Where exactly is the Black Sea? It is formed by three rivers: the Danube, the Dnieper and the River Don and is bordered by six countries: Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine. The population of the greater Black Sea basin is more than 160 million.

Nobody really knows why the Black Sea is called such. Some say that it gained its name from sailors and pirates who were struck by its dark appearance when the sky turned black with storm clouds. The Ancient Greeks called the Black Sea the Scythian Sea, after the not so friendly tribes who lived on its shores at the time. Shipwrecked sailors could generally expect no a hard time from the Scythians, who raided the wrecks and were said to have made wine goblets out of sailors’ skulls. The Greeks also called it Pontos Axenos – the inhospitable sea – until they settled in Crimea, after which they changed their minds and called it Pontos Euxenos: the hospitable sea.

The Black Sea is very deep (1,271m at the centre) but it’s less salty than most oceans. It began life as a fresh water lake about 22,000 years ago. About 7,000 – 9,000 years ago, global warming melted glaciers and the polar ice-caps, sea levels rose and eventually the Mediterranean overflowed through the Bosporus, turning the lake into the Black Sea. Many archaeologists think that this catastrophic event was in fact the Noah’s Flood of the Bible.

The sea is unique in having two layers, an oxygenated upper layer, about 200m deep, with fish life, and a `dead’ lower layer, where until recently nothing was thought to be able to survive.

A peculiarity of the Black Sea is the bi-directional current where it flows through the Bosporus straits on its way to the Mediterranean. The surface current flows westwards through the straits into the Sea of Marmaris, but there is a deep current which flows simultaneously in the opposite direction, back into the Black Sea.

There are plenty of beaches in The Crimea, of Florence Nightingale fame – some 517 km of beaches – mostly small pebbles and some black volcanic sand. Many beaches are public, and the private ones owned by hotels and sanatoria are usually open to non-patrons at a price of around 3 Hryvnias (£0.40p or $0.56 cents) per day. There are also naturist beaches near Koktebel in the east.

“Artichoke. It’s like a hard, rough, green flower.” The gears in my head whirred away as I searched for a description. All around me, serene faces carved out of stone blocks smiled. “What does it taste like?” asked Kay with pen poised. I looked to the grey sandstone heads for inspiration and replied, “A bit like… Cabbage.”

During the week, the Bayon and nearby stone temples of Angkor resemble anthills crawling with travellers. Two by two the tour groups scurry around the ancient monuments, up the steep sides and in and out of cool corridors, collecting knowledge, photographs and memories. On Sundays, the 200 carved faces of Avalokiteshvara smile smugly at young Khmers carrying notebooks collecting English words.

Kay is 13. He lives in the small village of Kok Tmey just outside Siem Reap. He goes to the temples of Angkor every Sunday to find travellers willing to spend a few minutes teaching him their language. That week his homework was to learn how to spell and pronounce a list of 28 fruit and vegetables.

In return for running through the list, Kay lead me to the bas-reliefs at the bottom of the Bayon where the first level of carving depicts daily life in Cambodia. “My uncle has one of these on his farm,” said Kay pointing to an ox-cart in a picture of Khmer soldiers off to battle. “And this is the village where the boat comes in from Phenom Penh,” he said, pointing to a panel that included a fish market. “Look at the chickens fighting and the old men playing.”

Kay tugged at my shirt sleeve. “Come this way. This is my favourite.” We walked to the western corner where a slightly faded panel showed a Khmer circus complete with tight-rope walkers and a giant lifting three other men.

From that point on ground level, the Bayon was a jumble of sandstone blocks. As we climbed knee high stone steps to the third level, the giant stone faces appeared in front and in profile, smiling above and all around. I said goodbye to Kay and left him and his school friends interrogating a Canadian girl about the taste of a guava.

“Custard Apple. It’s like a small soft coconut with green skin,” I explained as I sat in a deserted courtyard inside the Preah Khan temple. Bun, one of Kay’s schoolmates with the same homework, nodded and pointed to a small white flower growing in the shade of the rock. “Did you see the movie ‘Tomb Raider’?” he asked. “The girl found the entrance to the temple by finding the flowers. Just like this.” I looked closer at the tiny orchid, not much bigger than a thumbnail with five delicate petals in the shape of a star. It was a great reward for sitting still. We ran through the list of fruit and vegetables and then Bun showed me through the ‘Sacred Sword’ temple. We walked down the main corridor towards the central sanctuary. “Look how the doors get lower as we get closer,” said Bun. “This is to make you bow before the statue of Buddha.” Bun had no problems walking through the doorways as they shrank, but I could not pass through them without bowing my head.

