Buenas dias de Buenos Aires, todo del mundi! Can’t believe how far I’ve travelled and where I have been in the last four weeks! It seems no time since I was sitting in Pucon, Chile and writing to you about all the things I had done in Bolivia and here I am in Buenos Aires. The time has flown and been full of highlights so I shall just have to be as concise as I can or this email will be a book in itself.

After leaving Pucon, we had the trip from hell to get started on the Carraterra Austral (Southern Highway) and the first really bad weather of the trip. It poured! And blew! and the ferry was so many hours late that we thought we would have to retrace out route and enter Argentina near Bariloche (they told me later that this area was famous for its cherry brandy chocolates – damn!) but at the last minute we caught the ferry. Then got the next ferry which was also running late and spent the whole night trying to find space to sleep in the truck, whilst on the ferry, and then while our intrepid drivers drove through the night to make to next planned camp at dawn. We put up our tents in the rain and crawled into them and didn’t come out til noon.

There was a spectacular glacier nearby (which probably explained why it was so cold!) and the rain continued. Next day was more of the same but the rain held off for short periods and that included when we stopped to set up camp beside a gorgeous lake, and the third day was a repeat too with no let up at camp time. I was cooking that night and had the privilege of sleeping on the truck but first I had to get everyone else off, as no one wanted to go out in the rain. Last day on the highway and the day was clear and bright and we could finally appreciate why our driver was so keen to come this way. Stunning! Amazing! Beautiful! No words can tell you how lovely it all was. Fields of lupins, wild llama, birds, cattle, not very many people and even less traffic, blue skies and sunshine. Well worth the three days of rain and perhaps appreciated even more because of them.

We crossed into Argentina for a few days to visit the Patagonian area of El Chalten and Calafate that are known for their mountains and proximity to the Perito Moreno Glacier and Lago Argentino respectively. I went hiking in El Chalten and managed a long days walking so my ankle must be all but healed as it still aches when I am tired. And we took a tour out to the glacier and it was thoroughly worth seeing. I took loads of pictures so – you have been warned!

After this wee sojourn, I went back to Chile for the best part of a week so that we could visit the National Park of Torres del Paine. It was spectacular, glorious and any other superlative you can think of. I tried to do a hike there that out leader claimed was ´not technically difficult´ but only got half way as he failed to qualify his statement with ´but it’s all uphill¨. Great day though and I had a great picnic view when I stopped to have my lunch.

After Torres, it was back in the truck and head further south for Tierra del Fuego. By this time the days were very long and even though it was cold at night, the days were sunlit and generally warm, so, eating at 10pm was not unusual. The mornings were cold and the early starts were not always welcome but the scenery changed every mile so it was always exciting to get further south. We took a ferry across the Magellan Straits and onto Tierra del Fuego, crossed into Argentina half way across the island and got to Ushaia with no trouble at all.

More camping and a boat trip around the harbour to see the wildlife and the shores of this remote place. It is a pretty place, with multicoloured houses and built around the bay at the foot of the mountains that ring it. The weather there changes by the minute and is never the same for long and the people I met were friendly and from all over Argentina. Because of the unstable nature of the peso here, things were much cheaper than a month ago so I did a bit of shopping. Great fun and not something I have done a lot of this trip. Honest!

After all this it was time to head north and we got to Buenos Aires in four days of very long drives with only a visit to a penguin colony as distraction. The country could not have been more different to the Chile Patagonia we were used to. The land was flat and no mountains or trees to break up the horizon. The roads were generally good but like outback Australian roads were long and straight and seemed to go on forever.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. BA was a welcome break and despite our concerns for the ongoing political problems there, we encountered no violence except what we saw on TV. A city tour, a group meal for two birthdays, a Tango show and it was time to move on. I could have spent longer and would liked to have visited Uruguay, but the need to move on and the lack of a visa made that impossible. We left BA in sunshine but the rains soon caught us. It cleared for the evening but at 5am the heavens opened and once again, my being on the truck saved me from the fate of my co-travellers. The tents fell over as the torrential downpour undermined the pegs and soaked everything: soggy people, sleeping bags and possessions straggled onto the truck. We skipped breakfast in an effort to out run the storm and finally did so at about 2pm that day.

