Today was our second day, what we spent working with participants of the project as we did yesterday. Our group’s main topic is Bodrogköz. That is why, we have visited the centre and the only place in the middle of Bodrogköz. Its name is Cigánd, which is a lonely, isolated and separate place. Our little group could explore all the monuments of it and the way how a tiny settlement can provide everything to itself, how it can be self-sufficient. We saw some farms where plants and animals are grown. After that we tasted the special sweet dessert of Cigánd. Finally, we visited the castle of Szabolcs which is made of earth. The whole trip was really interesting and the local people and the participants enjoyed it very much. And of course, they got a lot of information, which they can use in their project and in their everyday lives. To be honest, it was a day with full of experiences for me too.
In the morning we travelled by bus to visit a protected wetland area. There were wet meadows and many fragmented water areas. This biotops are typical for some water birds and water flowers. Our trip was aimed for watchnig birds, so we could see four species of herons: grey heron, night heron, white heron, purple heron. On the meadows we saw white stork which was catching mice. During the whole day we could listen to the voice of Eurasian reed warbler, which nests in the reeds. In the end of the trip we walked to visit a small forest with nesting boxes for the common kestrel.
In the morning every group gathered in front of the school. At about 8 o’clock we started our daily trip. We took the distance between Tokaj and Tiszaladány on foot, it was about 10 kilometres. During the walk we could admire the view of the river Tisza and the Tokaj Mountain. Finally we arrived at the local sewage plant where we had the chance to get know everything about the procedures. It was very interesting to see, how the sewage is cleaned and made fresh water again and what kind of methods are used to do it. We walked around the plant, while a man was showed us everything and introduced the water cleaning procedures. I think every member of the group enjoyed this program where we could get a lot of useful information.
After the breakfast we went with our group on a short foot trip. We visited a beautiful plantation of grapes. Our guide told us about and showed many types of grapes. Today, we went to a famous vineyards where we could recognise some kinds of grapes, which we have already heard about. This trip was very intresting because we could see with our eyes what we just could imagine. We haven’t only seen the grape vines but we could get a better look at Tokaj’s flora and fauna, so the project participants could see some rare animals and flowers too. We could experience how the local people work there and how much they contribute to their famous wine. Wine production is important here and not just it is good for tourism and economy but it offers jobs too.
Today the groups had several activities and opportunities in the nature. The first team went to the Taktaköz with a nature ranger for bird watching. They could see a lot of high protected and rare species. They had the chance to see an imperial eagle and its hunting area. This kind of eagle is the biggest one in Hungary.
The participants saw small lakes where they could see floating islands which have their own flora and fauna. Moreover, some students found interesting insects and amphibians. The members of the media team took fantastic photos about students, animals and plants. Unfortunately there was a big mud and our shoes and jeans were so dirty, but it doesn’t matter because it was a unique experience to see rare birds and have a nice trip in the wilderness.
