Satellite pictures of northern Africa show that areas lost to the Sahara desert during decades of drought are turning green again. Analysis of images show deserts retreating in a broad band stretching from Mauritania to Eritrea, according to research in British magazine New Scientist. The driving force behind the retreat of the deserts is believed to be increased rainfall. This helping to transform thousands of hectares into productive fields – where nothing grew just a decade ago.
Category Archives: enewsletter
What Counts as Having Visited a Country?
Darrell from Washington, DC, wrote in: “someone who visited both Prague and Bratislava before Czechoslovakia split should get credit for two countries. Likewise, chalk up two countries if someone visited East and West Germany separately before 1990”.
Del from Texas says: “Easy, it counts if the part that split was visited”.
Henry from Hawaii says: No, one could count two countries if both Prague and Bratislava were visited before the split. It is the territory that counts since it is pretty much the same regardless of who owns it at any given time. A purist would argue that it would require visitation when the current state was in operation and one could agree with that view in order to keep the counting as standard as possible.
Nick from London wrote in to say: I liked the What Counts as having visited a Country? section in the newsletter this month. Years ago I visited a couple of bits of Yugoslavia, and I would note that as several countries now.
Our webmaster Paul sent in a link of the official ISO country list, for worldly travellers to tick ‘em off! Take a look at http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/prods-services/iso3166ma/02iso-3166-code-lists/index.html
This month’s question, from Nick from London is: I would be interested if people think it counts if you have visited a country for a stopover.
Have you got a tale to tell??
If you have a travellers tale that your aching to tell. Then why not visit the “Travel Sized Bites” section of the Website and share it with the world. Travel Sized Bites
Zambia: Where the Heck is It?
Greetings one and all. This message is coming to you from Lusaka, the nerve centre of quiet, peaceful and more or less desolate Zambia, a Southern African country just north of Zimbabwe. We landed in Zambia somewhat by accident. You see, it all started at the Zimbabwean border not so long ago.
As we left South Africa with our hearts warmed by the hospitality of its people, particularly the Bekkers and Viersters (noted in prior emails), and entered Zim a little wary due to the much-publicized conflict arising out of its recent elections, we were greeted by a friendly Zimbabwean border official who asked whether we desired a single or multiple-entry visa. We weighed the pro's and con's: Sali, the nest-builder that she is, decided it best that we pass through Zim as quickly as possible, lest we lost our opportunity to build our future nest in a post-election squabble; I, the budget-minded one, found it morally reprehensible that we might waste funds on the more expensive multiple-entry option when we had no intention of returning to Zimbabwe. So, for differing reasons, we found common ground and unanimously opted for a single-entry visa. The border official dutifully completed the paperwork in triplicate and, upon completion, asked our plans in Zimbabwe.
We came for two reasons, we told him: to see Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, and to relax on Lake Kariba, considered a gem of Southern Africa. With great pleasure, our friend pulled out a map of Zimbabwe and outlined possible routes. Only then did we realize that the easiest way to go from Vic Falls to Lake Kariba is to transit through little-known Zambia. In response to this geography lesson, we decided it best to purchase the multiple-entry visa and go along the suggested itinerary. Oh, so sorry, we were told, but he had already completed the paperwork for our single-entry document. Oh well, live and learn, we figured, and we left for Victoria Falls not entirely sure of our future plans.
Vic Falls is all it was cracked up to be: a roaring waterfall of immense power that kicks up mist which engulfs the verdant foliage and all nearby tourists; high above the spray, a rainbow arches atop the chasm that forms the Falls. Noting that the surrounding greenery enjoys sunshine and water in abundance, Sali confided that if she were a plant, Vic Falls is where she would like to live.
During our stay at the Falls we learned that Lake Kariba, bounded not only by Zimbabwe but Zambia as well, is equally beautiful on the Zambian side–though not nearly as prepared for tourism. Bidding goodbye to our newfound friend–the country of Zimbabwe–we sought the cool blue waters of Lake Kariba from the Zambian coast.