The Preah Khan temple covers an area of 700m by 800m. As Bun led me over a pile of collapsed rooftop, I was glad that I had a guide to show me the hidden details, like an intricate carving of Shiva holding up the mountain and a queen statue that I would never have found on my own. We wandered down lost corridors to the southern gate where two headless statues stood guard against the jungle. “They guard against the monkeys,” laughed Bun, as the screeches of gibbons got louder in the treetops.

Bun and I made our way to the South Eastern corner of the temple where the Banyan trees had taken over from the stone. The thick roots of the trees gripped the 12th century sandstone blocks like the talons of a mythological bird of prey, providing a base for the trunk that dwarfed the remaining towers of the temple. “The jungle tree and the temple need each other,” said Bun, “The tree can not be removed. It holds the pieces together.” He walked with me to the north gate where he was delighted to find a French couple to help him with a postcard he had been sent.

“Persimmon. I don’t know. I’ve never eaten one. I think it might be a bit like this one,” I said, pointing to where passion fruit was written on the sheet. I sat with Jac under the cool canopy of trees covering the crumbling ruins of Ta Prohm. Jac pointed to a row of doorways topped by banyan tree roots. “That is where they filmed ‘Tomb Raider,” he said. I could see why. Unlike most of the other temples around Angkor, Ta Prohm has not been restored. Instead it has been left at the mercy of the jungle.

Academics argue about the merits of letting the site decay to satisfy tourists who want to feel like Lara Croft or Indiana Jones. Some say it is selfish to want to discover the overgrown entrances as if for the first time. As we sat in a green shady corner, listening to the birds and lizards rustle in the jungle, it was hard not to marvel at how nature had reclaimed the space.

We clambered over stones that had collapsed under the weight of foliage and in and out of courtyards that had been sealed on all sides. We slipped on moss and lichen still eating away at the carved stones and I tried to imagine what the place would have been like when 80,000 people had lived and worshipped there.

Another word was collected on the trek out the long sandy track to the eastern gate, Jac jumped backwards as a foot long shoelace came out of the grass and started to slowly cross the path. “Is it a snake?” asked Jac as I leaned closer. “No. We call it a worm,” I said as he furiously wrote it down in his notebook.

“Adventure. It’s a long and exciting journey,” I explained to Tola, a monk who lived in a monastery not far from Angkor Wat. Like most monks, he had studied English for a long time, but he still came to find tourists on Sundays on the third level of the main temple. We sat and looked up at the steep steps that led to the top of the central tower. Each step was about a foot high but only just wide enough to fit a foot sideways. “You get used to it,” said Tola, “I don’t even think about the height, I just run down.” He pointed to the summit as three Khmer boys threw their sandals off the top and onto the flat stones in front of where we sat. Then they ran, face first, down the steps without faltering. Tola grinned, “There is a hand rail around the other side.”

Tola met me at the top of the central tower. He climbed in bare feet straight up the side, while I used the thin metal handrail to pull myself 31m to the top. Once there, Tola pointed out the significance of the design of the temple. “This tower is Mount Meru,” he said, referring to the place where Hindu cultures believe the gods reside. “That is the ocean,” he continued, gesturing out over the walls to the moat of still dark water that forms a 1.5km by 1.3km boundary to the complex. We walked around the top level, traditionally reserved for Kings and high priests, until we were facing the paved pathways and main gates in the west.

The sun was setting and the Angkor sky was orange, tangerine, melon, paw-paw and blueberry. There was a colour for almost every fruit on the homework sheet…

This article can be found on Dave’s website:

dave@dmfreedom.com

Globetrotters Committee member Tony, a professional photographer and journalist writes:

Going home in a black cab in London, not surprising, but being dropped home by the ‘Minister Of Culture’ certainly was. Gilberto Gil a great Brazilian singer and now a Minister, was in London to give a presentation in the ‘Collyer-Bristow Gallery in Bedford Row.

He was here to launch ‘ondAzul’ founder of the charity that helps bring clean and unpolluted water to many parts of Brazil a country that has the most water in the world but at the same time some of the most polluted.

I was invited by Joao Fortes, a good friend who had helped me arrange permission to go and visit ‘Yawanawa’ tribe in the deep Amazon some years ago, so I have first hand experience of many trips to Brazil.

