February 2007

Another month when there was standing room only in Covent Garden to hear two excellent talks. Bradt guide author David Atkinson showed us what there is to see and do in Bolivia, including the shack where Che Guevara died and to show us the Butch and Sundance trail. For those more into beautiful scenery we saw the Salar De Uyuni along with the “Salt Hotel”, the National parks along with the trekking opportunities and a death defying mountain bike descent. For more about David you can visit his website at www.atkinsondavid.co.uk

After the break Globies welcomed back Juliet Coombe, last year she talked to us about dropping everything to go to Sri Lanka and help in any way she could after the tsunami. Her talk this time was about how doing that has changed her life, including meeting her Sri Lankan husband and living in Galle. Juliet explained that Galle Fort actually survived the tsunami intact because it is built of ships ballast and coral. The cricket ground near the fort and other areas close by were decimated, but they are coming back to life. The tsunami has made some interesting possibilities for divers including seeing a fleet of buses and what is now an under water church. The railway that we saw pictures of has now been repaired and Juliet’s message is that Sri Lanka does not want charity, but it does want visitors to return for their holidays so that the people can rebuild their lives with dignity.

March 2007

This month Simon Banks showed us his cycling trip to China, showing us how it was in cities like Shanghai and how just a few years later they have become ultra modern, with neon lit skyscrapers. Shanghia now also boasts the world’s fastest train; the Maglev which delivers travellers from the airport to the city. Simon loves Chinese food and advised us to always ask for “Number 31” from the menu, saying it’s always different.

After the break Globies welcomed back Alistair Humphreys – Cycling the world. This was a humorous alphabetical talk, an A-Z dip into his 46,000 mile, 60 country trip around the Globe, taking in delights such as the Salt Hotel in Bolivia and trying to ride his bike with his eyes closed across the salt flats of Salar de Uyuni, just because he could! He also showed us abandoned towns in Russia and the town of Mullet in Albania. You can read more about Alistair’s travels at www.roundtheworldbybike.com

By Padmassana

Next Meeting: Saturday, 14th April

Jessica Boyd – The Zabbalen, Cairo’s rubbish collectors and recyclers – Jessica, with Bill Finnegan, spent three weeks with this indigenous Cairo community and Jonathan Kaplan – A Surgical sojourn in Iraqi Kurdistan mountains Jonathan works in remote parts of the world, under the extreme conditions of battlefield and disaster zones. He has written vivid, wryly funny accounts of survival his own and patients in “The Dressing Station” +“Contact Wounds” and is surgeon, teacher, writer, TV medical advisor, photographer journalist and documentary film-maker.

London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month. There is no London meeting in August, but we will be back in September. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk