A DAY IN VIENNA

                                 Stay Awake on Arrival Day

   One of my trips to the Balkans and Eastern Europe started in Vienna. Being a  favorite European city, I had a fit when I learned I was booked on a circuitous route arriving in Vienna very late in the afternoon. I wasted no time getting on the phone  requesting to speak to the travel department. I was informed that was not possible and after arguing, I finally said, “Lady you do not understand. Vienna is my favorite city. This is my fourth visit to the city and I know what I want to do, to see and where to go and I do not want to waist most of the day in an airport. I will call you every day and pester you until I can talk to the travel department.” 

    When I was connected to the travel people the gal was sweet as can be.I got the routing I wanted without difficulty. I, along with a half dozen other people on the trip, were actually at our Vienna hotel a little before 9:30 AM on arrival day! Of course our rooms were not ready. Everyone else wanted to lounge around the lobby trying to sleep. I checked my bag at the desk, asked for a map with the hotel located on it and was off. We had had a hotel change and now were located a bit farther from Stephenplatz than originally planned. It was good to stretch and to walk at my own pace on a cloudy overcast day.

      I almost never sleep on planes, but I do resist the temptation of wanting to nap on arrival day.If I stay up and active and then go to bed early I have no problem with jet lag after a good first night's sleep.

     On a previous visit, St Stephens was covered with scaffolding and closed. This time I was happy to get inside this lovely Gothic church. Afterward I hit the stores on the plaza for the couple of items I wanted and to especially buy a good supply of my favored Mozart balls. By the time I finished with my errands I realized I was actually hungry, even though it was not quite lunch time in Vienna. I did not want to take time to find and eat in a restaurant. I remembered having seen a McDonalds on a previous visit, so I scooted down a side street to use the restroom and have a quick bite to satisfy my hunger pangs.

            Then I back tracked a short way to make it to the Anchor Clock. Ankeruhr,  built between 1911 and 1917,  is situated at Hoher Markt, the oldest square in Vienna. The Art Nouveau designed clock forms a bridge between two parts of the Anker Insurance Company buildings. The clock itself is adorned with mosaic ornaments. In the course of 12 hours, twelve historical figures or pairs of figures move across the bridge, Joseph Haydn and Empress Maria Theresa among them. Music from the various eras accompanies the figures. At noon each day all the figures parade by. It started to mist but I made it on time with only a 3-4 minute wait for this tourist spectacle which is a special kind of Viennese High Noon! 

  Happy with my morning’s progress I sauntered back to the hotel got my room and off loaded my purchases. It was not too long a walk  to see the Hudertwasser House, built in 1985. The unusual building was then and still is a bit controversial. The 50 social apartments range from 300-1000 square feet. Each apartment is individual in design and the exterior of each is painted a different color creating a patchwork effect. Planted on top of the roof in three feet of soil are 16 gardens. The architect believed buildings displaced woods and gardens and that something should be added back. Not a bad concept!

    Before returning to the hotel to await my LA buddy’s arrival I scouted out the immediate neighborhood looking for a restaurant for dinner.

    We chose a nearby Italian restaurant where we enjoyed a wonderful and leisurely meal. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a street vendor for ice cream. The vendor understood little English. I opted for what looked maybe like micro chocolate chip ice cream. As we walked away, a young man standing behind us who had overheard my attempts to learn the flavor started talking to us. “That is opium ice cream,” he said.

    In unison we exclaimed, “What.”

   “You know from the poppy, like they grow in Afghanistan,” He continued.

   Then the light went on in our heads, “Oh. You mean poppy seed.”

   “Yes, yes.”

    Sure enough that is what it was. Laughing I said, “Now I can go home and tell everyone I ate opium ice cream!”

             

GALAPAGOS TORTISE AND MARINE IGUANA

                       Giant Tortoise and Marine Iguana
    Galapagos means giant tortoise. A island province of Ecuador, it is 600 miles west of the mainland and is home to 30,000 human animals. It is an ecosystem—a fragile one—to many unusual animals, birds, flowers  and insects.

Tortoise          

 Lonesome George is the last surviving Pinta Island giant tortoise. He was discovered in 1970 when the species was thought to be extinct. He is one of 13 species of tortoises in the islands. Sailors nearly decimated the tortoise by the 1920s. The survivors were taken to Santa Cruz Island.

Lonesome George

  Espanola Island has tortoises but they live high in the mountains so are relatively safe from sailors and fishermen.

  Isabella Island had 15 tortoises—3 males and 12 females in 1920-- and are now a healthy population.

   In 1989 fishermen started harvesting sea cucumbers and nearly wiped out that population. They were marketed to Japan. Lobsters suffered a similar fate. Eventually the Government of National Parks set restrictions on fishermen. Unfortunately it is difficult to control. Now sharks are being fished for their fins, again to be exported to Japan. All such activity endangers the marine life and ecosystem.

  Goats and pigs were introduced which not only threatened the ecosystem but also threatened the tortoise. They multiplied rapidly so sharpshooters from New Zealand were hired to ride helicopters and shoot the animals that then mounted to 100,000. The goats and pigs on Isabella Island aregone!