As for Zimbabwe and the oft-discussed strife, we found tension in the air but nothing more. Upon discussion with whites and blacks, we found distrust of the government and concern for the future by many. But we also found great pride among its peoples and appreciation for the beauty of the land by all of its inhabitants. While South Africans may decry the happenings in Zimbabwe, Zimbabweans will quickly point out that the number of violent attacks on Zimbabwean farmers at the peak of violent times is surpassed tenfold by the number of attacks on city goers in Johannesburg at any time of the year.
There is famine in Zimbabwe, or so we had heard, so we stocked up on dry goods before we entered the country, only to be greeted by well-stocked markets at the major stopping points. There is a shortage of petrol in Zimbabwe, we were told, so we entered the country with three full jerry cans. Admittedly, the petrol was of pure quality, causing our car to spit and sputter uphill, but petrol was abundant and cost us half what it cost in South Africa. Indeed, we did not use our stock of petrol until we entered serene, under-developed Zambia, where fuel costs three times what it costs in Zim.
In sum, our tour of Zimbabwe shot bullets through the misperceptions we had heard about the country, leaving holes in the blanket of fears we clung to upon arrival. Of course, that is not to say that the trouble is over in Zimbabwe (or anywhere in Africa, for that matter). As reverberations of empowerment spread through this continent, Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa will surely experience strife as each country settles into the foundations of its nationhood.
Okay, I'll get off my soapbox and move on to telling you about Zambia. After a few days on Lake Kariba, where I honed my fire-building techniques, Sali washed the dickens out of our clothes and we both improved our butterfly stroke at the camp's swimming pool, we set out for a campsite along the mighty Zambezi (Africa's fourth largest river behind the Nile, the Congo, and the River Niger). Driving as far as we could go on public land, we found the perfect spot, where the Zambezi meets the Chongwe River and wildlife abounds from both sides.
Entering this idyllic retreat, I half-expected to see a distinguished-looking man in a white three-piece suit and his half-pint sidekick welcome us to Fantasy Island. Instead, Ann and Bruce, a couple of expats from South Africa living their dreams in the untamed bush of Zambia as managers of the Chongwe River Lodge, directed us to our campsite along the water. Outfitted with a private ablution block (i.e., open-air toilet and shower, each fenced in with thatched walls) and a campsite on the bank of the river, our temporary home could best be described as designed for rustic comfort. The plumbing in the toilet worked great and the shower was prepared upon our request by a worker who carted, via the use of a wheelbarrow, tubs of hot water which he then poured into a 60-litre drum hoisted overhead through the use of a pulley system.
Nocturnal sounds at the campsite included chirping birds, grunting hippos, screeching baboons and an occasional fish breaking the water's surface to feed. Shining a flashlight across the placid river, one can see brawny hippos powering through the water and the creepy, glowing red eyes of crocodiles. In daylight, elephants traipse through the camp, tugging at trees and ingesting all the shrubbery they can stuff into their hungry mouths. Fiercely herbivorous, elephants eat about 200 kilograms per day (almost 450 pounds) of leaves, branches and roots. In the hot sun, hippos remain submerged in the water up to their eyeballs for most of the day, bobbing up for a periodic breath, and bounce on and off the land sometime after nightfall.
As for our interactions with the elephants, they were nothing short of spectacular. Literally, they walked among us. Sali and I were drinking our morning coffee one day when one slurped from the river not ten feet from us. The only danger with these generally gentle beasts is if you enter their comfort zone (probably about 35 feet in radius) without permission. After a while, it becomes not too hard to read the animal, so it is unlikely to be confused by its inclinations. However, I did mistake a never-seen-before elephant with the one that Sali and I had met over coffee. That exchange turned out to be a frightful one for yours truly, for when the elephant found me, a stranger, entering his space without proper invitation, he quickly turned from mild-mannered leaf eater to severely agitated wild beast.
Looking like he was going to stomp me like a grape, this 2-ton wild animal charged. Maybe it was because of my kindly demeanour, maybe it was because of my devilish charm, or maybe it was because I ran like hell. Whatever the reason, the big guy decided I wasn't worth it and stopped after a long moment, and I quickly made my way to the loo.
Oh, I nearly forget about Silkie, the domesticated Antelope that Bruce and Ann have taken under their wing ever since its mother discarded it at birth due to a cleft hoof. In the bush, any deformity is viewed as too costly to the rest of the group, and the animal is left to fend for itself. But thanks to Ann and Bruce and modern medicine, a vet repaired Silkie’s hoof. However, having become habituated to humans, she likes our company and sticks to the campsite. Silkie was kind enough to chaperone us on all of our nature walks.
