AUSSIE UNIQUENESS

                                  Interesting  Aussie Facts

I have posted numerous blogs from my two long trips Down Under, but there is so much more to share that I have decided that all the posts in April will concern this distant destination. It is spring here in Texas and many of us are thinking about getting out of the summer heat and since it is fall Down Under this might be on one’s list.

Victoria is the smallest state and is dairy country; Queensland is known for its wool production; wheat comes from the west, and wine from the south. New South Wales produces beef, and Tasmania grows fruit---these are only the main crops and what identifies each state.

The 2500 mile long Great Divide mountain range divides the country by dividing two river systems and is the second longest mountain range in the world, after the Alps.

Australia is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the south by the Southern Ocean, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, and on the north by the Coral Sea. The Tasman Sea runs between Australia and Tasmania, the only island state, at the southeast corner of the country.

The Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman discovered Tasmania in 1642. In 1770 Captain Cook  discovered Australia, and in 1788 the first English prison ships arrived landing at the Rocks in Sydney.

Native Aborigines have inhabited Australia for 40,000 years.

The Australian landscape includes 36,000 kilometers of beach, rain forest, bush, and outback. There is the lure of the mountains as well as the glamour of the big cities. The Australian Alps are a ski area.

Sydney is New South Wales’ capital and the first and largest city in the country.

The east coast from Brisbane to Cairns (pronounced cans) is tropical, complete with beach, palm trees, and tropical flora.

The Great Barrier Reef protects hundreds of small off shore islands. The Reef itself is a protected national landmark.

The Australian coat of arms contains both the kangaroo and the emu. Neither can walk backwards.

Australia is the driest continent on earth.

Several poisonous snakes live in the country and it is the law that no one picks up a snake. If bitten there is no need to retrieve the snake as a litmus test of the wound can tell the doctor what kind of a snake inflicted the bite; thus he knows the treatment.

Many of the world’s opals come from Australia. Lightening Ridge, in the outback, 500 miles from Sydney, is the world’s most celebrated source of opals. It was discovered in 1901.

Australia is the largest producer of camels; they are exported all over the globe.

There are 151 different nationalities/ethnic groups; Aborigines make up 2.4 % of the population.

All eucalyptus trees belong to the gum family, but not all gum trees are eucalyptus. There are 1100 known varieties of eucalyptus trees in the world, Australia has 760 varieties and the koala eats only five varieties. Because of the trees oil content when they are in a fire they literally explode.

 The kiwi is seldom seen in the wild.   It hunts by smell, not by sight. Its nostrils are located at the tip of its long curved beak, technically making his beak the shortest of any bird, as a beak is measured from the nostrils to the tip. The kiwi has no wings so cannot fly. He is all fur and feathers over a very small skeleton. He lays the largest egg for his body weight and it is the male who incubates the egg for 80 days. I have seen a kiwi twice, both times in a controlled enclosure.

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.