Well it appears despite testing that the eNewsletter mailing didn’t send the newsletter out, I’ll be resending it, if you receive it twice, our apologies.

As always, this months edition is available now and can be viewed online, just click one of the links below

• for the 2 column version (http://www.globetrotters.co.uk/newsletter/current.html)
• or for the single column version http://www.globetrotters.co.uk/newsletter/current.html)

Paul, Webmaster

Meeting News from from around the world.

Reviews and news about our meetings in London.

September London Meeting

Our first speaker of the new season was Mark Stratton, who showed us the Plymouth-Dakar rally. [link] This is a light hearted race where the vehicles are supposed to cost no more than 100 pounds and have no more than 15 pounds worth of modifications done to them. The route takes the drivers from Plymouth down into Spain, across to Africa and eventually via Western Sahara and Mauritania to Banjul in Senegal. The 7000km taking around 3 weeks to complete. The vehicles included a working ice cream van (ice creams are good for border guard bribery!) as well as more usual cars. Some vehicles don't make it and are abandoned, only to be seen a few days later being driven by a local. The ones that do make it to the finish are auctioned for charity, 134,000 pounds was raised last year, the only unsold car was an East German Trabant!

Our second speaker was Globie Martin Wright who cycle trip took him the wrong way around Australia. Martin's slides showed us some of the more quirky things to be seen on the way including old outback mining machinery and a house on the back of a large lorry. All before Martin rode across the Nullabor doing his best to avoid the many road kill kangaroos and the 50m+ road trains that have been known to suck unfortunate cyclists underneath. The leaning trees of Western Australia showed why Martin was going the wrong way! Up in Northern Territory we saw the prison boab trees and giant termite mounds that dot the landscape. The quirks ending in Queensland with a 70m wall made out of everything and anything including car parts and old motorbikes.

By Padmassana

May, June and July Meeting reviews

Reviews of the meetings that took place during the eNewsletters hiatus are available to read in the archive

• http://www.globetrotters.co.uk/newsletter/archive/2260
• http://www.globetrotters.co.uk/newsletter/archive/2259
• http://www.globetrotters.co.uk/newsletter/archive/2258

Coming Next: Saturday 7th October

Rory MacLean will be talking about: The Magic Bus. Rory retraces the Hippie Trail of the 60's and 70's, Istanbul to India revealing how the trail transformed the travellers lives and the countries it travelled through and changing travel – for ever. After the break, Sheila Paine will be giving us her insights on Afghanistan in a talk entitled: Return to Afghanistan; Sheila was smuggled into Afghanistan, hidden under a burqa, at the height of the Mujamedin in 1992 She has recently returned to see what has changed.

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

We used to have meetings in New York City and New Braunfels, Texas. Regrettably, after having done a superb job, neither organisers are able to give their time to Globetrotter meetings. If you are based in New York or New Braunfels and have the time to commit to pick up where our previous organisers left off, we'd love to hear from you – please see our FAQ or contact our the Branch Liaison Officer via our Website at Meeting FAQ. If you are based elsewhere and are interested in starting a branch of the Globetrotters, please feel free to contact us.

For information on Ontario meetings, please contact Svatka Hermanek: <a shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.

Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.

The Beetle would like to apologise profusely for the absence of the Globetrotter e-newsletter.

Excuses range from being trapped in a snowy Antarctica station, captured by Grand Master Slave Beetles, and getting lost in outer Mongolia, but unfortunately, none of these would be true. Work pressures led to the Beetle in not having enough Beetle time to put beetle feeler to computer.

The Beetle, however, is back, after having spent time in four continents twice, in the last 12 months, (work,) though about to move continents yet again. Let's hope it's for good this time.

Anyone want to guess where the Beetle has been?

Please do write in and tell us what you've been doing in the Beetle's absence! We'd all love to hear.