Tourism is growing rapidly in Zambia and everyone has their finger on the pulse of dollars coursing through the veins of the tourist trade. On our second day, the local chieftainess (yes, a woman–duly elected by her tribes people), made an impromptu visit on the lodge to spy on its developments. We don't know the business arrangement exactly, but we do know that she leased the land for 99 years and keeps a watch on it now and then. When the chieftainess arrives, everyone jumps to attention, bowing and scraping as much as possible.
After several days walking along the Zambezi, talking to the elephants and searching for hippos breaking the surface of the water, we bid farewell to Ann and Bruce–a more amiable couple you will be hard to find–and headed for the somewhat bustling capital of Zambia, Lusaka, which is where we are now.
Michael and his wife have been driving through Africa since March 2002.
Land Rover Training Course
EXPLORE 2002 For anyone planning an expedition, EXPLORE 2002 – the place to be is the 26th annual Expedition Planning Seminar that will be running on 16-17th November 2002 at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in London.
The seminar covers all aspects of planning an expedition including lectures on medical issues, insurance, PR, communication, mapping etc and also workshops covering all environments from polar to jungle to mountains or deserts!
This is the place to find inspiration, contacts and practical advice that you will need to head into remote and challenging environments. For more info and a booking form visit: www.rgs.org/explore
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Cheap anti-malaria drug 'closer'
Doctors aiming to make a cheap and effective malaria drug available across Africa have been awarded a $1.5m grant by the Gates Malaria Partnership, based at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which was established with $40m from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000.
Experts will look at the best way of using the anti-malarial drug Lapdap. Tom Kanyock, manager of product development for TDR, said: “It appears that Lapdap would offer a safe and effective low -cost alternative to the drugs currently available. Both drugs which make up Lapdap have been around for a long time, and used for other things”.
London Markets: Covent Garden
Most Londoners see Covent Garden as a tourist trap, but they still go there, to eat and drink or pause to watch the latest jugglers once in a while. (There are actually some pretty good bars and restaurants in the area – head for Earlham St, Shorts Gardens, or better still, cross over Shaftsbury Avenue and head for Soho – no shortage of good eateries there!) For the tourists, there are the tarot readers and fortune tellers, the henna tattoo artists and the London teddy bears, but actually, a Londoner might buy some unusual silver earrings or something else you can't find elsewhere in the West End. If you are going to eat in Covent Garden, avoid the places close to the piazza. The only exception is Chez Gerrard (called rather grandly, Chez Gerrard at the Opera Terrace!) a decent enough steak-frites kind of place on the corner, overlooking the piazza with an almost impossible to find entrance.
Covent Garden market used to be a vegetable market but moved from Covent Garden to Nine Elms in Battersea in 1974. The old market halls have been preserved and are now home to stalls selling quintessentially English goods. It is open Monday – Sunday from 10am to 7pm.
The old Apple Market in the North Hall showcases antiques on Mondays and arts and crafts from Tuesday to Sunday, selling everything from jewellery and clothing to silverware and pottery. South of the piazza is the Jubilee Market, which sells downmarket clothes, shoes and household goods. The piazza itself is a great place to catch some of London's best street performers and buskers, although keep an eye on your wallets and bags.
For more info, visit: www.coventgardenmarket.co.uk
Trivia: Lithuania Driving Test
A recent UK Sunday newspaper ran a brief report about a five month study the Lithuanian government has just conducted.
As a result of the study, the government has scrapped a law that required women to take a gynaecological examination before they could be issued a driver's licence. Government officials argued that certain diseases in women could cause sufficient pain to hinder driving. “This requirement made our country look more than strange” said a health ministry spokesman.
Strange, indeed, says the Beetle, wondering what if any examination the men have to undergo.
An Afternoon at Alhambra by Matthew Doughty
The recovery from Rock Vivé's excesses was complete and it was time to see something of Andalucia's history and culture. Seville and Cordoba were considered but as our circumstances were only good for the day, the less distant option of Al Hambra was chosen – not to demean the site in anyway, as we were greatly struck by Domingos's whole hearted endorsement of our plans.
