Archive for July, 2009
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Ranging from Bratislava to Korman in southwestern Slovakia, Zitny Ostrov (Rye Island) is Europe’s most sizable river island. It is so immense that most visitors are not aware of being on an island. It lies between the Danube, and its slower flowing tributary 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 reservoir of high quality 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 agricultural land, the south has been deemed a Protected Landscape. The serene waters of the Little Danube provide excellent recreational 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 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 evidence of Bronze Age settlement here.
In the late 1990s the town centre was rebuilt with unique 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 in two languages.
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 biggest islands, Cozumel, is located 20 km (12 miles) from the mainland, and 60 km (36 mi) south of Cancun. It’s a flat, limestone island shaped like a holster, and pierced by tens of cenotes (water-filled sinkholes), many with their own marine life, which are an extra attraction for swimmers and snorkellers who come to experience the island’s beautiful offshore reefs.
Jacques Cousteau first promoted Cozumel in 1960, when he fingered Palancar at the island’s southern tip as one of the world’s best diving sites. He triggered a growth in tourist development, only reined 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 tourists.
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 undeveloped 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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Often known as Straddie by the locals, North Stradbroke Island is the postcard beach holiday. Approximately 30 km (19 miles) southeast of Brisbane and the Gold Coast, it is located at the southern end of Moreton Bay. At 30 km (19 mile) long, it is one of the world’s grandest, boasting immaculate beaches, a ragged coast and inland freshwater lakes.
It lost its aboriginal name of Minijerribah in 1827, when Captain H. J. Rous, or Viscount Dunwich, Commander of the HMS Rainbow, named the sanctuary after his father the Earl of Stradbroke, the main town after his own title, and Rainbow Beach after his vessel.
A cluster of three picturesque villages — Dunwich, Amity Point and Point Lookout — act as convivial 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 cemetery is a telling record of the island’s historical 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 change on the fragile island eco-system, but by the 1990s environmental issues came dominant 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 chain 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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