We got to Puerta Iguazu and stayed in cabanas as everything was too wet to use. It took about a week before everything was thoroughly dry as we have well and truly hit the tropics now and evening and morning rain are the norm rather than the exception. The Iguazu Falls are spectacular from both sides of the Brazil/Argentine border and I feel privileged to have seen the big three: Niagara, Iguazu and Victoria. All amazing but I have to give the honours to Victoria Falls. After Iguazu, it was time to head for Rio. Another three long days driving to get to the town of Paraty, where we all got to chill out a little (and clean the truck, our clothes and repack and reorganise ready for the next leg of the journey). And now we are in Rio. It”s hot. It”s humid and it”s Carnival! Watch this space!

Thanks Jacqui and keep us posted! If anyone would like to contact Jacqui, her e-mail is: jacquitrotter@yahoo.com

What have you seen on your travels? Drop a line to the Beetle!

Atom Crater, a former work colleague of the Beetle has recently returned from a work trip to Bangladesh. This month and next, we include some of his observations.

Weather report: When we arrived it was very cool, below 20 during the day and nippy in the evening. I made the great mistake of going out one evening without a sweater and felt really cold. But it’s now warming up – winter’s over. It’s still comfortable (mid 20s) but a brisk walk during the day does make you sweat. But the evenings are now sweater-less. The dry season will last until May.

Rickshaws: You simply can’t begin to describe Dhaka without mentioning the rickshaws, which are everywhere, absolutely everywhere. I heard the other day that there are 800,000 in this city of 10-13 million. They occupy a large proportion of the city’s road space, moving like a swarm of brightly decorated yellow and red insects. They irritate motor vehicle drivers like hell, but are a very efficient, low cost, environmentally acceptable (except for the choking passengers! see air pollution below) mode of transport in a city that is absolutely flat. They manoeuvre with remarkable skill, squeezing into impossible spaces, and operate their own informal tidal flow system, riding when they choose against the traffic in order to avoid congestion. As well as passengers, you see them transporting vegetables, sacks of rice, bags of cement, building materials, timber, bamboo, filing cabinets, furniture, And they’re not confined to cities and towns, but are also the dominant form of transport in the rural areas.

Auto-rickshaws: And then there are the auto-rickshaws, which zip around emitting a fierce crackling sound and pungent grey exhaust. The World Bank has just published a report that blames them (along with buses and trucks) as the principal source of the appalling air pollution.

Wheel brushes: The Flying Pigeon bicycles (made in China) have a cunning feature: two small brushes are attached to the mudguard stays, front and back, which clean the dust off the rim of the wheels as they turn, thus keeping them sparkling clean. Is this a local adaptation or does it come from China? Would it catch on UK?

Hooters: Another traffic impression (traffic – and t-jams in particular – are a major fact of life here): drivers hoot continuously, their fingers twitching in quasi-Pavlovian response to the fact that there’s something in front of them, or approaching from the side, or coming too close behind, or ….what the hell, let’s hoot anyway! As with many things, it’s so reminiscent of Indonesia, where we had to teach Yayat, our driver, to stop this habit before it drove us crazy.

More about Dhaka in April’s e-newsletter. If you would like to contact Atom Crater, please e-mail the Beetle and she will pass on any e-mails: Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

Day 1. Depart Europe via Frankfurt, Lufthansa flights are cheapest, then overnight flight to Seoul.

Day 2. Land around noon at Incheon Airport. Take the Airport limousine bus into downtown Seoul, about 90 mins. After checking in to your chosen accommodation, Yeogwans are good value simple accommodation go for a walk to help ward off the inevitable jetlag.

Day 3. To get a first impression of Seoul you can take a city tourist bus that goes around the city, stopping atthe major sights and areas. A day pass costs 5000 Won ( US$ 6 ). In the afternoon go to Namsen Park and ascend the Seoul tower for a birds-eye view of the city and to help get your bearings.