To avoid driving during the near 30 degrees C heat and to give ourselves a chance to enjoy our explorations, Alan and I hurriedly set off in our storm dirtied green Micra across the countryside, in search of the motorway into Granada. Much of this countryside, rural Spain at its' finest according to my imagination, was the perfect antidote to a hectic UK working life – whitewashed villages, rustic red earth, vegetable growing small holdings, rows of Olive trees climbing away from the roads and a sense of slowness! Ventas de Zafarraya, Alhama de Granada and Buenavista passed by all too quickly, as we were drawn into Granada's contrasting metropolitan modernity. It took all our patience to be able to follow the purple Al Hambra signs though the city and not get driven crazy by local driving habits – with hindsight it seems that my navigating took us through the heart of the city when we should have followed the well laid out ring road! There again I've often preferred journeys to destinations…
Eventually we, like many others, wove our way up towards the entrance and way from the noise of modern life. Perched on the cooler foothills of the Sierra de la Nevada, Al Hambra watches westerly across Granada and is perfectly located for generations of Moors and Spaniards to take a strategic view of this landscape. Like many well managed destinations, we visitors are only allowed in as controlled flow, rather than the mass free for alls that can ruin any experience. This gives the visitor time to enjoy the site and gave us time to enjoy one of Spain's greatest attributes – a lazy lunch outdoors! As when approaching Rome's antiquities, we were caught by fortune tellers on the way in to the site – in less than clear Spanish I think they promised me love, children, a happy career and a long life…all for a sprig of some unnamed bush and 5 Euros! Escaping their clutches was probably harder than storming Al Hambra itself!
Once inside, countless footsteps led us along the well maintained paths towards the many palaces of Al Hambra. Along the way I was struck by how the grounds are still so imaginatively maintained and how much water is used not only to irrigate but enhance the setting of the buildings themselves. No doubt the use of water in such a way during the Nasrid Dynasty (1238 – 1492) helped illustrate the power and wealth of the ruling Sultans. In spite of expressing such a political dominance, the buildings themselves bloom in highlighting what care and thought was taken in their construction and subsequent life…the current authorities describe the art of such efforts but I prefer to enjoy their splendid practical existence.
Though comparatively young, the palace of the Charles V stands out as a magnificent intrusion into the centre of the five, maybe seven, Moorish palaces. Its' square structure boldly enforces Christianity's eventual dominance across Spain and yet as a building masks an exquisite inner auditorium, beautifully marshalled with marbled pillars supporting an extravagant walk way and wide sweeping staircases. The acoustics and setting make it the perfect venue for summer concerts. Frustratingly I could not capture this entire image in one frame – my small camera just could not provide the necessary dimensions, so memory will have to serve me for the time being!
In contrast the Moorish palaces depict much more about the general life of the community that existed within. Although the fortifications of the Alcazaba stand majestically tall in guarding the approach across the Rio Darro, it is the inner buildings that take your breath away. Courtyard after courtyard rolls at you, enhancing the sense of peace that is ever present as we wandered slowly through – if the tourist noise is low enough, it seems as though you can feel past lives. At the centre of each courtyard sits some water feature – be it an ornate fountain surrounded by trees or multi coloured fish swimming long pools. Beautifully coloured and formed ceilings funnel light into the smallest recesses and small benches, built into the walls, allow views out across the grounds. Even the traditional Arabic style wooden doors reinforce a different world, a different Spain.
Now I could not be considered a gardener in any sense of the word but even I appreciated the gardens of the Generalife. These gardens sit across from Al Hambra and as you are slowly led up winding paths towards a small peak, a wonderful contrast exists between the red brick of the buildings and the vibrant and varied colours of the plant life within. Hedges mimic the walled fortifications and climbing roses arch across fountains. Vines climb up and along pergolas to provide shelter, which seemed to please our snoring neighbour as we sat to take in some of the scenery. Much of the ongoing restoration continues within the buildings at the centre of the gardens and yet there is still much to marvel at, particularly the amazing use of water yet again. Rows of fountains jet water down into cascading pools and channels seem to carry streams where gravity shouldn't take it.
