Imagine a virtual explorer that
\nallows you to admire pelicans taking flight on a small canal snaking through a
\nflooded forest, among marshes and lakes. Then it veers off on \u0218ontea Canal,
\namong wild vines, under the willows hanging over the nearing canal, creating a
\nspectacular vegetation tunnel. A few clicks away the scenery changes: a lake
\ncovered in water lilies, with egrets, great egrets and pelicans. Birdwatchers can
\nalso admire the cormorants feeding on Puiu Lake, or they can take a turn onto
\nSacalin Lagoon. On land, you can also explore the traditional buildings in the
\nDelta, in Letea village, or may take a stroll on the narrow streets in the
\nvillage called Mila 23. In the end, you can relax on the Sf. Gheorghe wild
\nbeach, or admire a panorama from the top of the old Sulina lighthouse. All this
\nis made possible by Google Street View, which last week opened the Danube Delta
\nto everyone.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Gabriela
\nChiorean, communications manager for Google Romania, told us how the team got
\nthe idea. It all started in 2012, when they seemed to be stuck, after covering
\nthe length of the Danube from Bratislava to Cernavoda. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Three years ago, Street View allowed people to navigate the Danube
\nvirtually from Bratislava to Cernavoda. We were missing something very
\nimportant. That very important thing is now available, inviting us to visit the
\nwonderful places in the Danube Delta. In the places where we couldn’t walk we
\nused horse view. The company used the tracker on islands, in the desert, but we
\nhave never used this horse view, images from a horse drawn cart. We covered
\nover 1,500 km, on canals and on paths and roads. The tracker weighs a bit over
\n20 kg, and has 15 cameras so as to cover 360 degrees. Images are recorded every
\ntwo and a half seconds.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Camelia Ionescu, project manager for
\nWWF Romania, told us how her organization joined forces with this Google
\nproject: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
I want to point out why we, as an environmental organization, joined
\nthis project. We have over 30 ecosystems with over 10,000 species that we have
\nidentified in the Delta, many of them protected, we can talk about the Delta as
\nan area in which we find the largest compact reedy area in the world. We, as an
\nenvironmental organization, keep in mind the fact that the Danube is inhabited
\nby people too, and it is important that they have their own distinctive
\nculture. People have been using natural resources, took artistic inspiration
\nfrom nature, have decorated their homes with images of fish, sturgeon, and have
\nbuilt thatched roofs over their houses. The Delta has economic value, the reedy
\nareas can be used for resources, while the fish population is an important
\nattraction for tourists: people come here to take in the sights, to fish, but
\nalso to taste authentic fish soup that they make in the Delta. It was clear as
\nearly as a year ago, when these talks started, that it would be extraordinary
\nfor any person on the planet with Internet access to visit the Delta, it is
\nincredible, and we are convinced that this will help the Delta find a place in
\npeople’s hearts. From there on it should be a small step towards protecting the
\nDelta, as people start to value it more.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Cristian Mititelu Raileanu went to
\nthe Delta with the tracker, and it is she that we owe the pictures to. She told
\nus about his experience: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
If you really add up all the canals and all that appears in blue on
\nStreet View, maybe it’s not exactly 1,500 km, but I can tell you that I am sure
\nI walked more than that, because certain lengths of road took two or three
\ntrips back and forth to properly cover the area. As for the tracker, this is
\nGoogle equipment in its mobile version, a portable camera system in a backpack
\nor on supports that allow it to be carried by a vehicle. In our case, in the
\nboat I had to use anchored makeshift wooden supports, because boats move
\ndifferently compared to cars. In the end it all worked out great, the images
\nwere excellent, and the colors beautiful, so it was all as we wished. One of
\nthe coolest moments was when we took a turn into a canal and we suddenly saw a
\ngreat flock of pelicans and cormorants, and I realized that all this would be
\non Google. There are some things in the Delta that you don’t see all the time,
\nwhen you take a canal you may see something one time, and miss it completely
\nanother time, like seeing hundreds of pelicans flocking on a lake or canal.
\nThose were the moments when I was wondering what the Street View images would
\nlook like.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Elisabeta Moraru, Business
\nDevelopment Manager for Google Romania, summed up for us the importance of this
\nproject: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Imagine, at 8:15 in the morning, in a small mountain town in a
\nclassroom, that the kids are coming in, and the teacher says: ‘Take out your
\nphones, today we are going on a trip to learn about the Delta’.<\/p>\n
(Translated by C. Cotoiu)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A project bringing the wonders of the Delta to the whole world to behold<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":135457,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42520],"tags":[43147,36005,43144,43146,43145],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-135456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inside-romania","tag-biosphere-reserve","tag-danube-delta","tag-google-maps","tag-mapping-project","tag-street-view"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n