U. S. Soldiers Home, Washington: during a century of travel (well 78 years!) both in and out of service I have travelled to over 150 countries (I count both North and South Dakota as countries) and for some reason have jotted signs and happenings that I thought funny at the time (and now wonder why). So here is the perfect opportunity to share some of my anecdotes.

The Brazilian experience: Be sure to get an immigration entry stamp in your passport before you leave. A tourist behind me interrupted the immigration official with a question and the immigration official did not give me a proper stamp in my passport. When I got to hotel I looked to see what their entry stamp looked like compared to mine. It didn’t look good. I was not upset but went to airline office and I thought they could straighten it out: the airline manifest would show I had arrived. They got excited. They made me go to Security way across town and said I had to go to a Notary Republic to get my statement notarised, etc etc. I wasted one full day trying to get this straightened out. When I got to security I explained to a man in the hallway what had happened. I waited awhile and was called into office. Behind desk was the man in the hallway I had explained what happened to. He smiled and entered that I had entered. I was going to go overland to Manaus in Northern Brazil and only discovered then that I did not have entry stamp. I suspect I might have been sent back to Security in Rio. I learn by my mistakes. When I did get on plane I was given a demi tasse of coffee in a coffee cup that I thought would be a good souvenir. I asked if I could keep it. The Stewardess said just a minute and brought back a cartoon of demi tasse cups. They must have heard about me! I said, “thanks but one is enough. Would you refill it?”

I read where some Mexicans tried crossing illegally into the States across the border from Mexico in a novel way. Border Patrols saw a truck go by with a portable toilet in the back. When they opened the door of the toilet there were seventeen Mexicans. They had paid $500 each to be in that toilet and there was no toilet paper.

One wag says when US customs ask you if you are carrying guns, drugs, psychotropic substances or any items harmful to the National Constitution, he always wonders what kind of person answers yes to a question like that.

When we got tired of filling our forms to enter different communist countries and got tired of all the red tape one wag suggested that on the form where it asked the reason for our visit that we put “penance”

At one border crossing someone was supposed to meet us at the border – but no one showed. It was a public holiday. The toilet on our bus had broken down and the lady in charge of the toilet at border would not let up in unless we gave her something like three cents in their money. None of us had any of their money yet and she would not take any American money. What do you do? Push her aside? Create an international incident? Suddenly I remembered that I had gotten a small amount of their money before coming and I treated everyone to a “toilet.”

Next month, Mac discusses: Thailand. If you would like to contact Mac, he can be e-mailed on: macsan400@yahoo.com

Cape Town has many beautiful places to visit and the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden is one of them. It is situated on the mountainside near Constantia and covers many hectares of land. When you enter these gardens it is like entering paradise. The hustle and bustle of traffic and the city fade away and you find yourself in this most beautiful of places.

For those who don't know this garden, it is the home to many of the indigenous plants found in and around Cape Town and South Africa. There is always a show of colour as thousands of plants in the garden flower in their seasons. At the moment there are proteas and many purple flowers in bloom. The lovely king protea being the main flower on show at the moment.

The gardens are laid out in beds with large grass lawns in between them. There are many large oak and yellow wood trees that provide shade and there are paths set out amongst the beds so that visitors are able to see what is in them. One area is especially set out for the visually handicapped. Plants with strong scents grow in this area. All visitors have to do is reach out and touch the plant to smell the lovely aromas given off by the plants. This is one of my favourite areas as I grew up amongst many of the plants and know their smells intimately. Signage in this area is also in Braille for blind visitors.

At the top of the garden on the highest part of the mountain slope are the cycads (Bread trees). The trees date back to the dinosaurs. The fruit looks like a large pineapple. The trees are protected as they take many years to mature. They are normally found in the Eastern Cape where they grow naturally. Unfortunately as they are scarce and popular a black market has developed. The authorities have had to take measures to stop the trade in them.

Lower down the slopes you will find a bath that is known as Lady Anne's bath. The story goes that she used to come for a swim in it but unfortunately the story is untrue. The bath was in fact built by a Colonel Bird after Lady Anne had left the Cape. It is in the shape of a bird and was used to filter water for his farmhouse that was found lower down the slope. The water in this pool is very clear, as none of the natural tannins of the surrounding plants have entered the water. The water comes straight out of the earth and does not run along the ground before entering the pool. When we visited the gardens it was a veritable league of nations. Sitting having a meal in the restaurant at tables on either side of us, we had people from San Francisco, Colorado and Australia. There were also Germans, Italians and Chinese and Dutch people walking through the gardens.

On the lawns between the beds there are a number of African sculptures which visitors found very interesting. They were sculpted from rock in the shapes of African ladies in various poses. The number of visitors posing next to them for photographs was very interesting. To spend a day relaxing in the garden is a must. The visitors I saw were just running in and having a quick glance and leaving again. This is a complete NO NO. To really enjoy this tourist attraction and the fantastic feeling of peace and tranquillity, one has to spend a good number of hours just savouring it. The restaurant can provide picnic baskets for visitors who are then able to find a spot to sit down and enjoy lunch and take in the views. There are a number of birds in the garden, which are quite cheeky. The guinea fowl will follow you around hoping for a handout if it sees you with a basket. In the larger trees are a number of squirrels and near the centre of the garden is a pond with a number of ducks on it.

This garden is not only a garden but a natural theatre as well. On summer evenings they have symphony concerts on the lawns and thousands of people arrive for them. It’s like a big family, most of whom pack a picnic basket and come and have sundowners while listening to the music. You can miss other venues and tourist attractions in Cape Town but not this one. Visit this one on your free day and spend the day.

A note from Geoff, the author of this article: a quick and easy way to discover Cape Town is to read Turtle Essays Ezine. To subscribe just send a blank e-mail to TurtleEssays-subscribe@turtlesa.com or visit my site at http://www.turtlesa.com and read the essays and articles on line.

Be careful if you are planing to take a trip to Sri Lanka. Up to 400 people in Sri Lanka are feared dead or missing after floods have swept through the Southern part of the country – a region popular with tourists. The downpours have been region's heaviest for 60 years has also left around 100,000 people homeless and sparked a massive relief operation.

Britain's longest national walking trail, from Minehead in Somerset to South Haven Point near Poole in Dorset, will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year.

The 630-mile South West Coast Path takes in steep, ‘hog's back' cliffs rising to 800 feet, fishing harbours, pretty villages and unspoilt countryside.

There will be a wide variety of events between April and October, including guided walks, talks and displays of works by local artists, writers, musicians and other performers who have been inspired by the path. For more information, see http://www.swcp.org.uk/

Source: Britain Express

Meeting news from our branches around the world.

Amateur and professional photographers alike, based anywhere in the world can compete for a share of the £45,000 prize package, and there's an additional competition to find the Young Travel Photographer of the Year, for those aged 16 and under. The Travel Photographer of the Year wins a trip for two people to the Islands of the Bahamas – where they can spend a day with respected underwater filmmaker Gavin McKinney. They also win £2,000 worth of prizes from Calumet, a UK photographic store and a bundle of Adobe imaging, web and design software worth approximately £3,000, a Lowepro Dryzone 200 waterproof camera backpack and a Manfrotto carbon fibre tripod. Individual category prizes include trips to Cuba, Iceland and the Galapagos Islands, and lots of other goodies.

The winner of the Young Travel Photographer title gets the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to receive personal photo tuition from one of the UK's most famous photographers, Charlie Waite. Their other prizes include Fujifilm's state-of-the-art S2 Pro digital camera with lens. Full details and entry forms from www.tpoty.com

Globetrotters meeting 3^rd May by Acorn

Our first speaker, Windy Baboulene spoke to us for over 45 minutes, without slides or props, of his time as a youngster in the merchant navy and some of the outrageous escapades he got up to.

