Friday, January 18. 2008
A good thing, my nose was a little stuffed up and I’m fighting off a cold as the stench was quite something else. The water was murky and the bottoms of the buildings slimy and caked with barnacles and other sea-like things that I didn’t want to know about. I also didn't want to think about how many dead bodies might be lying on the bottom.
The gondola held five people and there were five of us on board, wobbling along through the back canals. Unfortunately we didn’t really know where we were going and our gondolier didn’t enlighten us.
I know we started in the Canale di San Marco and then headed under a bridge and into the innards of the Venetain lagoon of the Castello area of the city as far as I could figure out. 
(between the San Marco Square and to the bottom left hand corner of the map.)
I did ask how deep the water was.
(between the San Marco Square and to the bottom left hand corner of the map.)I did ask how deep the water was.
One and a half to two metres at low tide we were told, left to 
i
magine the height at high tide, though there was a water line on the buildings. But were they at a usual level or were the lines from storms or spring runoffs? I've since discovered that the Grand Canal is about 10 ft deep and has 3 bridges.
i
magine the height at high tide, though there was a water line on the buildings. But were they at a usual level or were the lines from storms or spring runoffs? I've since discovered that the Grand Canal is about 10 ft deep and has 3 bridges. There are about 400 small bridges, which serve as a crossing point for 150 canals, most of which are knee deep or less. During flood times (Aqua Alta), they can increase approximately 1 metre in height. (http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/25689)
A good thing, my nose was a little stuffed up and I’m fighting off a cold as the stench was quite something else. The water was murky and the bottoms of the buildings slimy and caked with barnacles and other sea-like things that I didn’t want to know about. I also didn't want to think about how many dead bodies might be lying on the bottom.
Apparently, "Over time, canals have been filled in to create more building space or to connect various sections of the city. Canals have also been dredged to decrease the amount of silt buildup brought in by the tides. The romanticized waterways create city management nightmares. They are essential for the movement of people and goods around the city, but they are polluted, tend to smell, and very, very difficult to clean. Aqua Alta causes the canals to rise, dispersing dirty water throughout the city. http://www.macalester.edu/courses/GEOG61/ataff/Grand%20canal.htm"
The doors of some buildings were rotted away and I could envisage sinister cloak and dagger scenes of the 15th and 16th century, an underworld I wouldn’t have cared to live in.
Some areas were obviously residential and personal
boats were moored along side narrow docks and up to steps and doorways. I could imagine a teenager asking to take out the family 'boat' for the evening. I wouldn’t have wanted to be one of them.
So much for the romantic notion of sailing down a canal in a gondola….
The doors of some buildings were rotted away and I could envisage sinister cloak and dagger scenes of the 15th and 16th century, an underworld I wouldn’t have cared to live in.
Some areas were obviously residential and personal
boats were moored along side narrow docks and up to steps and doorways. I could imagine a teenager asking to take out the family 'boat' for the evening. I wouldn’t have wanted to be one of them.So much for the romantic notion of sailing down a canal in a gondola….
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