FUN EVENTS DOWN UNDER

                                        Some of Many Surprises

Punt Ride

      My first and only punt ride was on the River Avon in Christchurch, New Zealand. A punt is a flat-bottomed long boat, square on both ends, and wide enough to seat two abreast that is propelled with a long pole. Standing on a platform on the stern of the punt, the pole is placed on the side and pushed from the bottom. Punts are used on shallow rivers and originally were made to transport cargo. Punting is quite a sport in certain parts of the world. Most often a punt can carry six passengers. We leisurely floated down the river admiring the many mansions and beautiful gardens along the way.

It was a new and fun experience.

A Dining Tram   

      I’ve had meals in the dining car of trains but had never had a meal on a tram until I was in New Zealand the second time. We boarded the tram at dinnertime to find the tables set with white linen. As we circled the city several times, tux clad waiters served a delicious lamb meal with all the trimmings, including wine. It was great fun. I’ve heard about similar experiences in a few other cities so if you ever are where one exists it will provide a unique dining experience and  fun time.

Orphaned Kangaroo

      We were surprised when we walked into a store on Kangaroo Island, Australia to see a baby kangaroo swaddled in a sling hanging on a coat rack. The owner told us that Mama had been killed by a car, so they’d been raising the little one. She was wrapped in the sack because it confined her like she was in her mama’s pouch.  We all took turns holding and loving the baby while cameras clicked away.

A Flightless Airline?

      We arrived at Kangaroo Island from Adelaide by ferry over a rather rough channel. But we returned on Emu Airlines---remember the emu does not fly, so why would anyone name an airline after the animal? We didn’t think too much about being weighed with our packs, but it was a little disconcerting to watch the pilot load out packs in the wing and then climb up on it and crawl through a window to his seat! It was a short flight, but I was happy to be on the ground and off the small 6-8 seat plane.

Koalas in the Wild

      While travelling around the island we spotted many koalas up in trees, and  a couple of moms even were carrying a baby in her pouch. It is a bit unusual to see the nocturnal animals during the day. Daytime is when they usually curl up in the fork of tree branches and sleep. We stopped to admire several doing just that when suddenly a baby started crawling down from a tree.  When on the ground the baby walked several feet to where a gal was standing and started to climb up her leg!   

      Her pants were almost the exact color of the tree trunks, and she figured the little koala thought her white shoes were rocks. The driver wiggled him off her leg, but not before he left a puncture wound in her lower leg. What an adventure!

      Lots of fun times down under!

AIX EN PROVENCE

                                         A Charming French City

Aix-en-Provence, France is a city of fountains and tree-lined avenues, as well as the home of Paul Cezanne. On a walking tour it was hard to miss the sites from the famous painter.  Markets and monuments also highlight this ancient city. The city is often referred to simply as Aix (X). A town of water and town of art...Aix was built and developed around this dual identity. But the town also knows how to blend different eras and cultures. It is a city of human dimension where the preserved heritage and the city of tomorrow blend perfectly.  Color is sensation: the light of the sky, the golden stone of the facades, the transparent green of the fountains, and the shade of the plane trees all blend to create a wonderful atmosphere.     

In Greek, platanos  means big, a characteristic that the plane tree develops easily in favorable conditions. Plane trees, living up to 2000 years, is considered symbol of wisdom, stability, safety and strength. The main peculiarity of plane tree is a wide range of shades even within one log: from pink-grey to red-brown or even yellow. Fragrance of plane wood is used in the production of toilet water for its fragrance. The city was full of plane trees lining many of the streets.

Water, the source of life, is at the heart of the town and its history, Water has been channeled and distributed since antiquity. In a region where water is scarce and precious, Aix has been supplied by its many springs. But in the second half of the 19th century, works on the Verdon Canal and the Zola dam brought water in abundance through the basins of fountains.

From the start, from a simple basin, well or watering place, fountains found their illustrious history during the 17th century as ornaments of the urban landscape. Construction was restricted to specialists, fountain architects, hydraulics engineers and artists. Today about forty public fountains testify to the styles and needs of a town which has integrated them in its art of living. Aix means water and is the symbol of the city.

            In Provence house doors face the north and windows face away from the Mediterranean. The winds are frequent and can be very strong.

            The1860 La Rotunda fountain is very large.  A local guide explained that the three statues: justice, agriculture and fine arts adorning the fountain recall the main activities of the town. The fountain was a symbolic mark of the entry to the modern town, without rampart or gate, open to the world. Aix has grown and today the great fountain is at the centre of the town. The square, actually a large round-about, is the entrance to the once Roman city. It was never an important Roman city, but one can see ruins in several places. Provence is the oldest Roman city in France.

            Balconies on the buildings could not be added until after welding was invented, then a balcony was a sign of power and wealth. We saw a couple of buildings with columns and learned that they were considered power of the gods and were not allowed on the outside of a building so the ones we saw were added much later. Many of the buildings were made of yellow limestone and looking carefully we often could see fossils in the facades. The red and gold flag goes back to the 12^th century and came from Spain.  Provence joined France the end of the 15^th century.  The old wall and ramparts came down in the 19^th century and the ring road was built over it.

            After the revolution the city felt like sleeping beauty, but was revived in the 19^th century when the ancient wall came down. Until 1953 one could not move from the north to the south of the city without paying a fee through the tower at the market.

St. Sauveurs cathedral is built over the old Roman forum and showcases architectural styles from the 12-18^th centuries. The church and tower were finished by the 19^th century, but only up to the gargoyles, prior to that the style was neo-gothic. The bases of the marble columns are from the Roman forum. The pews in the front part of the church were quite different. Four distinct chairs were joined together with a single curved back board. The back of the chair was about shoulder high. The chairs then were lined up across the church; after several rows the pews turned into the benches we know today. The old cloister is now a lovely garden dedicated to Christ.      