Alan and I never discovered the source of so much water during our visit, but the masterful landscaping of Al Hambra certainly helped to recharge our weekend weary bodies and conclude a marvellous afternoon.
Matthew can be contacted on: chair@globetrotters.co.uk
London Events London Waterways Week
London Waterways week takes place between 7-15 September.
The event will start with the Great River Race and finish with the Mayor's Thames Festival. Many waterside attractions are taking part in the festivities offering special events and discounts. A special leaflet with details of events and discounts is available from London Tourist Information Centres and libraries from mid-August or by calling +44 (0) 20 7286 7306.
National Airlines Announces $1 Fares for September 11 Travel
The Frommers' August e-newsletter discussed Spirit Airline's giving away of all seats on September 11.
Now, National Airlines is following suit; the seats aren't free, but they're only a single buck, and all the money collected will be donated to a suitable charity. Vegas-based National is also offering first-class seats for their usual low upgrade fees–plus the extra dollar–meaning you can fly first-class from New York City to Vegas for only $201. You can take advantage of this deal if you can depart out of NYC, Newark, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Miami, West Palm Beach, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Reno or Las Vegas. When Spirit made their announcement, all 13,000 seats were taken in under 24 hours. For more on-line info, see www.nationalairlines.com/itn/index.asp?page=webspecials.asp.
You can book online at www.nationalairlines.com,or at any of the big three booking sites; www.travelocity.com, www.orbitz.com, or www.expedia.com.
Source: newsletters@frommers.com
What Counts as having visited a Country?
The Beetle has been having an interesting e-mail conversation with Peter in the US, but British, about what counts as having visited a country. He says that he visited Czechoslovakia, but now it is two countries. Does his visit count as 1 country or 2? The same must be true of the former Yugoslavia.
Which other counties have split? And what do you think?
Holiday for a good cause in Tanzania
Trade Aid a charitable trust whose aim is to create sustainable employment in Mikindani, Tanzania are organising a group trip to The Old Boma at Mikindani, at the end of October. With only seven rooms, The Boma has a Country House Hotel feel, but it does mean the number of places are strictly limited.
Special airfares have been negotiated with British Airways and Air Tanzania. As a Friend of Mikindani, and reader of this e-newsletter, you will enjoy special rates at the Boma, a beautiful 19th century German fort, faithfully and lovingly restored. The group will finish with 3 nights in Zanzibar.
The price for a total of 14 nights comprising 11 nights at the Old Boma and 3 nights in Zanzibar will be from £995, on a B&B basis (apart from the excellent food at The Boma, there are other places to eat close by, although half board is available for a small supplement) and is dependent on the standard of hotel selected in Zanzibar. The price includes free excursions every other day such as snorkelling and swimming at the scenic bay at Msimbati and a trip to the Rovuma river where you can watch hippos and crocs. The flight departs on Saturday 26th Oct from Heathrow on a non-stop BA flight to Dar es Salaam arriving at 0640 with a connecting 0800 flight to Mtwara. A Trade Aid representative will accompany the flight and the Zanzibar portion will have a guide. Return to Heathrow is on Sunday 10th Nov at 1715 on a non-stop flight from Dar es Salaam.
If you are interested, please contact: tradeaid@netcomuk.co.uk or visit: www.mikindani.com
The Beetle says that this is an excellent deal, and knows the Boma: it really is quite beautiful and the rooms are fabulous, some with hard carved mahogany beds, and white muslin abounds. There's a pool, stunning views of the bay, great cocktails as you watch sundown, good service and attentiveness – what more could you ask for!
Globetrotter Travel Award
Under 30? A member of Globetrotters Club? Interested in a £1,000 travel award?
Know someone who is? We have £1,000 to award each year for five years for the best submitted independent travel plan. Interested?
Then see our legacy page on our Website, where you can apply with your plans for a totally independent travel trip and we'll take a look at it. Get those plans in!!!
