Archive for July, 2009
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Extending from Bratislava to Korman in southwestern Slovakia, Zitny Ostrov (Rye Island) is Europe’s most sizable river island. It is so big that most visitors are not aware of being on an island. It lies between the Danube, and its slower flowing off-shoot the Little Danube, in the Danubian Plain.
Several rivers flow across it and the rich alluvial soil deposits make it the most fertile land in Slovakia. The island also contains central Europe’s largest storage of pristine drinking water and it has the warmest and least humid weather in Slovakia.
A beautiful area of marshes, natural and man-made lakes and rich farmland, the south has been deemed a Protected Landscape. The still waters of the Little Danube provide excellent boating through the alluvial forests. While on the water, the controversial hydroelectric dam at Gabcikovo may also be visited.
Zitny Ostrov has two main towns, both of which have strong Hungarian cultural influences. DunajskA Streda has a majority Hungarian population, though the only reminder of a significant Jewish minority is a memorial erected in 1991. There is also signs of Bronze Age settlement here.
In the late 1990s the town centre was rebuilt with distinctive white buildings topped by towers and elaborate tiled roofs. A large thermal park offers year-round bathing in geothermal heated water.
Komarno, Slovakia’s principal port, lies on the Hungarian border — a bridge leads into Hungarian Komarom, which used to be part of Komarno. Here two thirds of the population speak Hungarian and the street signs are bi-lingual.
Europe Place is a large shopping and tourist centre built in a variety of European architectural forms. A native son of Komamo, Franz Lehar, is honoured with a biennial music festival, whilst the annual Komarno Days Festival celebrates Slovak and Hungarian culture.
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One of Mexico’s largest islands, Cozumel, is located 20 km (12 miles) from the mainland, and 60 km (36 mi) south of Cancun. It’s a flat, limestone formation in the shape of a handgun, and punctured by dozens of cenotes (water-filled holes), many with their own marine forms, which are an extra attraction for tourists and marine biologists who come to explore the island’s fantastic offshore reefs.
Jacques Cousteau first promoted Cozumel in 1960, when he identified Palancar at the island’s southern tip as one of the world’s best scuba-diving places. He triggered an explosion of tourist development, only curtailed in with the establishment of the National Marine Park in 1996: but the reefs were badly damaged by the wharves built for cruise ships to bring new holiday makers.
Attitudes changed quickly. Cozumel’s new islanders (the 40,000 Maya who welcomed Herman (’Stout’) Cortes in 1519 were reduced to 30 by 1510, and Cozumel became uninhabited) realised the value, not just of their spectacular marine wealth, but also of the island’s unspoilt centre.
You’ll never get a better chance to appreciate Mayan culture so close to good beaches. The biggest Mayan site, San Gervasio (named much later), was for centuries sacred to lx Chel, the goddess of fertility, and one of the Yucatan’s most important sanctuaries. There are several others, recovered from jungle and swampy mangrove lagoons now teeming with cormorants, pelicans, primary-coloured tree frogs, iguanas and crocodiles.
These days, the duty of collective care is replacing the brash mistakes of the 1970s. You can see 250 species in its clear waters, including the bright blue-and-yellow queen angelfish, the toad fish (unique to Cozumel), and enormous sponges like the barrel and elephant ear, which grows to 3.6 m (12 ft) across. Cozumel is fabulously pretty and exotic, and you should go there with someone you love and watch the sunsets.
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Affectionately known as Straddie by people from Brisbane, North Stradbroke Island is the postcard beach get-away. Approximately 30 km (19 miles) southeast of Brisbane and the Gold Coast, it is positioned at the southern end of Moreton Bay. At 30 km (19 mile) long, it is one of the world’s biggest, offering clean beaches, a ragged coast and inland freshwater lakes.
It lost its original name of Minijerribah in 1827, when Captain H. J. Rous, or Viscount Dunwich, Commander of the HMS Rainbow, named the isle after his father the Earl of Stradbroke, the main town after his own title, and Rainbow Beach after his ship.
A group of three picturesque villages — Dunwich, Amity Point and Point Lookout — act as pleasant bases for many of the island’s local and international visitors.
Dunwich was once a penal colony and quarantine station, and, as is often the case, its graveyard is a telling record of the island’s harsh past. At Point Lookout, the aptly named Whale Rock is the perfect spot from which to scan the vast oceans in search of migrating humpback whales, dolphins and turtles.
In the 1960s, sand mining operations began to impact on the fragile island eco-system, but by the 1990s environmental issues came to the fore and half of the island became a national park. Mining is still very active on the island, but mainly away in the restricted southern end.
Point Lookout on the eastern surf side of the island is a natural draw-card. Spreading across Straddie’s single rocky headland it overlooks a string of bleached beaches. The western side enjoys the calmer waters of the bay and is safer for families. The island is famous for its fishing — with the annual Straddie Classic’ every August being one of Australia’s richest and best-known fishing competitions.
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