If you are not too tired in the evening go to Itaewan district, for the nightclubs, bars and markets.

Day 4.Today you could start the day with a pleasure boat ride up the Hangang river that bisects Seoul, then spend the afternoon exploring the Gyeongbokgung Palace. The Palace is made up of dozens of buildings and museums. If the weather is unkind Seoul has many museums including a Rail Museum, a Folk Museum and even a Currency museum, hope to see the Euro in there soon!

Day 5. A day to escape the city, especially if it’s a Tuesday when a lot of the museums and public buildings are closed. Take an organised trip 60 Km north to Panmunjon on the DMZ, Demilitarised Zone. This is an area where the cold war continues. UN soldiers guard this border between the two Korea’s. You cannot go to this area except in an organised group, and you have to sign a disclaimer in case you get shot! The tour takes in the Freedom bridge and third Tunnel. You visit camp Boniface and are on the borderline between the two countries. An exciting and different side trip.

Day 6. Time to leave Seoul. Take a bus from the Seoul Express Bus station and head south for four hours to Gyeongju in the Southeast. Gyeongju is an historic city containing the best-preserved relics from the Silla dynasty. This afternoon visit the Stone Silla Cheomseongdae observatory, one of the world’s oldest and Anapji pond in town or take a taxi and visit the standing stone buddhas, or the Abalone shaped watercourse south of town.

Day 7. Today take the 40 minute bus ride to Bulguksa temple that lies east of Gyeongju at the foot of Mount Tohamsen. It is one of South Korea’s premier tourist attractions, so get there early to avoid the heat and the crowds. It is listed as a world heritage sight and is Korea’s oldest Buddhist temple, the complex is made up of over 60 buildings. Contained within are numerous treasures from the Silla era.

Day 8. Another short trip today, as we take the bus to Gimhe airport in Busan ( Aka Pusan). The flight to Chejudo Island will take only 50 minutes ( US$ 50). You can alternatively take a ferry from Busan to Cheju that takes 11 hours overnight, often through rough seas. The difference in cost amounts to only a few dollars so the flight is preferable. Mid afternoon arrival in Jeju. Take a walk to the Mysteriously shaped Dragon Head rock on the edge of town, or go to the Moksukwon road and see the optical illusion of cars rolling uphill.

Day 9. Take the bus to the Manjang cave area on the east of the island and explore the world’s longest volcanic lava tubes. Take the bus to Songsun Peak, so called Sun rise peak. If you want to be there as the sun rises, then you need to spend the previous evening in the nearby village. Walk along the beach and if you are lucky you may come across the “Sea women”. These ladies dive for pearls without the use of air tanks and are able to hold their breath for two minutes.

Day 10 Early bus to Sankumburi crater, famed for it’s diverse flora. Then head south to Sogwipo city, the islands second city, and a venue for this years football World cup. To the west of the city take in Yakcheonsa Temple, which is made completely of wood, then stroll the 400m to the Jusanjolli rock formations.

Day 11 Depending on time and tides take the ferry to Mokpo on the mainland, this trip takes 5 hours. It may be preferable to fly. You may have to spend the night at Mokpo if the ferry is late.

Day 12 Train or bus to Jeonju, a popular town with temples and pagodas in parks to the east of the city, including the so-called Two Horse head Mountain, that has a picturesque Temple at the foot of the mountain.

Day 13. Train or bus back north to Seoul. Arrive early afternoon. Last chance for souvenir shopping and wandering.

Day 14. Morning at leisure before transferring to Incheon airport for the flight back to Europe. With the nine hour time difference, you land the same day, but your body may not agree!

If you would like to contact Kevin, please e-mail him on: Kbrackley@yahoo.com

Imagine swapping your normal holiday for a surprise trip that could take you anywhere in the world doing almost anything.

Holiday Swaps offers you the chance to make this year’s holiday an unforgettable experience.

Are you a UK based group of friends or a family planning an adventurous holiday this year? Holiday Swaps are especially looking for you if you are planning a safari, trekking or conservation holiday.

