Cruising on the Danube River

Friday, September 25, 2015

After breakfast a group of us met to take a drive to a marina along the Danube for a boat ride in the river to the Danube Delta.

We have not been out just to see the local area since we have been here.  So this am I asked to sit up front during the two hour drive to the Delta so I could get some pictures of local sites, buildings, landscapes and people.  Many of the photos are through the windshield, so pardon that please!  There are some nice shots to give you an idea of what it looks like here.

We had only a short wait for the ferry which is only a short drive from Galati.  Then a long drive through the countryside and several little villages.  Many of the buildings appear old, some of the houses have large, productive gardens.  There are many large fields of crops, though most are past their season now.  Saw many dried corn fields.  Some of the produce grown here includes grapes, corn, watermelon, apples, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers… things grow well here! 

Ferries coming and going.

Map of the Danube River.

On the ferry looking back at the terminal.

This fellow is leaving the ferry.

Fishing for lunch.

ferry workers.

Crossing the Danube River.

This horse and wagon are waiting at the ferry terminal for a passenger.

We followed them as we came off the ferry.

The city of Tulcea, the gateway to the Delta.

We arrived in Tulcea and walked to the marina just on time to get on our boat.  Turns out we were the only folks booked, so it wasn’t going anywhere without us!  We thought we would be on a fair size boat, but it turned out to be a very small boat!  

Our boat group:  Marion, Sue, Marian, another guest,Linda, Jamee and Ginny.

A horse taking a rest along the Danube.

We traveled down the river for over an hour.  Perfect weather!  We saw occasional egrets and herons.  An eagle, a horse on the bank and a couple of fishermen.

Then we arrived at the Delta!  Oh my!  What a birder’s paradise!  Below, I have “cut and paste” a description of the Delta from the Romania tourism website (romaniantourism.com).  Much better than what I could write!

The mighty Danube River flows 1,788 miles from its springs in Germany’s Black Forest to the Black Sea. Just before reaching the sea it forms the second largest and best preserved of Europe's deltas: 2,200 square miles of rivers, canals, marshes, tree-fringed lakes and reed islands. The Danube Delta is a wildlife enthusiast’s (especially a bird watcher’s) paradise.

Travelers can spend three or more days exploring its passages, teaming with the highest concentration of bird colonies in all of Europe. The maze of canals bordered by thatch, willows and oaks entangled in lianas, offers the perfect breeding ground for countless species of birds, some of them from as far away as China and Africa. Millions of Egyptian white pelicans arrive here every spring to raise their young, while equal numbers of Arctic geese come here to escape the harsh winters of Northern Europe.

Some 300 species of birds make Danube’s Delta their home, including cormorants, white tailed eagles and glossy ibises.  The bird watching season lasts from early spring to late summer. Birds are not the only inhabitants of the Delta. There is also a rich community of fish and animals, from wildcats, foxes and wolves, to even an occasional boar or deer. Altogether, 3,450 animal species can be seen here, as well as 1,700 plant species.

The Danube River is the most international river on the planet - its course runs across — or forms a part of the borders of  several countries: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and four capitals: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade.

Formed over a period of more than 10,000 years, the Danube Delta continues to grow due to the 67 million tons of alluvia deposited every year by the Danube River.

The Delta is formed around the three main channels of the Danube, named after their respective ports: Chilia (in the north), Sulina (in the middle), and Sfantu Gheorghe (in the south).

The Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve has the third largest biodiversity in the world (over 5,500 flora and fauna species), exceeded only by the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Galapagos Archipelago in Ecuador.

The Danube Delta is home to over 60% of the world’s population of pygmy cormorants (phalacrocorax pygmeus), 50% of red-breasted geese (branta ruficollis) and the largest number of white pelicans (pelecanus onocrotalus) and Dalmatian pelicans (pelecanus crispus) in Europe.

It also is home to the world’s largest reed bed expanse – 625, 000 acres / 240,000 ha.

More than half of the Delta Biosphere Reserve is virtually intact.

Our hosts' home and our lunch site!

I am sure glad we were on the small boat.  We got to explore deep into areas that the larger boats could not enter.  What an amazing environment!

On our way back up the river, we stopped for lunch at one of the local homes!  We had an amazing meal prepared by the local family.  When our boat left this am, the family was called, they went out and caught and prepared our lunch to have it ready for our arrival!  It started with fresh bread and baked fish with a garlic sauce.  Normally I do not eat fish, but being in Romania, do as the Romanians do…  The fish was actually quite good!  (except for those tiny bones…)  The next course was a soup full of vegies and fish.  I skipped the fish on this course, but the rest of the soup was very tasty!  The last course was fried fish.  It was very good as well.  Oh, can’t forget the homemade hooch!  Wow, that will clear some sinuses!

This is our little boat, notice the walkway to get to shore, then a steep climb up the bank.

The first course!

Wow, Stacy eating fish!!

Marion enjoyed it all!

Ginny enjoying the bread.  She would not touch the fish or soup.

Jamee is vegetarian, so she got a plate of lovely vegetables!

Nutmeg appears to be following in Woofies paw steps... getting into the hooch!

Sue enjoying her fish soup!

The fried fish.

After thanking our wonderful hosts, we had our leisurely cruise back to Tulcea and the drive back to the ferry.  Marian hit the gas and we were back in 90 minutes, in time for the next ferry!  Most of us napped off and on, so the trip seemed even shorter.  Quick crossing over the river and a short drive back to the hotel.  

Little puppies at the ferry terminal.  Wish we could save them all...

Some of the local apartments in Galati.

Dad, Mom (Oana) and Alexandra Sava.

The Sava family met us at the hotel with a gift for each of us!  A Safe Have calendar: the cover photo is our WV team!!  They joined us for dinner then we had to get back to the hotel for final packing.  Marian is picking us up just after midnight to get us to the airport for some early am flights.  We won’t be getting any sleep tonight!  Hope I can finish the blog… otherwise it will be from the airport or Greece!!

Good night for now!