Marine Iguanas 
  The marine iguana is the world’s only living swimming lizard and it inhabits the Galapagos Islands. They inhabit the volcanic chain of Islands that has been a great breeding ground for millions of years.

 The animal’s broader tail aids in swimming while the dorsal spines on its back help to stabilize the animal—acting similar to the dorsal fins on a fish. A gland in the nasal area removes excess salt by expelling it through the nose and can give the appearance of white frosting on the face after a swim. I was intrigued the first time I saw it.

   Being cold blooded, marine iguanas warm by sunning on the rocks and we saw many of them doing just that. Since they are black, they blend into the volcanic rock, so it is imperative to watch where you step. We tried hard not to disturb them. They reminded me of a prehistoric creature. They can grow up to four feet long from nose  
  Biologists believe millions of years ago both the land and marine iguanas evolved from a common ancestor. Land iguana look very different in both build and color. All 7 species of marine iguanas are classified under Amblyrhynchus cristatus. The color of the iguanas varies from island to island.

  In the water the iguanas are agile and swift, but on land they languish and move slowly, although I did see a couple scamper pretty quickly into the water.

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

                                       A Fabulous Experience
    In Quito for some reason there was a very long wait to obtain our boarding passes and we were grateful our guide took care of this matter for us while we sat in the smoke filled waiting room.

     The airport had three gates opening out onto the tarmac. Escorted to the proper gate, we  noted  a blinking neon sign saying ‘Cuenca’. We were headed to the Galapagos via Guayaquil. However, everyone else in the area was headed in our direction so we stood firm. Later we found out the sign had not been changed for three years!

    We stood in line at the gate for a long time. There seemed to be a problem with the plane and there was no reserve plane in sight. A toilet seat sat in the forward doorway for a good while, then suddenly disappeared back inside the plane.

     We landed in Quayaquil (why a keel) where we retrieved our luggage, walked a couple hundred yards and boarded another plane. No one knew why!

      The open-air airport on Baltra Island  was quaint and reminded me of my first arrival at the Honolulu airport in 1955---so many years ago!  One thing different was the long hour wait to get through customs. We could pay our $80 park fee in either American dollars or Ecuadorian Sucre. Knowing the park would not accept traveler’s checks, I had exchanged money the day before at the hotel in anticipation of this expense.  You can imagine the fistful of money I had to equal $160 when 1800 Sucre equaled a dollar. I handed the stack of bills to the park ranger and asked him to count it.

     The Galapagos Islands is an archipelago of volcano islands in the Pacific Ocean distributed on either side of  Ecuador. The Galápagos Islands and their surrounding waters form an Ecuadoran Province, a national park, and a biological marine reserve. They consist of 18 major  and 3 minor islands and many rock outcroppings and inlets. We had the pleasure of visiting nine of the islands: Baltra, Bartolomé, Santa Cruz or Darwin, Espanola or Hood, Fernandina, Tower, Isebela,   Floreana, and Plaza Island. It was a fabulous experience! 

Albatross mate for life. They return to Espanola each spring, find their mate and bare their young. In December they fly off in all different directions. Babies do not return for five years at which time they return to find a mate

On Floreana interestingly enough all the flowers on the island are either white or yellow because there is only one variety of bee to do all the pollinating

Flour Beach’s sand was snow white and a contrast to the brown sandy beach we landed on. Being a turtle breeding ground prevented any swimming at that beach.

Years ago sailors would leave addressed letters in a mailbox at Post Office Bay. They also would remove any letters addressed to their destination. When they arrived in port they would stamp and mail the letters. The custom continues today.

On Santa Cruz Island we stopped at the rim of a sink hole, Sitting quietly we listened to the songs of Galapagos doves and watched vermilion flycatchers.  Later as we walked downhill we stopped at a lava tunnel which I found a little spooky.

When I walked out on deck the next morning with my first cup of coffee I suddenly stopped short, mesmerized by the sight of two red footed boobies perched on the bowsprit.

Tower Island is nick-named the Islands of Birds or Bird Island for the millions of birds that call it home. We were lucky as it was mating season for the masked boobies, blue footed boobies, and frigate birds. We spent a good deal of time watching them and their mating dances.

Visit Posts: Iguanas 10-19-11     Tower Island 1-28-12     More about Galapagos  7-17-11

                               

TARAHUMARA INDIANS

                                         Tarahumara Culture

        After our week in the Sea of Cortez and our ride on the Copper Canyon Railroad we hung out  for a couple of days in the Posada Barrancos, the area where one can best see the canyon,  .