Terrific Tofino: the Esowista Peninsula is perched in the edge of the North America Continent. Next stop Japan! At the north end of the Peninsula is the town of Tofino, located in a protected harbour. Just to the North, you will also find protected waters, and directly offshore is the Wild West Coast.

Photo, left, the beaches go on forever – Tofino BC, courtesy of Ron Kirstein.

The constant ocean surge in this area keeps the surf breaking on expansive white sandy beaches. In winter, waves can reach up to 50 feet in height! North of Tofino, you'll find the Ahousaht First Nations Community, Cougar Annie's Gardens and Hot Springs Cove, and just across the harbour you'll find Optisat First Nations Village on Meares Island.

Before you enjoy all the exciting tourist activities Tofino has to offer, you must first find a place to stay. Since nearly one million visitors flock to this paradise each summer, it is best to book in advance.

Activities in Tofino: whale watching is the first of the must do's while in Long Beach. Our guide was John Forde of the Whale Centre. A seasoned veteran in the whale watching business, he offers a number of other services as well, such as Hot Springs Cove tours, bear watching, bird watching, and fishing. Experience the thrill of seeing whales, otters, bears, and birds in their natural habitat of beautiful Clayoquot Sound. Cruise through the spectacular waters on John's 24' Boston Whaler, searching for Orcas, Humpback Whales, Sea Lions and Dahl's Porpoises. Approximately 18,000 Grey whales pass by Esowista Peninsula on their way to food sources along the North American coast to Alaska. John's a master skipper who knows the area like the back of his hand. For a 2-1/2 hour cruise, he manoeuvres his sturdy boat through the powerful water with the skill of an artisan, all the while providing a running commentary of what you're seeing. Prior to our trip we were treated to a slide show of some of John's best photos, elaborating on what was in store for our Eco-tour of the area. Don't forget your camera, binoculars and warm clothes!

Other Must Do Activities in Tofino:

Picture, right, the Boston Whaler – Tour Boat, (photo courtesy of John Forde.)

Surf: Try Surf Sister — Tofino's surfing school for women, and Live to Surf on the highway just before Tofino, where you can rent boards and get good info on the best waves in the area.

Hike: Lots of spectacular hiking trails in the Pacific Rim National Park. Go to the Park Interpretive Centre at Wichaninnish Beach to pick up trail maps and ask for suggestions.

Big Trees: Take a water taxi to Meares Island and take the boardwalk trail to some 'monster' trees.

Hot Springs Cove: Visit by boat or float plane. The naturally steaming hot springs are 2.4 km on a boardwalk from the docks. A great experience! There are two accommodations at Hot Springs Cove – The Inchanter ) and Hot Springs Lodge 1-866-670-1106

Beach Walks: Beachcombing, long walks, sunset watching, relaxing in the sun, listening to the waves – take your pick. There are miles and miles of white sand beaches.

Sea Kayaking: Try Tofino Sea Kayaking and paddle through the protected waters of Clayoquot Sound. Camp on sandy beaches and take in the wildlife.

Photo, left, a sea otter near Tofino, (photo courtesy of John Forde)

Fishing: Try deep-sea fishing or fish protected inlets. Bring your own boat or try one of the local charter companies such as Ospray Charters. Bear Watching: You have opportunities to see bears driving on the highway into Tofino, on backroad excursions, while kayaking (go at low tides), and on boat tours. Check out the Whale Centre for more info.

Native Canoe Experience: Check out Tla-ook Cultural Adventures.

Scuba Diving: Bring your own gear and charter a local boat.

Bird Watching: Check out “Just Birding”, a local bird watching company, or charter John Forde's Whale Centre. John has excellent knowledge of local birds.

Golf: Go to Long Beach Golf Course.

Ahousaht: Take the water taxi to this Native Village and walk the boardwalk trail.

