Trivia

Barracuda Showdown

While snorkeling over a colorful aquarium-like reef in Belize I suddenly came face to face with a barracuda, albeit a small one. I floated motionless on top of the clear water, but I was unable to stare down the probably surprised barracuda. Eventually, I slowly backed off leaving the fish to go his own way.

Cut in the Mountains

Going through a cut in the Himalayas to get to Tibet was a bit scary. I swear the wing tips neatly brushed the mountain sides. I’m sure this was more my perception than actual fact.

Pandas

I visited a panda sanctuary in Chengdu, China. We were so lucky to see the pandas playing. It was like they were mugging for the cameras. The facility has had good success with a large survival birthrate. Pandas are indigenous to China and have been endangered since 1949.

Solitary animals, the female is fertile only 2-3 days a year. Their bamboo habitat is disappearing. The sanctuary, established in 1990, is large, but plans to increase its size several fold. Moats kept the pandas safe and inhibit visitors from touching and petting the pandas.

The Irish Drum

The Bodhran Irish drum is constructed from a laminated, shallow, round, wooden frame. In most cases the frame is reinforced with center wooden crossbars. Ireland is one of six Celtic regions that utilize the Bodhran Irish drum. Styles and techniques vary. Goat or, calf skin covers one side of the drum that is struck with the hand or a stick called a tipper. The stick varies in shape and size depending on the style of the player or the player’s region. Various shifts of timbre and pitch is achieved by manipulating the hand or fingers, on the underside of the skin

Money Exchange

Literature cautions about exchanging money on the street anywhere, but it was pretty adamant in Peru. You can imagine our surprise when at the desk of our Lima suburb hotel, we watched the receptionist step outside to the street with our US currency and return with Peruvian Sols!

A Respite

Between the walking and sightseeing we stopped late one morning at Bewley’s Oriental Café for Irish coffee and a pastry. Bewley’s coffee and tea was founded by Quakers in 1842. Stain glass windows and marble top tables decorate the café on Grafton Street in Dublin. The place was crowded, but we were lucky to find a small round table for two just as a couple was leaving. The pastries in Ireland were scrumptious. I really enjoyed too many of them, and it seems they all landed on my hips

Mosaics

One can find beautiful intricate mosaic murals all over the world. In Europe mosaic roofs are a special treat. St. Stephens in Vienna is well known. Two such colorful  roofs in Croatia and the gorgeous roof at St. Matthias Church in Budapest are others that quickly come to mind. In Europe some of the most beautiful architecture is well above eye level. Don’t forget to look up!

PANDA SANCTUARY

Lovable pandas

A giant panda sanctuary, located in their native habitat, lies about an hour outside the city of Chengdu, China, in Sichuan Province. We learned that the sanctuary has the largest number of pandas anywhere in the world, and is trying to restore panda populations.     The Research Base started operations in 1990 and opened to the public in 1995. Hunting, habitat encroachment, disappearing bamboo habitat, solitary lifestyles, very few fertile days, and natural disasters  all contributed to the panda becoming endangered in 1949. There are only 1000 pandas living in the wild. The panda’s only predator is man and insects that sting and inflict pain.

A docent told us, “Panda means bamboo eater. Presently 40 pandas reside here. A breeding area will eventually allow   the pandas to roam and hopefully procreate. The present area covers 36 hectares, and the projected breeding area will reach 230 hectares. The pandas feed in the morning between 8-10:00 AM, so that is the best time to visit. Otherwise their predominant pastime is sleeping. Pandas are by nature solitary animals and are reluctant to mate. Today pandas are rare in the wild where their life span averages 15 years compared to 30 years in captivity. In captivity artificial insemination is most often used in the effort to increase the panda population, and births in captivity are increasing. A female panda is fertile only 2-3 days a year!”

Work and research on test tube embryos has taken place in recent years. Noise outside the maternity wards of the nature reserves is kept to a minimum as noise apparently increases the frequency of miscarriage. Speaking is even kept to a whisper.

The docent continued, “Pandas mate at 4-5 years. Mama carries her baby 4-6 months. In the wild birthing takes place in caves, so in the research centers cave-like areas have been carved out of large tree stumps. A hairless, blind, baby panda, about the size of a rat, weighs only three ounces at birth. If the baby survives the first few days it has a good chance of maturing. Female pandas often reject their babies and in the wild is the biggest cause of infant mortality.  In captivity when mom rejects her offspring there are doctor/researchers to hand feed and care for the baby, resulting in a high survival rate. When the female does become a mom, usually after her second birth, she is a gentle attentive mother constantly cuddling and licking her infant.  Weaned at 7 months the babies are introduced to the bamboo forests, then slowly into the wild. In the sanctuary the pandas are fed bread, milk powder and apples in addition to bamboo. At one time pandas ate meat, but as the climate changed they adapted.

“At ten days old the extra digit on the front paws is evident. This extra digit allows the animal to grasp and manage its bamboo diet. By six weeks the baby can see and has accumulated fur the coloring of the panda. While nursing,, mothers can become aggressive. In spite of the panda's cuddly appearance, it has long sharp claws and strong teeth. Because an all bamboo diet is not the most nourishing, a panda in the wild spends 16 hours a day feeding, eating up to 40 pounds of bamboo a day, to obtain adequate nourishment. It is a very adaptable animal.”

Although quite near sighted the panda has an acute sense of smell and hearing. Pandas do not hibernate because the bamboo diet does not provide enough fuel for hibernation.

The sanctuary not  only is large but also beautiful. It is well laid out with paved walkways. We saw pandas at all ages. They were eating and the babies just hammed it up for our cameras. Moats kept them safe and helped remove the human urge to pet the darling creatures. It was fun to watch pandas climb a tree. They hug the tree and inch up caterpillar-style a bit at a time. They look like a big furry ball hugging a tree. They come down the same way.

We spent a lot of time here, and did a lot of walking within the sanctuary. It was a delightful memorable morning.

The museum exhibits had English captions, which was a welcome bonus. The gift shop sold good quality merchandise.