked all over town, up and down hills and had a most enjoyable day in Geneva. We saw and learned several new things on a warm sunny day.