Aix is a fascinating city with a lot of history and we had a wonderful time exploring it, enjoying the fountains and eating some wonderful French cuisine.  

 

PANAMA'S RAIN FOREST

                                 Always a Favorite Visit

     Rainforests are one of my favorite places to be, and I’ve been in many of them. One always sees different things and I never cease to be amazed at Mother Nature!

       The canopy of tropical forests is one of the sites with the greatest biodiversity in the world and very little of it has been recorded by man. It is estimated that over 90% of all the world's species are insects that inhabit the top of the rainforest and have not yet been described by science; most of the 1.8 million species have been recorded more than half live in these forests, which is why many scientists have in recent years devoted to the study of tropical forest canopy. The top of tropical forests is of significant importance in the global climate as this type of biome plays an important role in regulating global climate, throwing more carbon per year than any other habitat.

      Panama’s rainforests line each side of the Panama Canal and are host to a diverse community of wildlife and plants. The geographic location of these rainforests offer a rich biodiversity of animals. Panama acts as a land bridge for animals moving  between North and South America. Many species tend to mingle with each other in Panama.

    Some of the most popular species include jaguars, tapirs, deer, anteaters, armadillos, capuchin and howler monkeys. Panama is home to 9,915 plant species, 218 mammal species, 302 bird species, 242 reptile species, and 182 amphibian species.

     Rainforests also help to reduce erosion and sedimentation in the Panama Canal. Without the rainforests, Panama’s transport system and its biodiversity would be adversely affected.

    The Caribbean coast contains the typical tropical rainforest where tropical rain falls year round. The Pacific coast, alternately, features rainforests with very distinct dry seasons each year.     

      On arrival at our rainforest hotel in Gamboa we immediately spotted a group of capybara lounging under a small grove of trees. They are the largest rodent in the world, followed by the beaver, porcupine, and mara (animal resembling a hare). Its closest relatives are agouti, chinchillas, coypu, and guinea pigs. It inhabits savannas and dense forests and lives near water. A highly social species they can be found in groups as large as 100 individuals, but usually live in groups of 10–20 animals. The capybara for its meat and hide and also for grease from its thick fatty skin which is used in the pharmaceutical trade.

     We motored around Lake Gatun visiting several small islands to watch for animals, and it didn’t take long for the capuchin monkeys to find us. Before long they were jumping onto the boats, running along the canopy, and back into the trees. They were very playful. We rode around stopping at several small islands.

    We also saw a small iguana, a good size crocodile, blue heron, some kind of a duck, and a couple squirrel monkeys. They enjoyed throwing a small yellow fruit about the size of an apricot at us.

     What a fun afternoon!

           

CHAMONIX, FRANCE

                            Famous for its Mountain

      Established in the11th century by Benedictine monks, Chamonix is situated in the north-westerly part of the Alps, just 15 km from the Swiss border via the Col des Montets and 15 km from Italy via the Mont-Blanc tunnel. The natural border, where these three countries converge, lies at 4138-feet on the summit Mont Dolent.

French Alps

      Chamonix, with a population of 10,000, and its valley are dominated by the Mont Blanc chain to the south and the Aiguilles Rouges (red peaks) to the north.  The community of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc includes 16 villages and hamlets. One of the oldest ski resorts in France, during the winter season the population swells by an additional 80,000 people! The first winter Olympics were held in Chamonix in 1924, and now the area receives 5 million visitors a year.                                                     

      The Arve, the main river of the upper Savoy, starts at the Col de Balme and flows a 107 km through the Chamonix valley on down to Geneva where it joins the Rhône.      

      The glacial valley measures 17 km, from the northern most point at Col des Montets to the Taconnaz torrent. The town center is at an altitude of 1121-feet; the highest village at the top of the valley is Le Tour at 1585-feet.

       It was a 2-hour drive from Cogne, Italy to Chamonix. We stopped in Courmayeur, Italy for a gelato break before entering the 11-mile long tunnel connecting the city to Chamonix (3500’). Because of previous fatal accidents now all vehicles are checked for temperature before entering the tunnel. There is an escape route about every kilometer throughout the tunnel. The toll tunnel saves drivers 160 km if one had to drive around. 

Top of Mont Blanc

       On arrival it was unusually clear and sunny so we all agreed we’d visit Mont Blanc immediately after lunch rather than taking weather chances the next couple of days. It was an excellent choice. The weather was not bad the next couple of days but was intermittently more cloudy.     

      Mont Blanc, the highest European mountain west of Russia, holds a special allure for climbers. Chamonix is famous for its spectacular cable car up to the Aiguille du Midi (12,605’). Constructed in 1955, it was then the highest cable car in the world.

Receding glacier from hotel balcony

      The growth of tourism in the early 19th century led to the formation in 1821 of the Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix to regulate access to the mountain slopes. This association held a monopoly of guiding from the town until it was broken by the French government in 1892; thereafter guides were required to hold a diploma issued by a commission dominated by civil servants and members of the French Alpine Club rather than just being local residents.        

      Two famous statues are in the centre of Chamonix. One commemorates Horace Bendicte de Saussure who, in 1760, offered a substantial cash prize to the first person to reach the summit of Mont Blanc, but the prize was not  claimed until 26 years later by Jaques Balmat. The other statue is of Dr Gabriel Michel Paccard, Jacques Balmat's partner on that historic ascent. 

       In winter months the area gets only 3-4 hours of sunshine a day. The glacier which we saw so well from our room balcony originally reached the city.  It has receded over 2 K in the past ten years. Of the original 107 glaciers in Europe, 93 remain and in 60 years it is predicted that only two will remain! A scary thought indeed!