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Aug 10, 2005 – Delta
Most of this day was spent on board the boat.
Two lectures helped fill the time. George Schneider: “Art and Architecture in
Bucharest”, and Susan Suleiman: “Communism and Post Communism in Central Eu
rope:
A Few Writers' Reflection”. Most of our time, however, was spent watching the
changes in the scenery as we passed through the delta.
We took the southern arm
of the river, and were somewhat disappointed at how few birds we say. Our
expectations were higher. Nonetheless, the changes in the vegetation and the
numerous islands (some supposedly floating) made for interesting viewing.
Sometime around midday we passed the mouth of the river. To our amusement, there
were cattle grazing on the narrow spit of remaining land. We then found
ourselves in the Black Sea. We learned that only the top 600 feet of the sea has
a living ecology, where the fresh water is i
n greater abund
ance than the salt.
Below that depth, due to the salinity and density, there is no oxygen and
organisms that can live on sulfate produce H2S (hydrogen sulfide)
which is highly toxic to oxygen breathing organisms.
They suggested that it is
extremely dangerous for scuba divers to go deep in the Black Sea. On the other
hand, because of the lack of oxygen, anything deep under the sea remains pretty
much intact, and there have been excavations bringing to the surface artifacts
several thousand years old.
We spent about five minutes on the Black Sea,
being told that we are a river boat, not designed to go on the sea. Then we
turned back upriver. Quite near the mouth of the river is a small fishing
village called San Gheorghu. We docked (sliding sideways on the sand trying to
get close) and went for a brief walk. The “streets” were simply dirt paths
trampled by cattle, feet, and wheels. Every house has a subsistence garden, with
vegetables and at least one fruit tree. Most also had a plethora of flowers.
Some had visible stacks of firewood, which was a bit confusing, since we could
not see much in the way of trees. Life did not look particularly easy, there.
Modern life and commercialism is coming their way, however, as a resort hotel is
being built on the edge of the village. It will be an interesting contrast in
social and economic strata. As we went upstream we saw similar contrasts, with
small fishing rowboats beached near the shore, and huge factories off in the
distance.
We had the captain’s farewell cocktail hour
and dinner (dressy) and were already starting to feel a bit nostalgic, knowing
we were almost at the end of the cruise.
rope:
A Few Writers' Reflection”. Most of our time, however, was spent watching the
changes in the scenery as we passed through the delta.
We took the southern arm
of the river, and were somewhat disappointed at how few birds we say. Our
expectations were higher. Nonetheless, the changes in the vegetation and the
numerous islands (some supposedly floating) made for interesting viewing.
Sometime around midday we passed the mouth of the river. To our amusement, there
were cattle grazing on the narrow spit of remaining land. We then found
ourselves in the Black Sea. We learned that only the top 600 feet of the sea has
a living ecology, where the fresh water is i
n greater abund
ance than the salt.
Below that depth, due to the salinity and density, there is no oxygen and
organisms that can live on sulfate produce H2S (hydrogen sulfide)
which is highly toxic to oxygen breathing organisms.
They suggested that it is
extremely dangerous for scuba divers to go deep in the Black Sea. On the other
hand, because of the lack of oxygen, anything deep under the sea remains pretty
much intact, and there have been excavations bringing to the surface artifacts
several thousand years old.