If you have a good sense of humour, enjoy a challenge and would be prepared to give up your planned holiday for something completely different, then we’d like to hear from you.

Email: holiday.swaps@bbc.co.uk

Tel: (+44) 0117 974 7840 (24 hrs)

Address: Holiday Swaps, PO Box 791, Bristol, BS99 1DD, United Kingdom.

Easter would not be Easter without a quick diving trip. Last year the Beetle went to the Red Sea on a live aboard, and this year, the Beetle was at a loss to work out where to go. A Muslim country seemed like a good idea because there would be fewer tourists going home to celebrate Easter, but it had to be somewhere with good diving.

Oman came to mind as being an unusual destination with hopefully some good diving opportunities. The Beetle contacted Trailfinders in the City, in London, to enquire about availability, cost and timings of flights to Oman. It seemed that there was quite a bit of availability, and the price was not too bad, considering it was Easter. The next step was to find a dive operation and a hotel.

A quick trawl on the net found a promising looking dive school that also had accommodation, so the Beetle went back to Trailfinders to say that she’d already be told of an Alitalia flight and read out the day and time. The puzzled operative said, no, there are no Alitalia flights going to Oman and quite honestly, it is all looking very busy, I can’t see the flight you are referring to and I’m not sure we can get you there now.

The Beetle has been using Trailfinders for over 10 years and thought this a little odd. Hang on a minute, just let me check something, the operative said. He came back triumphant. Yes, we’ve got you going on a flight to Amman, in Jordan! If the Beetle had booked the first time on enquiring, she would have ended up in Amman and not Oman – a very sobering thought!

The moral of the story is: no matter how experienced you think your travel agent is, they are not mind readers, always state the name of the country, even if you think it is obvious, like Paris, Texas, or Paris France, others may not know!

Meeting news from our branches around the world.

Says Peter from California who wrote in to tell us about how he and his partner, Leslie, traded vans and reaped the benefits of cheap travel. “And we”d love to do it again! We put a letter to the Editor in a caravan-owner”s magazine in England, saying we wanted to trade our California van for theirs.

Four weeks before our 2-month trip, a nice gent from Norwich called to say he”d consider it. After we traded references and information about our vans and how they were outfitted, he welcomed us. We spent a heavenly holiday travelling Britain, and then he and his wife came to use our van to visit the great parks of the American west!

We saved thousands of dollars/pounds. Van trades are better than house trades, because transportation is included and you”re not locked in at one location! Campgrounds are very inexpensive and have nice showers and laundry facilities.

We will soon have a new advertisement appearing in the Caravan Club Magazine–we”d love to visit France for 2 months! Insurance is not a problem, as each borrower gets their own to cover liability and collision.

In fact, if any of you fellow Globetrotters out there has a VW or other van (fancy factory-outfitted vans are not necessary–we can sleep in a bare tradesman”s van just fine), we”d love to trade with you.

Give me a call or an email: Peter Reimuller, Box 4, Point Arena, California, 95468; phone 1-(707)-882-2001; reimuller@mcn.org. And pack your bag–you”re going to be in some wonderful places!

Sorry–April not available as we are taking our van to Indian Country to visit the red-rock mesas and desert wildflowers.”

Our first speaker was Phil Koniotes , who showed us some stunning glimpses of Antarctica. Phil explained that on his trip he had the great fortune to enjoy 4 sunny days, which is extremely rare and meant he was able to take some fantastic photographs. His pictures of icebergs, many of which come in strange shapes and spectacular proportions were breathtaking, particularly those of the aptly named Paradise Bay. His photo’s also covered the inquisitive penguins that inhabit this region, which come up to investigate their human visitors. Photos of the penguins included their nest building antics, which involves the penguins stealing pebbles from each other’s nests to build their own. Phil also told us about the Post Office which handles 40,000 cards each year, which depart with the prized Antarctic postmark. This was a fascinating talk with some superb photographs.

