SENSE OF DIRECTION--SOMETIMES

                                      A Couple of Examples

               

In Koblenz, Germany we were moored at the confluence of the Mosel and Rhine Rivers.

After lunch I decided to stroll back to the point to better see the Kaiser Wilhelm statue. It only took a few minutes to stroll the cobbled promenade to my destination.

We had unseasonably hot weather on this trip all the time we were in Germany and Austria. The normal temperatures of 72-75 became mid to high 90s with several days over 100. This was a 90s+ day. My travel companion decided it was too warm for her and elected to stay aboard the boat.

             The  bronze  statue  of Wilhelm on his horse is huge. The original statue was destroyed, but replaced in 1990. Many concrete steps lead up to the monument, but I chose not to climb them. I walked all around the statue and then strolled along the Rhine River for a short way.

            It seemed as if I should be able to cut over to the Mosel  River by taking any street as the two rivers form a triangle of land. I walked through a residential area for some time, but the Mosel was elusive. I was just about ready to turn around and retrace my steps when I saw a couple of young men speaking to a girl getting into a car. It sounded like English.

            “Do you fellows speak English?” I asked.

            “Yes.”

            “I’m trying to get to the Mosel. Can’t I cut across here somewhere?”

            They started to give me directions and then said, “We’re headed that way. We’ll show you, if you like.”

            As we walked I learned they were Mormons doing their missionary work in Koblenz. It’s hard to miss them dressed in their black pants and white shirt and tie. They were most pleasant and we had a nice visit while walking. I was  grateful to the kind boys for their help.

When we reached the alley/road, which I would never have given a second glance to, I was glad they had walked along with me. I made a right turn and suddenly I was on the Mosel only a few feet away from the boat.

After a tram ride to Helsinki’s city center we decided to do a bit of site-seeing before returning to our hotel that was a bit out of the city center. Our guide had taken us on a city orientation jaunt. The  tram  stopped right in front of our hotel.

My regular travel companion has a great sense of direction so on the trips we make together I defer to her to get us around. This trip I was with a new travel companion  so I paid close attention to how the tram traveled as we planned to walk back to the hotel. Since this gal knew it all I caved on her insistence that she read the map. We started out okay, but before long nothing looked familiar and I said, “I think we missed a turn. We should have followed the trolley tracks.”

She was sure we were going the right way, so we kept walking. It was a nice walk through a neighborhood, but it still is not smart to wander around in unknown places in a new and strange city. To make a long story short we walked our bloody legs off for three miles. The streets were quiet and of course there was no car, cab or bus any where in sight.

Finally we spotted the hotel and as it turned out we had taken the VERY long way back following the waterfront. After that and a bit of annoyance on my part she spent  the rest of the trip proving to me she could read a map, and we never got lost again! The following day we walked downtown and it took us less than 15 minutes----easy when you go in a straight line!

COSTA RICA CONSERVATION

                                      Conservation and Wildlife

            In Los Chiles, Costa Rica we boarded a boat for a ride down the Rio Frio. The river borders the 24,600-acre Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge, which sits in the migratory flyway of hundreds of thousands of birds. It is a birder’s delight.

            Moving down the river was a slow process as the tree lined banks were full of birds and monkeys. We saw white face and Howler Monkeys, including a couple of Howler babies.

            White face monkeys will eat anything, but Howlers are vegetarians and eat early in the day because they need sunlight to digest their food. Their scrotum is white and that is how they thermo-regulate their bodies.

            The boat driver got us close to a tree where we could see tiny tiny bats spread out on the tree trunk. They looked like part of the bark. They weren’t more than 2-3 inches long and they were lined up vertically 6-7 in a row. We saw several kinds of lizards. The river eventually opens up into a shallow lagoon.

            The beautiful macaws live high in the forest canopy so we did not see any that day, but we saw numerous other birds and the guide and driver knew them all. I heard toucans in the jungles in Panama and Belize, but could not see them as both times they were high in the canopy. However, it was in another preserve in Costa Rica that I was most excited to finally see toucans.

            I had read and our guide confirmed that Costa Rica is one of the most ecologically aware countries in the world. In fact one quarter (26%) of its land has been set aside as national park or preserve; 13% land is National Parkland, and an additional 13% of the land is private reserve abiding by government agreements. These nature and biological preserves protect a vast array of animals and their habitats, and insures the survival of over 850 species of birds, 205 species of mammals, 376 kinds of reptiles and amphibians, and more than 9000 species of flowering plants, including 1200 varieties of orchids.

            Until 1970 there was hardly a protected area in the country. The country’s conservation efforts are even more remarkable considering that it is not a wealthy country, having limited resources. During the first years of the country’s park systems, conservationists raced against rampant deforestation to protect as much of the nation’s wild lands as possible. Infrastructure is still lacking, and many of the areas can only be reached on foot, or horseback.

            Out hotel in Chachagua was located in the depths of a rain forest in a private preserve.  We crossed a waterfall and walked through lush vegetation to our single cabin. Looking out our windows we could see nothing but lushness. The cabin was cozy, and each night I was lulled asleep by the sounds of the waterfall.

            The lodge had a resident green macaw that was a little on the cantankerous side. Its mate died a couple of years before, and since they mate for life, more than likely she’d be alone for the rest of her life. She flew about at will, but often perched on the dining room rail, always watchful for fallen crumbs.