Curacao: the perfect diving spot for family men&and family women, Part 1
The whole story started when I wanted to go diving with the manta rays in Tobago. Unfortunately, at that time, the trip for a family of five like mine proved out to be a little bit too pricey for my shallow purse. It is then that the owner of Aquadreams, the very professional Gene Dold (Aquadreams which has its web site onwww.aquadreams.com, is a travel agency based in Miami and specialised in diving packages, with a focus on Caribbean islands; its prices are very much lower than comparable England based travel agencies and the service offered is first class [e.g., a specific email is sent to you to give you the UPS reference of a parcel that has been sent to you; the tickets for the trip came with a lot of documentation on the island and on the diving there; all questions are answered at once]), came with a suggestion which sounded more or less like “Why not try Curacao, one of the best kept secrets of the Caribbean islands?”
After some investigations (among other things, best thanks to Nigel Turner and Iona Hill who gave some very comprehensive answers to some of the questions which I had put on a divers' forum), I decided to give it a go and I must say that I have not had any single regret about it at any time.
If I were to describe the diving in Curacao at the Sunset Beach Waters Resort in a few words, it probably would be: “Easy relaxed diving on a magnificent resident reef, best dived at nights when all other divers are asleep, leaving you free to focus on what you want”.
But to give some inner feeling about diving in Curacao, let me try to make you share the sensations during one of these night dives:
“It is 9:00 o'clock p.m. and the beach is completely empty and pitch dark, except for the projector light and for the spare bulbs that are kept running at all times around the diving club, just to help the divers get ready. My buddy and myself are strangely silent, probably due to some primal nocturnal fears. When we arrive at the diving club, as agreed upon with Harry, the Dutch owner of the diving club, two tanks are waiting for us, bright yellow against the surrounding darkness, our own little lighthouses. We retrieve our equipment from the club locker and we gear up without exchanging a word, focusing on the “task” ahead.
After the usual checks (strange how at nights, such routine checks are even more important than during daytime to keep your mind from wandering onto more sinister thoughts), we walk the few meters of white sand that separate us from the sea and easily enter the refreshing waters within the boundaries of an artificially made lagoon. After taking our compass bearings, we hover over the ripples of the sand to the open sea, encountering in our way some ghostly grey snappers (Lutjanus griseus), which quickly swim out of sight.
Soon after, we come across the remains of a small plane sunk on purpose for try-dives. In the light of our torches, it comes out brightly lit in orange by all the orange cup corals (Tubastraea coccinea) that festoon it and only open at night to reveal their striking colour. This is a truly magnificent sight!
But, it is time for bigger things and we swim away to deeper grounds. A couple of fin strokes take us to the edge of the shallow waters and we peep into what we know to be almost infinite depths (during daytime, we have been able to get a glimpse of what lies down there and it seemingly goes down forever and ever, up to…150 meters, according to the local divers). We glide effortlessly down until we reached the agreed upon depth of 20 meters where we adopt a more horizontal course.
The first thing that strikes me is the variety of corals: although I am not an expert, I can easily make out more than ten different varieties in terms of forms, colours or shapes. Everywhere around them, hundreds of marine creatures are busy finding their way and food, from small, transparent larvae that hover in the open and which you can only notice at night when your torch lights them, up to some very large specimen of Caribbean spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus) and hairy clinging crabs (Mithrax pilosus), very similar to spider crabs. In between these two extremes, when looking carefully in all nooks and crannies and waiting long enough to detect movements, I can see little banded coral shrimps (Stenopus hispidus) which are commonly seen at cleaning stations, some Pederson cleaner shrimps (Periclimenes pedersoni) with their transparent bodies and their purple legs, several blue-eye hermits (Paguristes sericeus) as well as a delicate banded clinging crab (Mithrax cinctimanus) in the middle of a giant anemone (Condylactis gigantea).
Then, all of a sudden, a startling spot of bright turquoise colour catches my eye and I see a specimen of a juvenile Caribbean Reef octopus (Octopus briareus). For some unknown reason, he likes my torch and decides to spend some time playing like a young pup with me, swimming back and fro between the reef and me. Eventually, it disappears in the darkness below, changing colour at the very last moment from its original turquoise to a dark orange.
Then, something more sinister then slowly edges its way in the area lit by my torch and a hunting purplemouth moray (Gymnothorax vicinus) comes to investigate all interstices to find its “catch of the day”. The way this moray thoroughly and methodically investigates all potential hides, one after the other, leaving no ground unexplored, gives me the creeps and leaves me sorry for the fish that have hidden there. All of sudden, it does not seem a good idea anymore for a fish to hide in the reef during the night, especially if you consider the number of morays that hunt there and their methodical hunting process.
