Water around the world – and waka, birds and mermaids

Really busy right now so instead of words here is a photo-based blog  of water from around the world – well not all over the world, just some that were already web-sized and still on my laptop.

China, India, Wellington and Christchurch, New Zealand and Florida too – which is where the mermaids are to be found.

Wellington New Zealand

Pretty as a picture in Florida

Avon River Christchurch New Zealand

Punting on the Avon Christchurch New Zealand

Christchurch New Zealand

Wildlife on the Avon

Home of the mermaids in Florida

Chasing her prey Florida

Self-evident

Florida

Florida

Florida well caught

Florida

Florida

Florida

Gujarat, India

Matui Somes IslandWellington New Zealand

Boatsheds Christchurch

Boatsheds Wellington

Wellington Chinese New Year

Christchurch New Zealand

Wellington Garden

Wellington Gardens

European river

Crystal Springs Florida

Gujurat, India

With John Haggins on salt plains india

Gujarat, India

India

Wellington New Zealand

Manatee Florida

Self-evident

Wellington from Matui Somes island

Mermaids in Florida

More mermaids

Punting on the Avon

More punting

Peacock fountain Botanic Gardens Christchurch

Crystal Springs Florida

Solace in the wind and missed

solace

Valentine’s Day

Soul is ready for rugby

Swans on an European river

More punting in Christchurch

The KiwiTravelWriter in Florida

Poplar trees along the Avon River

Wellington from Mount Victoria

Waitangi

Waitangi, Northland

Waitangi Day

Waitangi day at Waitangi

waka on Wellington Harbour

One of Wellington’s favourite sculptures

Wellington waterfront Writers walkway

Wellington waterfront

A new plaque is opened on the writers walkway

Enjoying the sun Wellington Harbour

New sculptures being installed

Wellington

Wellington

And yet more Wellington

Ready to play a tune Wellington waterfront

Xiamen library China

China

Mermaids are alive and well in Florida!

Weeki Wachee Springs is a very, very small ‘city’ with a population of 4. It’s also a Florida state park and ‘the world’s only city of live mermaids’ who perform in the Underwater Theatre which was built into the limestone of the spring in 1947.

Waiting for the mermaids

When the curtains parted, the sun shone into the turquoise spring, and schools of small fish and turtles swam into view. Then, from some deeper part of the spring a mermaid swam up to the glass in a mermaid tail. Waving and smiling, she swam the entire width of the glass without appearing to need to breathe. However, at some 6 metres deep, the free-divers have air hoses to get their oxygen. I was amazed at how they used the hoses, which just float in the water in between them breathing from them, and I was anxious they would find them and get to breath.

the grand finale

not all wore ‘tails’ .. see the air hose

synchronised swimming

breathing underwater!

this way

While I was a little dubious about visiting this attraction I found it fascinating about how it was done. I’m not a diver so this is not something I would ever try to do – especially when I find out they have to down a long pipe to get into the pool: I’d panic!

These are natural spring, some 50 metres deep, which feed the Weeki Wachee River, which pumps huge quantities of fresh water into the Gulf of Mexico daily. The state’s goal is to keep the spring and the river healthy, and I heard someone say ‘ it’s debatable how much the show helps environmental efforts’.

Mermaids are said to be aquatic creatures with the upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish – appearing in the myths worldwide. Sightings of them are now thought to have been sirenia (a biological order comprising dugongs and manatees) and the sightings by sailors were really encounters with these aquatic mammals. Although Christopher Columbus reported seeing mermaids while exploring the Caribbean so I may be wrong!

Mermaids of course have been a popular subject of art and literature in recent centuries – for instance Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 fairy tale The Little Mermaid where a young mermaid falls in love with a human prince whom she saves from drowning when his ship was wrecked.  A world-famous statue, based on Andersen’s fairy tale, has been in Copenhagen, Denmark for over 100 years.

As well as watching the mermaid show, we also went on a short trip on the river with its extremely clear water. I believe canoes can be hired too.

pristine water, white stone and aquatic grass

 

many of the workers are volunteers – such as these two