CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND

                                            A Very English City

     Among the many neat things I did and saw in Christchurch, New Zealand, two unique experiences stand out in my memory.

     One lunch stop was at Mona Vale, a historic mansion perched on the banks of the River Avon. Before lunch we were given a punt ride down the river to a bridge.  A punt is a flat-bottomed long boat wide enough to seat six people two abreast. It is propelled with a long pole by a fellow who stands on the stern, similar to propelling a Venetian gondola. It was a comfortable ride. The fun ride afforded us a chance to view the many mansions  and spectacular gardens along both banks of the river. It was nice to just sit and enjoy the scenery.

     Our formal lunch reminded me of a typical English high tea or a ladies’ lunch. We had smoked salmon, individual quiche, hard boiled eggs and scones. We felt a bit under dressed for the rather formal affair, but we’d not been warned, so our travel clothes just had to do and we just forgot about it. After our leisurely lunch we had plenty of time to  wander the green manicured grounds and flowering gardens, especially the lovely rose garden.

      One evening we walked from the hotel to the corner of the block to catch the restaurant tram. What a unique dining experience!  Similar to  the dining car on a  train, the tram circled the city several times while we enjoyed an excellent lamb meal served with first class service who kept our wine glasses full. The 12 of us were  the only occupants ----our very own dining tram!  It was a different and most enjoyable way to end  a long and exciting day of sightseeing in the most English of New Zealand’s cities.

     With all the English gardens and English street names I had to keep reminding myself that I was Down Under and not in England.

THE DARIEN JUNGLE

                                     Boat Ride Through the Jungle

     In contrast to my trek into the jungle in Raratonga, in Panama I rode up the Sambu River through the Darien jungle in a cayuca (kai-u-coo), a local dug-out canoe.

     My small ship anchored two miles off the mouth of the Sambo river. Cruise ships with deep drafts are unable to reach this point because of the shallow water in the bay to reach the river, as a result most tourists miss this adventure. Plus the stopping point is Chunga, meaning black palm, is a small native village and  cannot handle large crowds.

    It was an early wakeup call and breakfast before loading the cayucas. The Pacific side of the Panama Canal has a 22-foot tide, so to transit the river one must go up river on the incoming tide and out on the ebbing  tide. At high tide there is a 22-feet of water in the river compared to low tide’s six inches!

    The Darien jungle is the boundary line between Columbia and Panama.  Much of the jungle is neither hospitable nor navigable. Choco is the name of a Columbian province as well as the name of a local Panamanian Indian tribe.

     It took over an hour and a half to leisurely navigate the 10-12 miles up the Sambu river through the Darien jungle. In the cool morning it was a most pleasant ride with birds serenading nearly all the way. Plentiful lush greenery grew on both sides of the 200-yard wide river. A few logs floated in the murky water.

      I heard toucans and parrots in the trees, but they were too high  in the canopy to be seen. But I did see pelicans, ibis, egrets, kingfishers, and herons. It was amazing that  bugs were not a problem, nor flies or mosquitoes either!

     The ride down the river a few hours later was a very hot one. Such visits are absolutely determined by the tides. It was a pleasant morning and an extremely interesting  visit which will follow when I talk about people.