       The Spanish originally encountered the Tarahumara Indians throughout Chihuahua upon arrival in the 1500's. The Tarahumara are shy and private, so as the Spanish moved in the Indians retreated for the nearly inaccessible canyons of the Sierra Tarahumara—which we call the Copper Canyon. As miners encroached onto their way of life they moved even deeper into the remote canyons. It is estimated that today there are over 70,000 Tarahumaras, making them Mexico's second largest native Indian group

       Living in caves, under cliffs and in small wood and stone cabins in remote areas, they live a simple life without modern technology. They call themselves Raramuri, which refers specifically to men. Women are referred to as mukí. Tarahumara was what the first Spanish called these

Narrow mountain path

Native American people. Rarámuri means "foot-runner. This is their means of transportation over network of narrow footpaths through the canyons. Running is what the Tarahumara are best known  for around the world. They can run down deer and wild turkeys. They also run birds till they tire, not letting them perch and rest.

       One morning we watched a display of their games and walked down a path into the canyon to see where one family lived. They live apart from each other, not in a compound or village like many native peoples. Religious, with a desire for privacy, they are known as a quiet and considerate people who are expert farmers. However, they do gather frequently for ceremonies, celebrations and races.  They make a fermented drink called Tesgüino from sprouted corn. It is quite a process and is made year round.     

      Corn and beans are staple diet products. Potatoes and apples also can be found. Some Tarahumara raise domesticated animals such as goats and cattle. Fish, small game and herbs, a Tarahumara specialty, round out their diet.

      Traditional clothing consists of a white cloth shirt, sometimes with colorful prints, white cloth pants or wraparounds with colorful belts or accessories. Cloth headbands are usually red. Sandals or huaraches are the footwear of choice, and are often made from old tires.

     Musical instruments consist of a three hole flute, rattles and violin. Their dances are simple.

     The women weave gorgeous water-tight baskets in all sizes. At the Barrancos we watched Tarahumara women weaving as they sat on a stone wall visiting with each other. The baskets were an absolute must buy item---getting them home on the plane was a bit of a challenge. I have fond memories of a great trip every time I look at the ones I bought.

PANAMA'S MOUNTAINS

                                    A Trip into the Mountains

   The mountain valleys of Panama are popular places for well to do Americans and South Americans to buy property and build retirement or second homes. The large stucco homes with tile roofs we saw in El Valle de Anton were large on big manicured fenced lots. From what we were told that is quite typical for this segment of the population. The stucco of the few smaller homes were painted with pastel colors.

   It is  the world's largest inhabited volcanic crater! Once a crater lake, this quiet village became home to Indians from the surrounding mountains who have been there for thousands of years. The flora and fauna of two continents converge along this unique land bridge.  It has a special micro-climate with its cloud forest and exotic animals and plants.

   The rich volcanic soil and year-round spring-like climate allows almost every species of plant and animal to thrive in the environment. There are countless species of flowers and trees, and hundreds of species of mammals and reptiles, as well as an incredible 500 species of birds that live in Anton's Valley.

  My perception of this valley was totally blown away. I pictured a caldera where one could see the edges and a small village in the center. Wrong! The caldera is so huge that all one can see are mountains and if one did not know he would just think he was in a valley. The ride up 2000-feet to the valley was a pretty one with many fruit trees close to the road and scattered houses that did not appear to be part of any village. I saw many banana, papaya, mango, persimmon, and palm trees.

   When we stopped at a zoo we found the temperature delightful. The rustic zoo was fun and  lovely. We had no bug or mosquito problem. Paths were well packed dirt and dry. The roots of many of the trees appear to be rather shallow as there were visible small roots everywhere. It is probably because of the frequent rain and the avoidance of deep watering.  The tropical landscape and flowers everywhere was a delight. Impatiens in all colors abounded as did hibiscus, torch ginger, anthuriums, jasmine, bougainvillea, croton and many more I could not identify.  It seemed strange to see a grove of pine trees and another of eucalyptus among all the flowering and tropical landscape. I saw hedges made out of any flower and some you’d never think about training as a hedge!  And I can’t forget the many kinds of cacti growing about. There was some good signage, especially in the frog house, and there was some very primitive hand painted signage and then there was also none. There was a wonderful frog house with 21 different frogs in large glassed enclosures and it was a thrill to actually see Panama’s icon: the tiny golden frog.

   El Valle’s one main road is called Avenida Central or Calle Central and runs east-west across the town. A main landmark is the town's public market, open 7 days a week.

           

The Legend of The Sleeping Indian Girl

   Luba was the youngest daughter of the Chief Urraca, leader of one of the Guaymi Tribes, of the sun-kissed mountains surrounding the crater.

  They called her air flower, and they knew her as a simple but rebellious young Indian girl: an inheritance of  her strong race, that fought against the Spanish conquerors for years. What Luba least expected was that she would fall madly in love with one of the Spanish officials who occupied her town. It was thus that Luba

undermined Yaravi, a brave warrior of her tribe who loved her with all his soul, but that love was not reciprocated. Seeing it was impossible to win her love, Yaravi takes his life, throwing himself into the emptiness from the height of a mountain before the sad and perplexed stare of air flower.

   Luba, not wanting to betray her town, renounces her love for the foreigner and, crying desperately, mourning her misfortune, loses herself among the bushes, extends herself on the savanna and dies.

   It was then that the hills and the valleys, in a melancholic embrace, covered her and decided to perpetuate her figure, sculpting it in a majestic mountain to remember her always.