His first story concerned his favourite safari hat, and how one of his children had thrown it out of the car window whilst in a controlled safari park in the UK; was he brave enough to get it back? That would depend on whether his story of lone survival on the Serengeti Plains was The Truth or not. He went on to tell us the actual events behind his Kenyan safari so we could decide for ourselves. He and his fellow shipmates had been on safari, but had not taken it seriously. They had played “dares”, such as running away from the safety of the truck and dancing – on the plains in the Rift Valley – around an imaginary handbag, whilst the nearby wildlife watched on, amused. During Windy's turn at performing a dare, his 'friends' drove off and left him. Just for a laugh, you understand. Was he brave…?

Another one of Windy’s stories was about being caught out boasting about his skiing prowess and being taken by helicopter along with some new found friends to ski from impossibly sheer cliffs in the Rocky Mountains of Canada.

Windy's story telling was not just funny – it was interesting and engaging too. To know more, you’ll have to buy his book, The 'Hilarious and often Bizarre true story' (ABTA Travel) entitled 'Blue Road', available from Amazon – to take a look and to see more reviews, visit Windy Baboulene's Blue Road

Our second speaker, John Harrison spoke of his seven canoeing expeditions up the Amazon. His slides showed the beauty and also the dangers of being in such an inhospitable landscape. We saw how John and his travel companions occasionally suffered the ravages of tropical diseases, including malaria when they swigged quinine out a bottle – until they ran out – and Leishmaniasis, (a horrible parasitic disease transmitted by the bite of some species of sand flies) that causes huge sores. We also saw pictures of the Amazon, the river, its tributaries, undergrowth, enormous spiders and insects, of hidden tribes protected against explorers. John finished up by telling us of the trouble he got into with the French Guyanese authorities for having crossed over into French Guyana without a visa – they had after all travelled up the Amazon! The immigration officials in the capital, Cayenne gave him such a hard time, threatening all manner of penalties, including a spell in prison, until he realised that French speaking John was actually British, and being a part of the EU did not actually need a visa to travel into French Guyana!

Coming up in June

Saturday, 7th June
JACQUI TROTTER A Year travelling in South America – Jacqui, a regular London “Globie” enjoys a year travelling – sometimes with overland groups – and sometimes “solo.”

SIMON MYERS China – Simon spent five years in China before riding a Chinese motorbike and sidecar back from Beijing to London. His first book “Adrift in China” has recently been published.

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

Are you planning to drive across South America, take your family sailing around the Greek Islands, or to experience living in the Wilderness? An independent television company is looking for friends, couples or families who want to give up their existing lives for an adventure overseas. If this is for you, then e-mail Sarah and tell her where you want to go and what you want to do there, as she can help with the arrangements and provide some financial support. Her address is sarahg@ideallondon.com

JUNE 7: Ladakh Ken Axen, who also presented the amazing Bhutan, will be back to present Ladakh. “In the forbidding terrain of the Himalayas, a robust people embellish their frugal lives with rich endowments of faith”, Thomas J. Abercrombie, National Geographic.

Experience the beauty of this exotic land through a slide show by Kenneth Axen, PhD, research scientist, graphic artist, and serious amateur photographer.

For details of forthcoming meetings e-mail newyork@globetrotters.co.uk or register for e-mail 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.

As a result of the US Airways Charlotte, N Carolina commuter plane crash earlier in 2003, the FAA has notified US airlines operating planes with more than 19 seats to raise weight estimates for both passengers (by 10lbs) and carry on luggage by 5lbs. Meanwhile, airlines have been given 90 days to either introduce the new weight rules or carry out their own surveys.

UK airport operator, BAA, has called for three new runways to be built in the south east of England. BAA recommend one runway dedicated to short haul planes at London Heathrow, a second runway at London Gatwick and up to two more at home of Ryanair, and BAA’s fastest growing airport, London Stansted.

British Airways and Germany's Lufthansa have applied to restart services to Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. American carrier Northwest Airlines recently announced that it had applied for permission from the US Department of Transportation to start flights to Iraq. The UK's Virgin Atlantic, which has flown emergency medical supplies into Iraq since the end of hostilities, also expressed an interest in providing commercial services.