A very Brazilian affair in a very old established English Lawyers Gallery. After a short presentation, a video on flat screens round the Gallery, Gilberto Gil picked up his guitar and this place became the Latin Quarter. He slowly built up this very different audience of Diplomats, M.P.s, Environmentalists and Lawyers into a group with many of them singing along with some of his songs especially the ones he wrote while in exile in London. The pace quickened and joining in was Jim Capaldi the well known drummer, but not with drums but making his mouth a bass and drum rhythm section and he certainly helped drive it along. One of the Partners told me the place had never been so alive and with the wine flowing, the music playing, this did not feel like a winter night in London but a music bar back in the warmth of Rio. Sometimes you can travel without going anywhere.

So this is how after BBC World Service and other interviews, I found myself in a cab with Joao and Gilberto, heading back to town. Very, very early flights for them and a lie in bed for me. If you’d like to find out more about Gil, you can visit his website: www.gilbertogil.com.br

For more information, see; www.ondazul.org.br

March is Brazil month in Selfridges, London. www.selfridges.com

La “noche porteña”. Buenos Aires at night. If you are planning to come to Buenos Aires, and you think to go out during the day and rest at night. Please, forget it!!!!!!!.

First, make an early visit to some museums, do a city tour, go shopping in your spare time. After a quick lunch, visit a market, historical places (a lot in Buenos Aires). But you come back before it gets dark to have a bath, change clothes, have dinner and go out again. Don’t try to schedule your return, it will be quite useless: you just won’t make it.

Below are just some of the options available:

Bars and pubs, Concerts, Discos, Cinema and Theatre, Tango shows (unforgettable!!!)

In Buenos Aires, you know how the activity begins but never when it ends. Alternative options for bars and pubs can be with live concerts, Tango, Flamenco, jazz and blues, or attend castings, having a theatre play or watch a bizarre cinema, some offering table games, billiards, different sports, karaoke, office bars, literary, design and astrological pubs, cybercafes, tapas and Irish pubs, others (this is an important tip) the famous Argentine wineries (wine bars are spread all over the city).

If you want be active, you can keep on dancing at after hours, go to the cinema or theatre or visit our traditional book stores, located in the famous Corrientes Avenue. La Boca, Palermo, San Telmo, Downtown, Recoleta, Barrio Norte, Retiro, Monserrat neighboorhoods are all good for these kinds of activities.

And before coming back your hotel (about 4, 5 or maybe 8 in the morning,) you have to imitate one of our customs: for young people and not that young, is to have a delicious breakfast in a pub, in a bar or in a gas station.

SAFETY: Buenos Aires has experienced increased muggings and thefts in the past two years. Visitors should only take taxis marked “Radio Taxi.” Be extra cautious when travelling in Abasto.

LANGUAGE: English is not widely spoken. Basic Spanish, like the ability to ask for directions, is very useful. The Evita Museum has signs in English and Spanish but other museums do not.

SEASONS: Expect hot and muggy weather and higher prices December through March, which is Argentina’s summer. The best times to visit, both in terms of weather and cost, are spring (September to November) and fall (April to June).

Nélida G. Vilais the General Coordinator and Spanish teacher at the Buenos Aires Centre – Learn Spanish in Argentina. They can organise programs of immersion in language and culture in Buenos Aires & Patagonia. For more information, see:

http://www.buenosairescentre.com.ar

Meeting news from our branches around the world.

What is it: cholera is an acute, diarrhoea illness caused by infection of the intestine with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae via contaminated drink or shellfish. Transmission happens through contaminated water and food.

How do I get it: cholera often occurs in epidemic areas where there is poor sanitation and occurs regularly after natural disasters and war. Outbreaks are known to occur along the Ganges river and in Bangladesh.

What happens if I get it: around 90% of cases are mild to moderate and hard to distinguish from the usual sort of traveller’s diarrhoea. In more sever cases, cholera is characterised by profuse watery diarrhoea, vomiting, leg cramps, rapid loss of body fluids, dehydration, shock. Without treatment, death can occur within hours.

Diagnosis and treatment: a stool sample will show whether you have cholera. It can be simply and successfully treated by immediate replacement of the fluid and salts lost through diarrhoea. Patients can be treated with oral rehydration solution, a pre-packaged mixture of sugar and salts to be mixed with water and drunk in large amounts. This solution is commonly used to treat diarrhoea. Severe cases may also require an intravenous drip with fluid replacement. With prompt rehydration, less than 1% of cholera patients die. A 6 day course of the antibiotic tetracycline can clear things up very quickly, although rehydration is the more important course of action.