Cougar Annie's Garden: Fly in to these exciting and unique horticultural gardens and learn about the history of this unique lady. Ocean Outfitters (250-725-2866) also provides day visits to Cougar Annie's garden on Wednesday and Sundays. Their boat departs Tofino at 10:00 am, returning at 4:00 PM. Tofino Air can fly you there (1-866-486-3247) Roy Vickers: Visit Roy's Eagle Aerie Gallery and check out the Native Art of world famous artist Roy Henry Vickers in the traditional cedar longhouse gallery in Tofino.

Ron Kirstein is the owner of a Canadian Travel & Tourism Web site (since 1995). Ron has travelled the length and breadth of Vancouver Island BC Canada in search of adventures – see – http://tourismmall.victoria.bc.ca/travelmagazine

Conde Nast Traveler ran its 18th annual Readers’ Choice Awards. Nearly 28,000 travellers voted and many familiar favourites still top the list. Singapore Airlines is again the 2005 #1 International Route Airline, and has led this category for 17 of the past 18 years (in 1994 Swissair took the top spot). San Francisco, the #1 US City, has also been #1 for 17 of the past 18 years (in 1992 Santa Fe won the honour). But there are some surprises too: New Orleans made the top ten cities list, which it has done consistently since Conde Nast Traveler’s first reader poll.

Below is a selection of the results for the top three winners in various categories.

• Top Cities – United States:
• 1. San Francisco, CA
• 2. Santa Fe, NM
• 3. Charleston, SC

• Top Cities – The Americas:
• 1. Vancouver
• 2. San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
• 3. Buenos Aires

• Top Cities – Europe:
• 1. Florence, Italy
• 2. Rome, Italy
• 3. Venice, Italy

• Top Cities – Asia:
• 1. Bangkok
• 2. Hong Kong
• 3. Singapore

• Top Cities – Africa/Middle East:
• 1. Cape Town
• 2. Jerusalem
• 3. Marrakech

• Top Islands – North America:
• 1. Vancouver Island
• 2. Kiawah, South Carolina
• 3. Nantucket

• Top Islands – Caribbean/Atlantic:
• 1. St. John
• 2. Bermuda
• 3. British Virgin Islands

• Top Islands – Pacific Rim:
• 1. Maui
• 2. Kauai
• 3. Bora Bora

• Top Islands – Europe:
• 1. Mykonos & the Cyclades
• 2. Majorca & Minorca
• 3. Sicily

• Top Islands – Asia:
• 1. Phuket
• 2. Bali
• 3. Mauritius

Early on in our Mexico experience, we still had not learned much Spanish. In fact, when we arrived, our huge Spanish vocabulary consisted of about two words: si and no. We were in Villahermosa for about a month before we felt comfortable in most situations and that was only because we were experiencing full immersion learning of the language.

One big encouragement to learning the language is that we ate in the hospital cafeteria three meals a day. Unfortunately, they did not eat at the times that we expected meals. So, for the first couple of days we made it to about one meal a day. I can tell you that an empty stomach is a strong reason to learn the language. During that early time, one lady asked my wife if she could use the bano. My wife, knowing that bano means the bath, told her that she could not use the bano until the next day. However, the lady was asking to go to the bathroom. She was not really interested in waiting until the next day!

While the local Mexicans were laughing at that, they told us about a minister that had come over from Florida and had the church service while he was there. He showed up late and told the people that he was muy embarasado for showing up late. Unfortunately the words for embarrassed and pregnant are very close. He had used the wrong one. We asked a lot of people and nobody could tell us what his sermon was about.

My father in law was driving down in Mexico as a tourist one time when he suddenly was stopped by soldiers at a check point. The soldier came up and forcefully asked him something in Spanish. My father in law was all flustered and blurted out, “No speaka de English!” The soldier laughed and waved him on. The problems work the other way too. I had a teacher in high school who was from Germany. He had been taught English from the time he was in grade school. However, some of the subtleties still escaped him. When he first came to the United States he was asked to introduce a speaker for some meeting. He told us that this lady was quite large. In fact she was very large. She was also fairly important. Her reputation was of being simply tremendous. So, he proceeded to introduce here like this: “I want to present to you a lady who is simply enormous.”