Other morays like the spotted morays (Gymnothorax moringa) which I observed during the same night dive, also seem to hunt in a similar pattern, gliding stealthily and deathly from one hole to the next, up and down. Later, I even get the chance to watch one when it catches a prey: in a split second, it is over. The frenetic moves stop, the water calms down and the moray resumes its quest for some more food.
By the time we have seen all these things, we have to get back to shore: using the shallow wreck of the airplane as an indicator to the way out, we are soon back to the club where it is difficult to acknowledge that already an hour and a half has gone by in what had seemed to be a ten-minute dive at the most.
Next time for sure, I will bring an underwater camera!
Boston by Olwen
Why risk the uncertain weather of the British climate? With airfares low and hotels reasonable, why not go to Boston to watch the match?? There is a big Irish community there, we'll find a pub to watch the game and do some sightseeing and shopping. What a brilliantly extravagant idea! I couldn't resist.
Shops are all over, although the Prudential Centre was close by the hotel and the tower definitely gave the best all round view of the city. Eating at Bonmarche was great, although be warned, the American sweet tooth and French toast combine to give truly disgusting results!
Across town in the North-West region was Quincy market, more shops and a fine food hall. The New England Aquarium is also located here with a brilliant tower fish tank. Also worth a visit was the science museum and Newbury Street on a Sunday afternoon.
It was a brilliant break. A combination of sightseeing, shopping and sore feet. The people were friendly and helpful, even when Wales won.
Seven Wonders of Britain
A survey conducted by the English Tourist Board has revealed what the English public considers the “Seven Wonders of Britain”. Participants in the survey were asked to select their choices from a short list of 17 possibilities within England. Here are the results of the survey:
1 . . . Houses of Parliament and Big Ben
2 . . . Stonehenge, Wiltshire
3 . . . Windsor Castle, outer London
4 . . . Eden Project, Cornwall
5 . . . York Minster, Yorkshire
6 . . . Hadrian's Wall, up North!
7 . . . London Eye, London
Source: http://www.britainexpress.com
Your Top 10 Small Cities
PRÓXIMA VIAGEM want to hear from you! Próxima Viagem is a Brazilian travel magazine that sells around 70 000 copies a month. For the special birthday issue of their magazine they want to publish a poll of the top travellers in the world, people who have been to more than 100 countries and are members of some travellers club. The poll is to ask travellers about their favourite small-charming cities in the world. It is a “travel is peace” kind of article.
Please send Denise your top 10 small cities that are very special for you and a brief biography of yourself, focused on travelling and the number of places you visited.
contact Denise by e-mail
Bob's Adventures
Readers may recall that for the last couple of months, we have had an appeal by Mike who was looking for his friend Bob, who was sailing around the South Pacific. Well, the good news is that Bob, Mike's friend did get in touch, so all is well. But here is a quick but fascinating piece on how Mike got to know Bob, and Bob's sailing adventures.
I, as a young engineer fresh from university, first met Bob in 1962. He had done an apprenticeship as a watchmaker and was therefore a “real” engineer in my eyes. After some initial arguments we became good friends and have kept in contact, even when I changed to medicine. About fifteen years ago he decided to sail, and bought an aluminium 40 ft sloop from a Count in Brittany, who had gone bankrupt. It was a bare hull with sails and engine, and Bob moved it to the garden of his bungalow near Chichester, and spent the next twelve years fitting it out.
He did a beautiful job, but did not have the funds to buy electronic navigational equipment; he uses a sextant. He was going to call his yacht Rabia, after my wife, but we thought that would be unwise because Rabia means rabies in Spanish. Two or three years ago, I lose track of time, he set off for Australia with his son. Their main problem was finding experienced crew because neither of them knew much about sailing. Bob's son soon gave up and returned home, and Bob has continued with anyone that he can pick up on the way. Recently he spent five months in the Marquesas looking for crew, and eventually found a treasure hunter searching for fifteen tons of gold in Tuamotu. They found lots of sharks instead. He has reached Pago Pago in Samoa and is wondering what to do after he has landed at Australia, sell the boat and retire, or carry on sailing.