How can I avoid contracting cholera: the usual advice as per traveller’s diarrhoea – drink water that you have boiled or treated with chlorine or iodine, avoid ice, eat food that has been thoroughly cooked and is still hot, only eat fruit that you have peeled yourself, avoid undercooked or raw fish or shellfish. Avoid salads and be careful with foods and beverages from street vendors. There is a vaccine, but this is no longer available in the UK because health authorities believe that it is ineffective.

Our first speaker this month was Chris Bradley, whose talk was called “Walking Wadi Hadramat”. Chris made a 550 mile solo trek through this barren area of Arabia. Yemen is another country that is unfortunately on the No-go list just now, so this talk was a fascinating insight. Chris showed us Shibam, also known as “The Manhattan of the desert” thanks to its 500 tower houses, some dating back 500 years. On his travels, Chris took part in local events including a shooting competition and a wedding. His nights spent under the stars, sometimes literally when one hotel had no room he slept on the roof and on another occasion he slept on a garage forecourt in the middle of nowhere, only for his evening meal to be delivered in shifts by a local family. Chris succeeded in his attempt to walk the Wadi, ending up on the beach of the Arabian Sea.

Our second speaker was Rupert Attlee, The Trail to Titicaca – 7000 mile cycle adventure through South America. Chris and companions decided to do this epic trip from the tip of South America following the Andes up to Lake Titicaca in aid of Leukaemia Research. The trip didn’t start well when they were all hospitalised after eating some shellfish. But once recovered they set off up through Chile to Santiago, though they found it hard going, having done very little training before setting out. Before setting off they had assured their sponsors that they would ride the whole way. This meant that on one occasion a road tunnel which would have been too dangerous to cycle through with all the fumes, was closed for them so they could ride through safely, on the other side they were met with cheers from the drivers who had been kept waiting. Rupert’s views of the Andes were superb, culminating in their Bolivian goal at Lake Titicaca.

£82 was collected after the meeting in aid of Leukaemia research, thanks to all those Globies who contributed.

Next month, on Saturday 6^th March, Anthony Lambert will talk about railways on the Wildside – a look at a selection of the world’s railways. After the break our very own Jacqui Trotter will be talking about travelling 8 months overland in South America.

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

Ryanair have added nine new routes to its service across Europe. Four of the routes will operate from London’s Stansted Airport: to Linz in Austria, Bari in Italy, Erfurt in Germany and Jerez in southern Spain. Two will link Stockholm with Rome and Milan, two will fly from Frankfurt to Reus, near Barcelona, and Tampere in Finland, and one will link Brussels with the Spanish city of Valladolid. This will take Ryanair’s total number of routes to 146 from 11 bases in Europe, the airline said in a statement. Only a month ago, Ryanair was Europe’s biggest airline by market value, now this title goes to German airline Lufthansa.

Ryanair has been ordered to repay £3million – about a third of the £9million ‘discount’ it was given from 2001 to encourage it to fly to Charleroi after complaints that Brussels Charleroi Airport made life easier for Ryanair by offering cheap fees and subsidies that were not on offer to competitors. Belgium’s Walloon region gave Ryanair EUR3.8 million euros (USD$4.8 million) in 2002 for publicity and to subsidise a few very low cost, highly publicised fares for a few seats on selected flights. The ruling stemmed from a complaint by Britair, a subsidiary of French national carrier Air France, which said it was forced to cancel its London-Strasbourg link as a result of unfair financial aid to Ryanair. Ryanair had suspended the service in September pending the outcome of the appeal.

Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive, threatened to axe any loss-making routes. The airline said fares would rise by up to £12 because of the ruling. With the average Ryanair one-way ticket costing around £25, Mr O’Leary threatened: “This could double loads of fares.”’

And Ryanair’s latest initiative, just when you thought the service could get no worse… Ryanair has confirmed it is taking “no-frills” flying a stage further by ordering a fleet of planes without headrests, no seat pockets, reclining seats or window blinds. This would allow potential savings of more than £1.3m a year by removing all remaining “non-essential” items. They are also said to be looking at the possibility of asking passengers to carry on their luggage, cutting baggage handling fees.

For details of forthcoming meetings email newyork@globetrotters.co.uk or register for email updates, click here at our website.

New York meetings are held at The Wings Theatre, 154 Christopher Street(btw Greenwich St and Washington St), to the right of Crunch Fitness, in the Archive on the first Saturday of each month at 4 pm.