You might think that I am trying to tell you not to bother trying to learn or speak a foreign language. However, nothing could be further from the truth. I am trying to tell you that along the way you may give other people a good laugh. But it is a rare individual who will take offence at you slaughtering their mother tongue. And, you can take comfort in the fact that when you screw up, you are certainly not alone.

About the author: Ron McCluskey and his wife Larose are both physicians. Between the two of them they have done volunteer medical work on all continents except Antarctica. Because caring for people's physical needs opens up singular opportunities, they have been able to travel where most others could not. You may find more of their travel experiences at http://ilovetravelvacations.com

Three years or so ago I tried to visit Bali to do practice, but then the first bombings happened and it became impossible to get travel insurance, putting the kybosh on my trip.

This year I was luckier. Despite last years' bombing and some countries still having a travel warning against visiting Indonesia, I was able to go and do the two week workshop in Ubud with Dena. We stayed at Ananda Cottages a little way out of town. Our Shala was at the bottom of the grounds looking out onto beautiful green rice paddies, with ducks quacking away each morning as we did our practice. Twenty five of us from all over the world including UK, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Sweden all here to learn from one of the worlds best teachers. For 3 hours each morning and also a few afternoons we learned. Dena is very observant and makes small but highly significant changes to our postures, my Urdva Dhanurasana (Backbend) came on wonderfully.

I came mainly for yoga, but it would be a shame to travel the 7,755 miles from home (my ever handy GPS told me how far I had come) and not see something of this lovely island. One day a group of us set out to go Buddha hunting. Kiwi Julie has a new house and wanted a stone Buddha for her back garden, so we drove to a road full of stone carving places, where the choice of available Buddha's was overwhelming. The ironic thing was that it cost her more to ship him back to New Zealand than her Buddha cost. She is now waiting for the knock at the door, though think she will need some assistance to move the one metre high carving when he arrives.

Another day I went up to Danau Bratan in the north of the island to see the very picturesque temples, which are set on little islands in the lake. This is picture postcard Bali, and despite its popularity there were not that many people there. We also stopped at the Botanical Gardens for a wander round, but it was the wrong time of year for the orchids and the cactus house was locked up.

Ubud has lots to offer as well, the Monkey Forest has to be seen, if only for the silly tourists waving around bunches of bananas, being chased by the Macaque monkeys who know a free lunch when they see one. I saw an Aussie tourist try to hide a bunch in her rucksack only for an eagle eyed monkey to spot them and liberate them!

The town has lots of shops to wander round, including a few that sell very cheap cd's and dvd's. And when you get hungry Tutmak or the Bali Buddha are excellent, the Bali Buddha doubles as a health food shop that sells cakes and other goodies, the granola is to die for to the extent that I even carted two bags back home with me. A couple of afternoons we went on guided walks with Dena's husband Jack, out into the rice paddies that surround Ubud. Beautiful scenery with the palm trees being reflected in the water of the paddies in the late afternoon sunshine. Locals would shin up trees to pick coconuts for us and local artists would sell their works.

Bali is extremely cheap, to travel around, to eat and for souvenirs. The only downsides were the amount of mangy dogs and the constant harassment when wandering around town of people wanting to be your taxi drive, guide etc which gets very tiring.

Back at Ananda I enjoyed my practice, my back opened, my shoulders dropped and my mind was rested. Massage after practice each day, had un-knotted my shoulders. Calm, balance and contentment had returned.

The World's Ten Most Corrupt Leaders

• The term 'most corrupt leader' is defined as former political leaders who have been accused of embezzling the most funds from their countries over the past two decades.
• All sums are estimates of alleged embezzlement and appear in U.S. dollars.

Source: Transparency International Global Corruption Report 2004.