Our second speaker Mark Elliott came to Globetrotters rescue after our original speaker Juliet Coombe was involved in an accident in Australia and was unable to return to the United Kingdom. Mark’s talk was about the Kilum Forest in what he described as the most corrupt country on the planet, Cameroon, in West Africa. Mark’s mission had been to photograph the elusive Bannerman’s Turaco bird, which only lives in this part of the world. His photos took us via a local tribal war and a photocall with a local Chief. He showed us a local festival where the people dress in costumes and actually become that person or spirit, Mark discovered how literally they take this when one character relieved him of his umbrella, his neighbour explaining that this character was called “The thief!” Once up into the forest Mark and his guide trekked for a day and for one fleeting minute espied the elusive bird. His guide was ecstatic, despite living there, it was the first time in seven years even he had seen one.

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 on Saturday 1^st September. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotter Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website:www.globetrotters.co.uk

This is not for the faint hearted: if you are a regular traveller on the London Underground, here are some facts that you are going to wish you hadn”t read.

During Autumn of 2000, a team of scientists at the Department of Forensics at University College London removed a row of passenger seats from a Central Line tube carriage for analysis into cleanliness. Despite London Underground”s claim that the interior of their trains are cleaned on a regular basis, the scientists made some alarming discoveries.

The analysis was broken down. This is what was found on the surface of the seats: 4 types of hair sample (human, mouse, rat, dog) 7 types of insect mostly fleas, mostly alive) vomit originating from at least 9 separate people human urine originating from at least 4 separate people human excrement rodent excrement human semen

When the seats were taken apart, they found: the remains of 6 mice the remains of 2 large rats 1 previously unheard of fungus It is estimated that by holding one of the armrests, you are transferring, to your body, the natural oils and sweat from as many as 400 different people. It is estimated that it is generally healthier to smoke five cigarettes a day than to travel for one hour a day on the London Underground.

It is far more hygienic to wipe your hand on the inside of a recently flushed toilet bowl before eating, than to wipe your hand on a London Underground seat before eating. It is estimated that, within London, more work sick-days are taken because of bugs picked up whilst travelling on the London Underground than for any other reason (including alcohol).

Hello Globies! Our next meeting will be April 6th at The Wings Theater, 154 Christopher Street. 4:00pm sharp. We have yet, another exciting guest speaker. Mary Russell, an import coming over from Dublin to speak to us about her travel to the middle east, specificallyBaghdad and Damascus! Mary is a travel writer, whose latest book will be published by Simon and Schuster on June 1. Mary will be giving a slide talk to the London Globetrotters in June, and we get the sneak preview this April! Her books are “The Blessings of a Good Thick Skirt”, “Please Don”t Call it Soviet Georgia”, “Amazonian” and, in June: “Journeys of a Lifetime”. Mary has travelled to the Sahara and the Finnish Arctic, the Eastern Caribbean, Southern Africa, Moscow, Tbilisi, Dublin and Donegal.

Last year, she spent three months travelling around Syria on foot, by bike and local transport. Last November, Mary returned to Damascus and from there travelled overland to Baghdad. These two cities have strong historical ties and her slides and talk will be about both places, with up-to-day descriptions of what it”s like to travel in an Arab country. (She was also in Israel last year, obviously she has a great interest in the middle east!) Mary always travels solo and by shoestring. The last two chapters of her next book “Journeys of a Lifetime”, are about Syria.

New York meetings are held at The Wings Theater, 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 always, $8.00 for members, $10.00 for non-members.

In a Nairobi restaurant: CUSTOMERS WHO FIND OUR WAITRESSES RUDE OUGHT TO SEE THE MANAGER.

On the grounds of a private school: NO TRESPASSING WITHOUT PERMISSION.

On an Athi River highway: TAKE NOTICE: WHEN THIS SIGN IS UNDER WATER, THIS ROAD IS IMPASSABLE.

On a poster at Kencom: ARE YOU AN ADULT THAT CANNOT READ? IF SO,WE CAN HELP.

Write in and tell us your funny sign! Drop a line to the Beetle!Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk