New regime, new management, new ideas! Only taking over the show from last November, so how did it work out? Did they rejuvenate it or did they blow it?

The Photographic competition exhibition was gone, bad news – good news the sound system was much improved in all the talk areas. Travel lecture open theatres, did well for Nomad and even attracted more audience. Not so good for lectures using slides but I’m told made little difference for the ones who used digital presentations.

Amongst Gap year, and the sports adventure stands were others that believed in sustainable tourism; in fact, now a days all companies say they believe in this type of tourism; some I believe more than others! Dragon Overland, Queensland and even Gap for grown ups, were among the many exhibitors.

Wanderlust Magazine, Editor in Chief, Lyn Hughes led from the front by not only by having her large stand but also by putting her travel Advice Theatre next to it and importantly kept the sides covered to concentrate attention on her speakers and it worked very well in her case.

The Globetrotters Club had their own Travel Advisor Stand, (see picture left with some of our members and committee members) a little bit more out of the way than usual but it received many visitors and I hope new members. Personally I spoke to several who said they would check out the web site and think about joining. Dick Curtis who runs the London Globetrotter meetings (see photo below right) as usual did sterling work and organized everything with the new management. The members and committee covered the three days, each of them with an expertise in some part of the world or other.

Guys and girls from Adez fruit juice kept us supplied with cold juice which made up for the fact that food and drink is so expensive at the show. As is the custom with the Globetrotters Club, after the event in the evening, Matt our chair, guided us to a fine pub behind Olympia, without the aid of GPS and a compass – later I rolled off my bus outside my flat and thought a good night was had by all.

The climbing wall and the diving pool were good to see but I think the show lacked a few visual events; otherwise it is too much like one stand after the other. All the exhibitors were on hand to help or cajole us into going on to some amazing trip or other. Plus presentations on nearly every place you could wish to visit.

Visitor numbers seemed a bit down, but the new regime (ATS Events, UK Ltd) is going to have a few more visitor participant companies in next year’s show, and that they will start to plan for this, as this year’s show ends.

How did it work out? I think the jury still out but as they only had from November to plan and as they are continuing the rejuvenation process, we will know by next years Adventure Show. Every show of every type, whether west end musical or travel show, needs a shake up now and again as nothing can stay the same without starting to look tired and the boring. Visitors need to think they need to come every year and not just once every five years or so.

About the author Tony Annis: have camera will travel. Over the top but not yet over the hill. Past sixty five and still alive, my get up and go has not entirely got up and gone – like good whisky, I’m still going strong. I am always available for writing and photography commissions and still work professionally in journalism and broadcasting.

See you over the next horizon, Tony, e-mail: tony@annis.co.uk

I realise that in my first edition I spoke of starting with six publishes a year… I have had good encouragement from a band of regular contributors and positive feedback from readers– this has led me to believe I can up the pace a little. However I’m not going to get all complacent because I need to immediately apologise to Chris Hampden for losing his article “Spotlight on… Hampden’s travel blog”, from the January edition. Somehow it went missing from the draft and failed to make it into the final publish !! Anyway read away and leave Chris your thoughts on his blog…

A sadder task is to note the death of Sir Edmund Hillary, who died on 11 January 2008. Many of you will have read a range of obituaries, some like the UK Guardian newspaper’s http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,2239122,00.html which painted a broader picture of his life or some like the BBC’s version, http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3740536.stm, which focused his Everest achievement. I didn’t know the man but like many I’m fascinated & envious of the being first to top of the world, and I was quite touched as the Royal Geographical Society observed a minute’s silence at the following Monday night lecture. Do any of you have any stories or anecdotes about EH that you’d like to share… on what you send me, I’ll try to include the most original ?

And what are your travel plans for 2008… Which destinations are firing you imaginations, causing you to spend hours surfing the internet or reading guide books & maps ? And why are you choosing these destinations – what is the attraction ? Let me know your thoughts & plans… if you need some additional help, we can provide via the eNewsletter. One such person who is after travel advice is Eleanor – see Write in (1)… in small groups by Eleanor H Borkowski for her requests.

Another person on the move is Tony Annis – long time and very active member of the Globetrotters Club ! Tony is organising a trip to Brazil this July and is potentially looking for a few more adventurous people to join his very individual & very local tour. As to what his trip is about, well in his own words:-

“Basic idea London to Rio de Janeiro, a couple of days in Rio before setting off to Brasilia to change planes to arrive Rio Branco in the State of Acre. The next day pick up air taxi to Marachel Thaumaturgo. Across the river is The Ashaninka College of the Forest. A few days there (Festival on the 24th July). Moving on down to the village by canoe – around the village and further up river for the more adventurous to a water fall (a couple of days camping under the stars in the forest). Back in Rio de Janeiro by 6th August and free time or I take you to sample some of Rio’s fantastic night life ( Not expensive).”

I understand that the three plus weeks of a unique insight into Brazil is likely to cost in the region of £2000 and will include international flights from the UK and most accommodation. Talk to Tony at tony@annis.co.uk for more exact details and the chance to join in something quite different.

Hot of the press – Walking the Amazon : the world’s largest and longest river !!

Ed Stafford & Luke Collyer’s aim to be the first men to walk the length of the Amazon unsupported and unguided. I think that these guys are tops this month for adventurous travels in 2008,so far ! Enjoy their experiences of their journey at www.walkingtheamazon.com and who knows maybe when they return we might be able to welcome them to a London Branch meeting to share more of their time & what they found. Hopefully in the next eNewsletter I’ll be able to print more details of the launch party and the guy’s progress…

Enjoy your eNewsletter and keep feeding back on what your read…

The Ant

Mac is still not very well but is still e-mailing strong. In this month’s Globetrotter e-newsletter, he writes about American Samoa, his friend Frank adds some of his reminiscences about British Samoa and other random thoughts on travels that we love to hear about.

Sending picture postcards to self. For a while when travelling overseas I would go to a department store or cheapest place to buy picture postcards or go to travel bureau and see if they hand any free ones.

I would usually put down name of cheap budget place I stayed and how much and anything else I might forget and would have the foreign stamp on card date etc. This was before e mail. Unfortunately I wrote so small on some of the cards that I can’t make out what pertinent information I wanted to save, but here’s some notes that I made that I can read.

Apia Western Samoa, November 20 1978. Stayed first night at Hotel Tiafu US $19.26 and then moved next door to Appian Way Nala US $11.6l. The owner of the budget place was the sister of a famous sister that owned a more famous more expensive place in Apia.

In WWII Michener met this sister and supposedly got the idea for one of his characters in his South Pacific tales. Anyway, my landlady told me of a trip she and sister took to Rome to have an audience with the Pope (one for the public.) A friend of mine here in Washington DC who was a travel agent had booked an around the world trip for one of the officials in Western Samoa and had asked him to look after me. Mr Pinata Ah Ling, ex member of Agriculture.

He took me to beautiful government sponsored Hotel Tusitala (teller of tales) and then across the island to a beach where some of South Pacific was filmed etc. We passed cattle under Coconut Tree project. Samoans dressed in white carrying bibles were on the way to church where they sing beautifully. I was told Samoa has the most churches per capita of anyplace on earth including Rome. There was a new brewery operated by a German brew master. Valima (pure water,) was the name of Robert L Stevenson’s home on W Samoa.

Later while on my own a laughing Samoan policeman told me that Samoans consider it discourteous to drink or eat while walking. He was not reprimanding me but using this piece of information to open up a conversation with me. An American was running the Returned Serviceman’s Club instead of a Samoan veteran. To keep club open, they took in associate members that had not been in the service. He told me that he taught the children of man that befriended me and that this gentleman was dying and that is why he took a trip around the world and why so much of his conversation was about religion and how we should all try to get along. I am glad I got to meet him. If you write picture postcards to yourself write more legibly than I did.

Frank, also an American retired serviceman adds to Mac’s e-mail: British Samoa was one of the finest places in the Pacific. I was there from December 1942 to May 1943, then went to American Samoa to June 1943 next to Wallis Island French Polynesia and then in October 1943 back to American Samoa for one month, then to Maui until January 1944. I left there and went to Marshall’s for combat etc.

British Samoa was a great place. Frank explains that the woman who ran the expensive place in Apia was Aggie Grey. She was the girl friend of MG Charles F. B. Price, CG of Samoan area. He used to send his PBY, (airplane) over Apia to bring her over to his place in Am Samoa.

I still speak a little Samoan. It came in handy in early 90’s when I was working in Hawaii. A lot of Samoans live there. When they found out I could speak some Samoan they couldn’t do enough for me. I like British Samoa better than any place I was in WWII. When someone died, there would be a feast and I would go out to the village Luemwinga, can’t spell it, that is a phonetic version. It was about two miles from airport. If I heard the drums being beaten, they actually were hollowed out logs, I could tell which were from Luemwinga. I would go out to the village and go in the bush and shoot a couple pigs for them. I always made it to the feast. I was sort of adopted by the village. Have never been back to British Samoa but have passed through American Samoa several times, last time in December 1999. I could tell you many tales about the place…

Mac is a huge fan of Lew Toulmin who wrote book The Most Travelled Man on Earth wrote about a rare British (Scottish) Medal, The Order of the Thistle which is granted to only sixteen distinguished Scotsmen, making it the probably the most exclusive order in the world.

In one chapter of his book, he wrote about the last Japanese soldier hiding out in Guam – seeing Guam the hard way, living twenty eight years in a hole. The ironies of his situation are amazing. While Yoki crouched in his cave, planeloads of Japanese tourists arrived every hour delighted to sun themselves on Guam’s beaches just miles from his cave.

Within nine months of his return to Japan he married a younger woman. They took their honeymoon where many Japanese couples do – on Guam. His call up letter in Japan had read, “Leave home as if you were going out for a stroll. Do not pack. Do not say goodbye to your family.”

Nearby Johnston Atoll is a chemical weapons facility southwest of Hawaii and run by the US government and Raytheon. The only way to really see the island is to get a degree in chemical warfare and join Raytheon.

One time I wrote a fan letter to a deal lady that travelled on her own in China and wrote book I Never Heard the Temple Bells. She answered that she was leaving that morning driving to California.

Another interesting nugget: I read somewhere that Paul Warren of Pitcairn Island descendent of Fletcher Christian has two necklaces that include nails from HMS Bounty.

If you would like to get in touch with Mac, he is happy to correspond by e-mail when he is well. His e-mail address is: macsan400@yahoo.com

This year I received quite an unusual Christmas card from Myrna & Gene, who I’d met whilst sailing aboard the Soren Larssen in the Pacific Ocean – they related some of their latest adventures and I thought I share some of them with you, as there’s plenty of travel related detail in what they had to say. The Ant!!

As we were in South Africa at Christmas, our greetings to all of you are a little late! We were gone from mid-Oct. until the end of Jan. sailing as crew from Madagascar to Mozambique through part of the Bazarito Archipelago and on to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique before heading to Richards Bay & Durban in South Africa. The sailing vessel we were on was a 40′ sloop named “Juno” captained by Tom Hildebrandt, who had been on the boat since he bought it in Australia in 2004. School teacher Frances from San Francisco joined us in Madagascar and participated as crew until we reached Maputo. We helped with all manner of jobs whilst on board – from sailing the boat, scrubbing decks as well as the sides of the boat, stood watch, baked bread, cook meals, washed clothes in buckets on deck and helped with repairs as directed by the skipper.

On a small boat quarters are cramped, water is at a premium and mainly used for drinking & cooking, refrigeration is very limited and provisions are shopped for & brought to the dinghy and taken to the boat at anchor. On boats there is always something breaking down…just in the time that we were aboard “Juno” the boom broke off the mast, the windlass for bringing up the anchor chain quit working, the water intake plugged and the engine overheated & part of it melted! As a result we stayed tied up to the wharf in Richards Bay for a month while most of the major repairs were made. During this time Gene and I took off for two weeks to explore inland. Lyn from Malule Safaris took us to some wonderful nature reserves and escorted us personally through Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park, Dumazulu Cultural Village, the greater St. Lucia Wetland Estuary & Reserve and Kruger National Park. We saw white rhinoceros’s, elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, cape buffalo, hippos, crocodiles, nyala, duikers, water buck, warthogs, baboons, monkeys, hyenas, elands, steinboks, lions, leopards, and a great variety of birds. We also went up to the pinnacle at Blyde River Canyon to see the spectacular view from what is called God’s window. The day after our tour was completed Lyn took us to the farm where she grew up to meet her mom and dad and they invited us for Christmas dinner. What a treat!!!

We spent 6 days and nights at Imhambri Lodge in Meerensee which was a delightful place to stay. From here we were able to walk to the Methodist Church close by for a Christmas carol sing-a-long and a potluck Christmas morning service. They truly made us feel welcome. Back to the boat by the end of December and after two weeks we reached Durban, where we again were able to tie up to the wharf. Here we made friends with a number of the other yachties and were able to take real showers at their club. We also took a couple of day tours – one to The Giants Castle in the Drakensburg mountains to see the San bushman rock art paintings from thousands of years ago and the other to explore historic Pietermaritzburg & Howick Falls. The big thrill was to be zip lined on a canopy tour over the Karkloof falls and forest – what a ride harnessed and zipping along on the cable to eight different platforms.

We decided to get off the boat on 16th January and caught the backpackers Baz Bus to Capetown, where we had a marvellous eight days in Cape Town and then two days in Simons Town on the beach. Our spots visited list included the top of Table Mountain in the Cable Cars, a winery tour and walk through the Kristenbosch Botanical Gardens. There are frequent power outages in Cape Town and one night the tourists in the cable cars had to be rescued by the Search & Rescue team by crawling out the hatch on the top of the car and then being lowered down in harnesses & ropes to safety far below! Eating conjured up a number of good restaurants – my favourite being “Mama Africa” where I had crocodile kabobs and Gene had springbok steak! Our last two days were spent near the beach at Top Sails lodge in Simons Town where The Boulders National Park, spending a delightful day on the beach with the penguins, protected by the large boulders so the wind which always blows wasn’t quite as strong.

Love and have a very happy New Year! Myrna and Gene

Meeting news from our branches around the world.

July’s London meeting took place on the other side of Covent Garden at The Concert Artists Association, due to the building work at our usual Church of Scotland venue. The September meeting will also take place there, as the building work continues. The meeting was an opportunity for 8 club members to take us on a digital journey around the globe.

Kevin Brackley started the show with a trip through Iran and Pakistan, we saw Tehran’s big square and the ex US Embassy before taking in the beauty of the Esfahan mosques, the now destroyed city of Bam and some interesting roads in Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan where he tried his hand at firing an AK47 Kalashnikov.

Sue Baker then took us east to Nepal, where she flew into Lukla and then trekked to show us wonderful mountain Monasteries and the Himalaya, including Mount Everest, staying in stone built mountain huts along the way. Sue finished in Katmandu, home to colourful Buddhist stupas and Pottery Square.

Sheila Nicholls showed us another high altitude destination, Chile and the Atacama Desert, visiting San Pedro, the regions main town, from where she saw brilliant red coloured volcanoes. The Atacama region is also home to blinding white salt flats, places making furniture from cactus wood and the spectacular El Tatio geysers.

Raymond Martin brought us back across the Atlantic to Romanian Danube delta. This corner of Europe squashed between the Black Sea and Ukraine is not connected to the European road system and as such is mainly only accessible by boat. No doubt it is this inaccessibility that has contributed to it being a world heritage area that is home to more than 300 types of wildlife. Ray showed us the navigable rivers including the 1991 shipwreck of The Vostock.

After the break it was Globies resident Aussie Jacqui Trotter to take us down under for a trip she made with her Dad from Darwin back to her home in New South Wales. Her trip was at the start of the wet season which meant she saw water cascading off Uluru and the Todd River in Alice Springs with water in! She also showed us Katherine Gorge and The Devils Marbles, huge roadside boulders in the middle of nowhere. Jacqui showed us the now running again Ghan train snaking its way along before ending back at the Blue Mountains in NSW.

Rosalie Bolland’s fascination with waterfalls took her on an organised trip to see the Angel falls in Venezuela, we saw the actual aircraft that Jimmy Angel crash landed on top of the falls. Rosalie got some great views flying over the falls in a light aircraft and the taking a boat to see them from closer up, though the falls are so large she had difficulty getting them into one photograph.

Neil Harris took us back to the sub continent to visit Bangladesh, showing us that in fact it is not all just flooded as out TV pictures seem to show us there is some higher ground there, with markets and towns such as Cox’s Bazaar, where the people were fascinated by seeing their picture on his digital camera. Neil’s pictures showed us happy smiling people and some great beaches.

Ernest Flesch transported us to Yemen in the Middle East, we saw Palaces in the capital Sana’a, where the locals spend their afternoons chewing qat. Out in the desert of wadi hadramat we saw mud brick skyscrapers and mosques with red and white minarets and not forgetting camels. The men all carried arms and knives, which were on display in the shops, though don’t know how Ernest managed to sneak those back into the UK!

Many thanks to all the members who made it a very enjoyable afternoon.

By Padmassana

September’s meeting will take place on 3rd September at a change to our usual venue: Concert Artistes Association 20 Bedford Street Covent Garden London WC2E 9HP Start 3.00 pm

Jules Stewart will be talking about “The North-West Frontier and the Men who guard the Khyber Pass” Jules is a former Reuter’s reporter – now freelance and author of ” The Khyber Rifles: from the British Raj to Al Queda” and now working on a book about the Pundits.

After the break, Juliet Coombe will talk about “Sir-Lanka post-Tsunami – In a crisis, EVERYONE counts !” Juliet is a very busy freelance travel writer, photographer and publisher and more. She cleared her desk and flew to Sri Lanka to work as a volunteer with a charity group. A subsequent photographic exhibition was a complete sell out, and will build a heap of houses.

London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month. There is no London meeting in August, but we will be back in September. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk

We are sorry to say that for the time being, New York meetings are suspended as Laurie really needs a helper. If you have some time to spare and are based in or near NYC, please contact Laurie on the e-mail address below.

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.

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

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

Due to bereavement in Christina’s family, we regret to say that Texas meetings have stopped pending further notice. If you have time to spare and would like to take over Texas meetings, please contact the Beetle on: beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

If you enjoy writing, enjoy travelling, why not write for the free monthly Globetrotters e-newsletter! The Beetle would love to hear from you: your travel stories, anecdotes, jokes, questions, hints and tips, or your hometown or somewhere of special interest to you. Over 8,000 people currently subscribe to the Globetrotter e-news.

To see your story in cyber print, e-mail the Beetle with your travel experiences, hints and tips or questions up to 750 words, together with a couple of sentences about yourself and a contact e-mail address to Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

When I told people I was going to Slovenia, the reactions I got were similar: “Where?” “What? Is that a country?” “Hmm, never heard of it” and “What is that near?” My mother asked if it was dangerous and my brother simply laughed.

If you don’t know where Slovenia is or you didn’t even know it existed, you shouldn’t be ashamed. It is one of Europe’s smallest countries with a population of less than 2 million. The capital city, Ljubljana, has fewer than 300,000 inhabitants. It is a “new” country in the sense that it has only existed as its own nation since 1991, when it became the first republic to separate from the former Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia.

Slovenia was fortunate in that it managed to gain independence without suffering from the war and genocide that befell its neighbours, Croatia and Bosnia. This is partially explained by the fact that Slovenia is ethnically pure relative to its neighbours: most people living in Slovenia are Slovene and Catholic. Further east, there was a patchwork of ethnic and religious groups that left no clear dividing lines.

After Slovenia’s plebiscite for independence yielded 88% in favour of breaking from the Yugoslav federation, there was a brief conflict with Belgrade dubbed the “Ten-Day War.” I asked for details, but Nikolaj (one of the Slovenes I befriended) told me it was not really a war. I wanted to know what it was like living through the separation, but he told me there were only a few skirmishes and less than 20 Slovenes died.

Nikolaj was extremely proud of his country and heritage. He insisted that he was “patriotic, not nationalistic,” although I began to doubt this assertion after he made a few comments along the order of “Slovenes only leave Slovenia to realize it is the best country and come back.” He was convinced that Slovene wine was better than French wine. He told me which of the songs playing at the bar were Serbian nationalistic anthems and which ones were Slovene folk songs.

He took me to a bar where there was a painting of Tito on the wall and the bartender forgot to charge us for our Laskov beers. Nikolaj insisted that I sample all of Slovenia’s drinks, including beers from the two national breweries (Laskov and Union) and several spirits distilled from blueberries and anise, whose names I would mention except they are utterly impossible to pronounce, spell, or even remember for that matter.

The beauty of the Slovene language is that it does not restrict itself with the requirement that words actually contain vowels. Words comprised entirely of consonants (e.g. trg, vrt, smrt) are fully acceptable, although Nikolaj tried to convince me that all these words contain “silent vowels.” Other words contain an unnaturally long string of consonants (e.g. odprto) or a fundamentally disturbing combination of letters (e.g. predvcerajsnjim).

I mean honestly. That looks like alphabet soup on crack.

The Slovenes are friendly people and many of them spoke to me. In fact, they are extremely engaging, to the point that you oddly feel at home in Slovenia and never want to leave Ljubljana. This is what happened to Diego, an American who I met through Vladimir, a Slovene bartender at my hostel. Diego came to Ljubljana and loved it so much that he kept on coming back. Finally he just decided to stay for good.

Diego and Vladomir took me to the nice bars in Ljubljana. Considering the city’s small size, there are surprisingly many. The hostel where I stayed (the Celica) is in the heart of the city’s alternative scene. When I read about the hostel in the Rough Guide, I was slightly alarmed because it mentioned the building used to be a military prison. I went ahead and booked a bed anyway because it was the cheapest place to stay. It turned out to be more of a cultural centre than a hostel, with music performances, art workshops, and a happening bar.

Outside of Ljubljana, the Slovene country is absolutely gorgeous. The scenery is stunning – lush, idyllic, and bucolic. Over half of the country is covered in forest and 40% is mountainous. There are alpine lakes crowned by cliff-top castles and island churches.

Slovenia is an easy place to fall in love with. It exceeded my expectations and the only disappointing part about my visit was that I had to leave Ljubljana. For now at least…

Trade Aid is a UK registered charity, which works with and supports Trade Aid Tanzania, a non profit-making Trust. Trade Aid supplies educational and material resources, and also volunteers from Europe. Our aim is to alleviate poverty in Southern Tanzania by creating educational and employment opportunities for the local community and assisting in the development of a sustainable tourist industry in Mikindani.

Below we describe a new seedling planting project we are helping with in Mikindani.

African Blackwood/African Ebony, Dalbergia Melanoxylon and African Ironwood are all names for the tree that is locally known as Mpingo. The uses of this tree are endless and for this reason Mpingo is now one of Africa’s most endangered trees. Our advisor, Mr Thomas knows all too well the importance of protecting our natural resources and therefore Blackwood is his choice of seed for this season’s project in the tree nursery. The children (see picture below) from Singino and Mnaida Schools have started the seedling trays which will be potted into plastic pods in a few weeks. By the Autumn the saplings will be distributed around the schools in Mikindani for the next tree growing project.

Conserving trees such as Blackwood is an essential practice if we are to benefit from its many uses:

• Beehives- the tree is used as a hive. The honey produced is dark amber and strong flavoured.
• Building materials- it is an extremely durable wood, also ant and beetle proof.
• Fuel- the heat generated from Mpingo fires is so high that it can melt cooking utensils.
• Crafts- nearly all Makonde carvings will be designed out of this wood.
• Domestic use- clubs, hammers, spears, sticks, chess pieces
• Dye
• Fodder- the pods and leaves are used as animal fodder
• Land improvement (green manure, mulch and nitrogen fixing)
• Medicine- the roots are used to treat abdominal pain, diarrhoea and syphilis. The wood smoke is inhaled to treat headaches and bronchitis.
• Musical instruments- piano keys, clarinets

‘By wise planning now we can insure that this valuable natural resource will maintain its vital role in the local ecosystem and be available for the future harvesting of mature trees for woodwork purposes.’

Back in January 2004 Martin Wright, one the club’s most sociable regulars at the London Meetings, royally entertained a packed Crown Court with tales of his marathon cycle ride to Australia. Many in that audience will remember his great photos, distinctive narrative style and his thirst for adventure. Well Martin is at it again – this time he’s go back to the land down under to ‘pick up his bike and have a look round’. I think too many cold winter nights provided the motivation to get back on the road! This is the fourth in an occasional series, based on Martin’s emails, and charts his offbeat approach to the road ahead.

5 May: Hi all. Have made it as far as Ayutthaya, 60 kms north of Bangkok. Previously I had spent a few days in Kanchanaburi – 120kms west of Bangkok and infamous because of the death railway and the bridge over the River Kwai. In the meantime I took a train to Bangkok to apply for a new passport as the old one was full. At the British Embassy, a huge building in a compound which seemed to take up half of Bangkok, I was given the necessary form to fill in and then had to part with almost 70 pounds sterling! Also had to wait five working days, which because of the bank holiday turned out to be six. If the buggers back in the U K had given me a 48 page passport which I paid for when I last applied I would have saved myself time and money.

While in Bangkok I stayed in a hotel in Chinatown overlooking the river – very nice, quiet and at night there was a cool breeze. During the daytime it was sweltering and I’ve found that it is much easier to cycle than walk in this heat. This all made a great change from the Khao San Road area which resembled a zoo although none of the animals are on the endangered list!

Chinatown was a great area for wandering around especially at night when the food stalls were operating. Found an eating place next to a Chinese temple where the food was delicious and the beer cheap – ate here three nights in a row and met the same people. One fellow was the local drunk who always had something to say, although I understood nothing I am sure he thought otherwise.

On Monday I left Kanchanaburi and cycled through Suphan Buri on to Ayutthaya where I arrived on Tuesday. Wednesday saw me back on the train to Bangkok to collect my new passport followed by a visit to the immigration department, which of course was some distance away to have my entry stamp put into my new passport. Back on the sky train, back on a boat, back on the train and back to Ayutthaya…glad to have this finished.

This morning I decided to make coffee in my room on my Trangia stove…not a good idea as it turned out. A Trangia burns methylated spirits and while I put the water on to boil I hung my washing out to dry. This took longer than expected, and when I returned the bedside cabinet was on fire! A bottle of water put out the flames and of course made a horrible mess – a clean up operation was in order and hopefully I have left no trace of my attempted arson. I still had enough water in the pan to make a cup of coffee thankfully. I am going to throw that Trangia away as it is the first time I have used it since leaving Australia, and it is bulky & heavy. Anyway the coffee from the hawkers is far better stuff! Am heading towards Cambodia where I should arrive in about one week…hopefully I will arrive without having burned down somebody’s guest house!

9 May: On leaving Ayutthaya my intention was to cycle in an easterly direction towards Cambodia but as I arrived at the relevant junction I was offered the choice; turn right for Cambodia or go straight ahead and visit northern Thailand! As I had not visited the north before I thought, ‘bollocks to Cambodia for now I like the look of the road on the map which runs along the border with Myanmar.’ It does present me with a slight problem as I will have to find a crossing point into Myanmar for a five minute, one hour or one day visit but on re-entering Thailand I will be given another 30 day stamp! This should give me plenty of time to reach Chiang Rai in the north before following the Mekong all the way back down to the Cambodian border.

At present I am in Sukhothai staying in a very quiet and peaceful guest house next to a river. My intention was to spend two nights here with one day for resting, however I will now be having at least three nights and two days here as I would like to ride out to old Sukhothai to visit the very old capital city. There are of course many good eating places; night markets and small restaurants where the food is of course brilliant and cheaper than chips! As yesterday I cycled further than I normally would in a single day, it was cool and I had a tail wind, I thought I might as well make the most of it, as it is the first day in Asia when the temperature did not reach 30c. It was a very cool and pleasant 29c. Soon after I reached the guest house a strange thing happened – it rained…not the English rain whereby it takes all day for one millimetre to fall. This was good old tropical rain and after one hour of rainfall the roads are like rivers. Soon after the sun comes out and within a short time it is blue sky and no sign of any rainfall.

On that note good bye to you all and have a nice day. Martin

Trip duration: 11 days Trip miles to date: 2,017 Miles since last update: 2,017

As I’m writing this I’m drinking an extremely strong coffee in Rio Gallegos (no, I’d never heard of it neither), about 1,750 miles south of Buenos Aires and about 300 from Ushuaia. This is me, on the right of the picture.

These first few days in the saddle have been a gentle introduction, I think. The southern Argentinean roads have been unbelievably straight, set within a dead-flat terrain with strong winds and little traffic. The sense of distance (from home as much as Buenos Aires) has accumulated every day.

First stop-over was courtesy of a tip from a fellow traveller (thanks Mick!) in Azul , 235 miles from Buenos Aires. The thermometer on the handlebars suggested 34 deg, verified by the perfect blue sky. I tried out the ‘helmet-cam’ on the way out of BA but I fear I’ve accidentally recorded over the footage……oh well, I was riding like a dork anyway.

I pulled into Azul about 5.30pm, and began searching the streets for a garage with an 8ft painted BMW sign, coupled with an 8ft Yamaha sign. I had no right to find it but these things have a habit of working out and sure enough, along a quite residential street I found “La Posta Del Viajero en Moto”….a mecca to adventure motorcyclists and charitably run by Jorge, his partner Monica and chief translator, daughter Polly. A “donation-box” exists on the wall, but no mention was made and I was left to discover it for myself.

I’m almost sad I found Jorge and his family at the start of the trip, as I fear I won’t enjoy such a genuine and warm welcome anywhere from here to Alaska. I turn up unannounced at 5.30pm on a Wednesday and greeted with excitement, interest and treated to an amazing asado (meat feast!) with the family. The bunk-house is covered in graffiti from previous residents and the visitor’s books (there are 3, and counting!) and all stuffed with the same sentiment. I feel honoured to have left my mark and signed “Brits Corner”…..

The next couple of days were spent speeding down to Viedma (pretty coastal resort town), then Commodora Rivadavia where I stopped an extra day to cruise around the Peninsula Valdès – a huge national park and home to several thousand elephant seals and penguins. Whale watching tours are popular here too.

The Argentineans are extremely friendly. I stopped for a coffee in Puerto Piràmede – see the picture left, and a chap excitedly introduced himself as Ernesto Scotti. It transpires his son is a fellow R-T-W bike and is in the Guinness Book of Records for a related record. We chat and gossip for a long time and it’s refreshing to be reminded that we are all basically the same, “citizens of the world” as Ernesto described it much better than I.

Yesterday I completed the biggest day in the saddle, about 500 miles down to Rio Gallegos. The terrain has changed subtly, and the sense of remoteness increased, but this is no third world region. The standard of living is still pretty high, especially anticipating what is to come in Bolivia and Peru.

The bike is running great. I’m slightly concerned with the speed of wear on the front sprocket and the rear tyre is also wearing quickly. I think both of these symptoms are a consequence of the extra weight the bike is carrying. Naturally I’ve packed too much crap and will shred as I go.

One last note – as I parked up last night in the secure hotel car-park I was pleasantly surprised to find another travellers bike with a Brit number plate. It belongs to Jeremy Bullard (http://www.fowb.co.uk/) who I believe is taking a break back in Blighty…..

Oh well, tomorrow I strike for Ushuaia and the end of the world.

If you want to know more about Greg’s travels: http://www.unbeatentrack.com/

Comprising of around 50 islands (750 if you count the archipelago of the Bahamas), the Caribbean is a real treasure trove when it comes to cruising. A rich variety of vistas, people and places await, along with swaying palms and idyllic beaches of golden sand. The network of islands in the Caribbean is in fact so extensive that it is possible to book several Caribbean cruises and avoid going to the same islands twice!

There are four basic Caribbean cruise routes used by cruise operators:

1. Western Caribbean Cruise Route – Departing from seaports in Texas, Louisiana and Florida, the Western Route takes in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, the island of Cozumel, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, and any number of islands off the coasts of Honduras and Belize.
2. Eastern Caribbean Cruise Route – One of the most popular Caribbean cruise routes, the Eastern Route typically departs from Florida and other seaports along the eastern seaboard of the United States. The route calls on destinations such as Key West, The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands the Virgin Islands (including St. Thomas and St. Croix), and Puerto Rico.
3. Southern Caribbean Cruise Route – This route normally commences at San Juan in Puerto Rico, and takes in many possible destinations along the Lesser Antilles and the Netherlands Antilles as far west as Aruba.
4. Exotic/Long-duration Caribbean Cruise Route – This route takes in any/all of the above destinations, and can sometimes end in a different place to where the cruise started.

Given this broad assortment of destinations available in the Caribbean, it can be a bit overwhelming when trying to make that crucial decision on which islands to fit into your itinerary. After all, you don’t want to miss out on some true Caribbean gems, do you? So, whether you’re planning a short vacation or a longer cruise break away from home, here is a selection of ‘must-sees’ & ‘must-dos’ on your Caribbean adventure.

• St Croix (Virgin Islands) – Take a night kayak trip in Salt River National Park and visit the first landing site of Christopher Columbus on his voyage to the New World.
• Grenada– Although ravaged by Hurricane Ivan in 2004, Grenada is still well worth a visit for its scuba diving. You can explore the largest shipwreck in the Caribbean here and see an underwater volcano.
• Virgin Islands – The Cinnamon Bay National Park offers excellent snorkelling opportunities. You can see a wealth of underwater life in the shallow waters around St. Thomas.
• Jamaica – Why not try your hand at bamboo rafting in Montego Bay?
• Puerto Rico – No Caribbean cruise would be complete without a visit to the world famous Condado Beach on the island of Puerto Rico.
• Aruba – Want to find Caribbean paradise? How about relaxing on one of the 365 beaches that surround the Dutch island of Aruba.
• St Kitts – Swim with the turtles in the waters around St Kitts and then relax on the pink sand beaches on this beautiful island.

Good luck with planning your trip and happy cruising. Metty Metcalfe is the webmaster for A to Z Cruises which is the No1 resource for Caribbean Cruise related Information on the Internet. Be sure to visit his site here:

The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), in partnership with BBC Radio 4, offer you the chance to make that journey and to tell the world about it in a memorable piece of radio documentary-making. Each year the RGS-IBG and the BBC award the best idea for an original, exciting, and exceptional journey and we’re inviting you to join the great travellers who’ve already fulfilled their dreams. It’s important that the project takes you somewhere fresh, different and original – not just a holiday to the Greek Islands! It’s also a good idea to bear in mind where the five previous winners have been (such as Ladakh in 2005 and Madagascar in 2004) as we won’t award similar journeys this year. More details on the RGS-IBG website.

Your journey needs really to matter to you: we need to feel your passion and enthusiasm and Radio 4 listeners need to be fascinated. Bear in mind that the BBC already broadcasts a lot of documentaries about faraway places (listen to Crossing Continents and From Our Own Correspondent, for example, in order to gauge the style of Radio 4’s regular foreign reportage). When thinking up your idea, make sure it’s the sort of thing journalists rarely have the time to cover. Most reporters can only afford the time and money to make short visits to meet important people and don’t often get under the skin of local society.

The programme you’ll be making needs to tell your story – and that of the journey and the place you’ll be visiting (the tourist trail isn’t likely to be top of the judging panel’s list unless you can put an interesting new spin on it) – in a graphic and attractive way. Think of the audio potential in the idea – not just indigenous music and sounds (in reality they rarely sustain more than a few seconds), but how you are going to find interesting sounds within the substance of the journey (by keeping an audio-diary, for example). Radio is very good on atmospherics and imaginative pictures, but you need to think about what your journey and your destination offer to create those pictures.

Conditions

• You’ll be travelling between January and July 2006.* We welcome travellers of all ages, but you must be able to travel safely and responsibly.
• You must have a permanent UK postal address.* Interviews will be held in early December in London. You must be able to attend these interviews in person.* Applications from small teams rather than solo travellers are also accepted, but please make clear in your application if this is the case.
• The award is for independent travel. We will NOT consider any journey joining a commercial expedition or pre-paid tour, including organised charity fundraising tours.
• The final deadline for pitches is Tuesday, 27 September 2005.

Please send your pitches, either by email or by post, to: The Grants Officer, Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

Email: grants@rgs.org Address: 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR Tel: 020 7591 3073 Full details are at http://www.rgs.org/category.php?Page=maingrants

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We are sorry to say that Mac is not very well, but he is still e-mailing strong and recently sent the Beetle a collection of travel reminiscences. This, and next month is about China.

One of the times I went to China I did not hide my military connection but someone along the way before I left the states changed my category from retired military to “teacher”. I was travelling with an American woman who was actually a teacher in the Military Dependent Schools in Korea. She told me she taught Home Economics, health and sewing. When I was asked what I taught my mind went blank and then I recalled what she taught and I said: Home Economics, heath and sewing. My real teacher travel companion was asked her what she taught. She smiled and said: football, soccer, and wrestling. We were by then both laughing and the immigration inspector shook his head at us and left us.

Before we got on plane for China we were told to turn over any U.S. Military identification we had on us and to not take it into China. I hesitated to do this in case it could be reproduced and didn’t like giving it to someone I did not know, but had to make a decision in a hurry and nothing was going to stop me from seeing the Great Wall Of China. Someone later asked me if I had walked the whole distance of the Wall. (It is 4000 miles long!) It is wide enough for five horses (some say six as that is a lucky number in China) to pass and is 2000 years old.

In Hangchow, Mr Wu showed us a painting on the wall of at temple for famous Chinese General Yue Eeti as a young man. The painting showed his mother with a knife carving on the lads’ back the admonition in Chinese letters: “Always be true to your country.” Juanita, my friend, whispered to me: “That must have made a lasting impression” Ha!

We went to the Sick Duck restaurant in Beijing. It is called Sick Duck because it is near a hospital. There is also a Super Duck Restaurant, a Baby Duck restaurant and a Ruptured Duck Restaurant (I just threw that in!) all serving Peking Duck (Beijing Duck does not sound right.) The cook brings out the duck on a platter and then you applaud. I don’t know if you are applauding the dead duck, the cook or who.

Eunuchs (and there were 70,000 of them) at the time of the Ming destiny who allegedly carried their testicles about with them in a little pouch in the hope of being reunited with them in death. (You heard it here!)

When we got off plane in Hangchow a guide came up to us and asked “Are you the group of six?” We were the six that had gotten our tour thorough USO in Seoul, Korea. When I told them I did not have enough money with me to make the trip they said I could write a cheque. He put us in a van and we drove into town. When we saw a bicycle rider carrying a huge white wreath we asked what is that. He said: “It is for warning”. He then changed it to: “It is for mourning.” Mr Wu said he had put on his “wish list” to return to Hangchow as a guide (they had him working all over China) as he had a three year old son in Hangchow. He said his son was born early in the morning so they named him Xu Chiao Ming which means “The cock that crows early in the morning.”

Our guide Miss Cha was late in getting to the airport at Beijing. She had gone to the wrong airport. She breathlessly rushed up to us and apologized and said, “It is a slow boat to China.” She then said, “If you do not understand my English you can lump it.” We quickly realized she had memorized phrases she did not know the exact meaning to. She was a nurse but they needed guides badly so she had been assigned us. She asked who was from Great Britain and said, “I hope I warm the cockles of your heart.” We grew fond of Miss Cha and a friend, Lisa gave her a present. She asked if she should unwrap it and Lisa said yes. She started to unwrap it and her face turned red and she quickly rewrapped it. It was a pair of silk stockings. When we went to leave Beijing we asked Miss Cha if she would have breakfast with us in the foreign only dining room. She said ,”No, I have other fish to fly.” We warmed to all our guides except on those that tried to feed us propaganda.

Kneehow (phonetic) in Chinese means hello. In China, Carol who was from England, and had a beautiful voice would sing slightly risqué Cockney songs and George would sing “My old lady and the lady next door went down the river on a barnyard door singing Ki Yi Yippie Yi ” and nonsensical songs. Miss Cha who was trying to learn English (she had taught herself) wanted to learn some of these songs so she could sing them to her next tour group. As some were risqué Carol said, “My dear I don’t think you really need to learn these songs.” Les would give his excellent imitation of Peter Sellers imitating an Indian and his accent was hilariously correct. We should have been a USO troop. We laughed all the way across China.

In response to last month’s article about Diego Garcia, Mac reports that a friend who was in the Seabees building airstrip on island of Diego Garcia has just shown me an old yellowed newspaper account of it dated June 25 1978. This is probably more than you want to know about this isolated island. 700 Seabees were sent there to built the airstrip.

A Portuguese armada sailing around the tip of Africa in 1512 stopped here. Settled first by French in the late 1770s the island was occupied alternately by France and England following the American Revolution. The survivors of the sailing ship Atlas which was wrecked here on May 30 1786 joined the British expedition settled on the island at that time. Slavery was introduced the following year.

In 1787 a businessman from Mauritius saw opportunity on Diego Garcia in the form of coconut oil lacking but needed by Mauritius located 1,l00 miles southeast of Diego Garcia. He received permission to harvest and export Diego Garcia coconuts to Mauritius. Slaves were sent to pick them. A band of lepers accompanied the slaves because it was felt that conditions on the island might be healing to persons suffering from the disease. (By 1824 however, a government report said this was no longer believed true.)

Emancipation was proclaimed in mid 1830s in all British possessions. Former slaves were reported by one visitor to have far better living conditions than on other islands. Island was later used as a coaling station for ships. Coal shipped to the island.

When the Japanese invaded Ceylon off the coast of India in 1942 during World War II the Allies set up an outpost on Diego Garcia to monitor Japanese activity. In the 1950s both England and United States were concerned about Soviet activity in the Indian ocean where “over one half of the world’s sea borne oil is in transit at any given moment according to a Congressional hearing.“

There was a photo stating Donkeys introduced to Diego Garcia about 1835 when the islands slaves were emancipated today roam freely over most of the island (I am afraid I have passed on to you more than you want to know about Diego Garcia. Ha. Information is from Sun Herald Daily Living, Gulfport Mississippi (where Seabees had their headquarters) Sunday morning June 25 1978.

Beside the Seabee (branch of Navy that builds and does construction.) I have received an e mail from a different retired Navy man living in Italy. He says the highest point on Diego Garcia was only about five feet high and during the Tsunami he wondered how island fared but said he saw nothing in the news.

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

Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary has threatened a U.K. based Web site with legal action if it doesn’t take down comments pertaining to Ryanair’s pilots. O’Leary described by one commentator as one of the most combative CEOs to ever run a public company, has launched abuse-ridden tirades against critics, airports, competitors and regulators. In July, he called the company that runs Stansted airport outside London a “bunch of overcharging rapists.”

Back in January, O’Leary labelled a European Union ruling that one of Ryanair’s airport deals was anticompetitive as “Stalinist”. Despite his ability and willingness to dish out ranting tirades against other people and organisations, he doesn’t seem to take kindly to any criticism aimed at him. When the Professional Pilots Rumour Network, PPruNe a Web forum popular with Europe-based pilots, posted a discussion thread containing a mixture of informed insights and um….interesting comments on Ryanair’s relations with its pilots, the company’s lawyers sent the Web site a letter demanding that it take down the thread.

The letter argued that the statements on the thread were “untrue, unfounded, malicious and deeply damaging to the good name and trading reputation of Ryanair.” The letter added that Ryanair would move to gain an “immediate injunction” against PPruNe and claim damages if the Web site didn’t remove the thread, which discussed pilot unionization and pilot pay major issues for Ryanair. PPruNe removed the thread, but a new thread has appeared on the Web site concerning unionization at Ryanair. Ryanair didn’t immediately comment when asked why it acted to remove the thread. PPruNe owner Danny Fyne said: “Tactics like this never work in the long term. If we didn’t publish it, someone else would.”

To find other ways of increasing its revenue, Ryanair has been doing all it can to cut costs and boost revenue. This has included a cost-cutting move of the fitting of non-reclining seats. But one move that is generating criticism, both among customers and in the market, is a wheelchair levy on every ticket that Ryanair said it was charging to cover the cost of transporting disabled passengers to and from its planes. The levy appears to still be in place and though it’s not clear if it is around 70 euro cents or 50 euro cents, but if it is the lower number, the levy accounted for around 22% of the increase in operating profits at Ryanair in its June quarter, compared with the year-ago period.

Some commentators say that the wheelchair levy is a clear sign of desperation, but so are moves to cut the most basic of pilots’ perks. One measure has Ryanair pilots buying their own uniforms. Ryanair management is currently trying to prevent pilots from opting for their union to represent them in pay negotiations. In a recent memo, a Ryanair manager at Stansted airport said that paying union dues would amount to a waste of money: “If you want to waste 1,000 pounds we recommend fast women, slow horses or even greyhound racing. At least you’ll have a few minutes of fun,” the memo said.

Experienced pilots who need to receive expensive top-up training to fly Ryanair’s new series of Boeings have been told that the company won’t pay for their training if they opt for union representation, according to a person familiar with employee relations at Ryanair.

If you have enjoyed reading this e-newsletter, why not visit the Globetrotter website, http://www.globetrotters.co.uk/ and have a look at a copy of Globe, the bi-monthly printed newsletter sent to members only.

We also send members only a listing of all members, their contact details and countries visited and any help they can offer. Globetrotter members network by using this listing to contact each other in over 27 countries around the world to ask for travel advice, and possibly even meeting. As a member, you will receive a reduction on any Globetrotter meetings in your area, and will entitle you to have free Globetrotter calling cards to give your details to other travellers you meet while travelling.

Just US $29 or €24 buys you membership for one year. Contact membership@globetrotters.co.uk for more information.

While thinking of ways to celebrate Globetrotters’ Club’s 60th anniversary we came up with the idea of awarding people who have been members for 30 years or more, with a certificate. Our President, Janet Street-Porter has signed 17 certificates.

Using my own membership of exactly 30 years I was able to use my membership number of 1202 as a useful gauge. However, some members ended up with new numbers if they renewed slightly late at one point in our club’s history and the original numbers were destroyed. So, if you are one of these people and you know you joined before 1976 then please contact me: e11fdj@yahoo. co. uk We offer our sincere apologies to anyone omitted from the list below.

At our London meeting on 7th January 2006 we presented the certificates to those there, the rest will be sent out. One member, who was omitted deserves a special mention. She has been coming to our meetings in London for many years and has been a member since 1968. Joan McConn will receive her own presentation at a future meeting.

The list of long serving members:

• Norman Ford
• Jean Clough
• Betty Dawes (Browning)
• Joan McConn
• Susan Mew
• Anne Ross
• Isabel Ramsay
• Margaret Hayward
• John Baker
• John and Julie Batchelor
• Jill Dunisthorpe
• Sylvia McMaster
• Francesca Jaggs
• John Barnes
• Winifred Manders
• Malcolm Kier
• Irene Richards

We dragged ourselves ever upwards and onwards, I thought my get up and go, with the help of Guarana and good whisky was still going strong; but rather than over the hill – I was finding it difficult too even get up this hill! My friends and I were on a steep walk that was just short of being able to be described as a climb – fifty minutes of mud steps, not cut out but worn into the so called path by travellers over the years, always at least eighteen inches in height. We climbed through a rising rain forest of trees and roots that would make their way up to a cold pool that was fed by a lovely waterfall, the highest of two that finally spilled their waters into the rushing river below. The roots would act as handholds or footholds as we dragged ourselves up from the 35ºC at the start to a comfortable 27ºC at the top. This was the sort of tough but pleasant tramp that would be banned by Heath and Safety committees in the UK, but with care, no problem for anyone at all, not even for me! My companions were two lady lawyers, a female translator and a fit young man, arrogant and confident, much as I must have been at his time of life.

My brother had recommended me to visit Boissucanga, locally known as ‘Boi’ and stay in a lovely rustic house owned by ‘Jenny’ not far from the beach in this yet as unspoilt resort, used by ‘Paulistas’ as a weekend escape from their large pulsating city that is the driving engine not only of Brazil but also of the whole of South America. Around three hours drive from Sao Paulo or about nine from Rio de Janeiro, Boi is to the south, just passed Ilha Bella, near Sao Antonio. Boi comes after the fashionable towns of the ‘Costa Verde’, therefore much cheaper to stay, much less crowded and practically no foreign tourists. There is always a place to stay, whatever the size of your budget – Extremely well designed 5* small Hotels (for example Juquey Praia Hotel – R$ 300 [with breakfast] R$ 390 [with breakfast and dinner] per day); Pousadas [Guest Houses] (various standards of simplicity, from R$ 100 to R$ 200 per day) as well as Jenny’s very reasonably priced rustic haven (self- contained houses at R$100 per day).

No crowds on very different beaches, some with waves and some calm and the three Islands just offshore, make this just the resort to take some time out! Not to say there is nothing to do!

The three islands provide perfect picnic beaches, not spoilt by vendors of any type. We took our own beer, sandwiches, prawns and fruit. We swam, went snorkelling and generally explored the small area but mostly wallowed in the warm clear water. A short, pleasant, forty minute boat ride from the mainland and costing only about £6-00 a head to taken there and then to be picked up again in the late afternoon. Two days of my visit I spent enjoying myself on these relaxing three Islands.

Boissuganga, itself a small simple town but with a bank I was able to draw money out of with my plastic from its electronic cashier (Bradesco Bank). A curved empty beach, calm water, excellent simple bars right down by the water side with marvellous fish, prawns meals straight out of the sea and on to your table -The sound of the sea lapping on the shore, mixing with the gentle playing of guitars at the start of sunset. The splash of yellow and gold of the sky, reflecting off the locals as well as the water and the sound of their clapping as the sun went down and day turned into night.

This was the signal for the waterside bar (Parati), to awaken and the sound of Brazilian Popular Music, to drift across the moonlit beach. Brazilians love to party and as usual many of them joined in the singing – Dancing is something you cannot stop them doing once they hear the sound of exciting music.

Two of the evenings I thought I would pop out for a dance and though a small town, there were always three or four places one could go to dance. Music of all different types in Bistro bars round the town where I could dance the night away or least until the early hours of the morning, after which I would stagger home, not drunk, just exhausted from having such a good time with my lovely companions.

As I gathered my thoughts together, sitting on the bus awaiting it to start my journey back to Rio de Janeiro. I had made sure it was taking the coast road and I was sitting on the seaside of the coach so that I could see this lovely coast line as I made my way back north up the ‘Costa Verde’

Every now and again I discover or hear of a gem of a place, still not exploited or spoilt and I pass them on to the Globetrotters Club via the e-news or GT Magazine. So guys, Boissucanga is another such place – Why not, just go for it!

Send Jenny an e-mail for more information. jennym@uol. com. br & boijmr@aol. com .

All photos © by Tony Annis.

Dear Globies, friends and fellow travellers,

Welcome to the Autumn eNewsletter with tips, news and discounts as always. I hope many of you have been enjoying the  digital edition of Globe magazine, we’ve had many new members join us since the switch over so I’ll take that as a good sign!

This edition is some news and archive articles from from our past issues, if you would like to help edit the eNewsletter or even just submit stories please get in touch.

Happy travels.

Globetrotters members should soon be recieving their free copy of the 2017 Calendar.

Many thanks to all members who responded to the call for calendar submissions this year, the standard of photography was again very impressive with a great variety of destinations and subjects covered, making the selection process all the more difficult.

Thirteen pictures by members have been selected with the calendar running December 2016 to December 2017

All members will receive a free copy of the calendar, if you would like a copy then please join here.

If you would like to buy extra copies at £4 + P+P please click here

The Adventure Travel Show is returning to London’s Olympia on 21^st & 22^nd January 2017 and is the UK’s only event dedicated to off the beaten track travel experiences, featuring over 100 FREE Inspirational Talks.

The show is the UK’s only event that is dedicated to off the beaten track experiences, featuring once in a lifetime adventures, wildlife encounters, eco travel, remote discoveries and more.

Volunteer to give travel advice.

We will be again having our travel advisor stand at the Show, if you would like to help on the stand and give advice on places you have been etc please signup below.

Volunteers will receive free admission passes to both show days, hopefully you will explore the Show and attend some talks – but spend much of the day advising as part of our team, with at least 4-5 globies available to share advising visitors.

Our volunteer travel advisors can :-

• Give general advice for anxious travellers making their first major trip.
• Share in-depth knowledge of countries they have visited in the past.
• Share current experience gleaned during recent travels.

To volunteer click here.

Buy show tickets at a reduced rate.

If you would just like to attend the show, we also have a discount offer for show tickets.

Get advance tickets to The Adventure Travel Show 2017 at Olympia London for only £6 – saving £4 off the door price! Just quote GLOBETROTTERS when booking online at www.adventureshow.com or when calling 0871 230 7159 (calls cost 13p per minute plus network extras).

*Advance tickets go off sale at 1pm on Friday 20th January 2017.

A two and a half hour bus ride from Dubrovnik in Croatia lies the Bay of Kotor set in the rugged landscape of Montenegro – a country whose name means ‘black mountain’. I checked-in to a hostel in the old town for a couple of days to explore the medieval architecture and the surrounding hills…

It’s gonna rain tomorrow morning, they told me. So I went for an evening drink in the bar. The local firewater or ‘grappa’ differs slightly all over the Balkans but the effect is much the same – singing and dancing on tables is the norm. And I might have had more than one…

Finding that I had missed breakfast the next morning, I wandered into the Old Town to hunt down a local bakery and investigate its varieties of borek – the ubiquitous savoury pastries of the region – and try a shot of the local coffee. But as I walked out, the skies cleared from grey to blue and …

Continue reading this story in the Summer 2016 issue of Globe (free to all members).

Jon Beardmore spoke recently at the November London Meeting, about his journey from London to Russia along the Silk Road, through the “Stans”, China and SE Asia returning via India, Nepal, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey and finally back to Europe.

Would you like to get your own copy of the award winning film?

To reward your support of the fundraising efforts, every donation of £10 and above will get a downloadable copy of the film and a electronic copy of the film poster.

http://www.justgiving.com/TheGreatGameMovie

“100% of profits from this film are going to the charity Afghan Connection to support education and cricket in Afghanistan” – Jon Beardmore

Afghan Connection funds and supports schools, teachers and sports opportunities, especially in rural areas. With our partners we have built 43 schools across Afghanistan, which currently educate over 50,000 children.

Share your thoughts on the film, Jon would love to hear your tweets / FB posts of your thoughts on the film:

See

• Twitter: @TheGreatGame30k
• FB: www.facebook.com/TheGreatGameMovie

The Museum is housed within the Bank of England, at the heart of the City of London. It traces the history of the Bank from its foundation by Royal Charter in 1694, to its role today as the nation’s central bank. Displays include: gold, bank notes and a reconstruction of the 18th century office. In addition, inter-active systems allow visitors to look behind the doors of the central bank or to examine the intricacies of bank note design and production, and a computer-driven simulation gives visitors an idea of what it is like to deal on the US Dollar/Sterling spot market.

The museum is open Monday to Friday, 10.00 – 17.00 and admission is free. See the Bank of England web site for details.

Historical Bank of England Trivia

• The Bank of England was founded in 1694 by a Scotsman, William Paterson, and the Bank of Scotland in 1695 by an Englishman, John Holland.
• The monarch’s portrait didnot appear on Bank of England notes until 1960.
• The highest value bank note issued by the Bank of England was the £1000 denomination. It was last issued in 1943.
• The fiver (£5) is the longest running denomination of Bank of England note: it was first issued in 1793 and the new polymer/plastic fiver issued in 2016 was the first non paper note issued, (£10 and £20 are to follow,) and the new polymer notes last up to 2.5 times longer than paper.
• Bank of England notes were not wholly printed until 1853. Until that year they were still signed by one of the Bank’s cashiers.
• Kenneth Grahame, the author of children’s book, The wind in the Willows, was the Secretary of the Bank of England 1898 – 1908. The book was published in 1908, the year in which he retired from the Bank. It is possible that some of the characters in the book were based on those people he knew and worked with.

This article was first bublished in September 2002 by The Beetle but the details have been updated.

Religious architecture being an interest of mine, I have visited as many Buddhist temples in Korea as I have had time for. Naturally, therefore, when I lived in Busan a few years ago, its largest temple, Beomeosa on a mountain named Geumjeongsan, was on my list of places to see. However, I have particular preferences connected with religious sites: I prefer ones that are remote, and I like to hike to them; you could say I find the mental and physical challenge spiritually edifying. Since my Lonely Planet guidebook mentioned that a smaller temple named Seokbulsa, at the other end of Geumjeongsan from Beomeosa, is hard to find, I decided to go there.

Continue reading this story in the Summer 2016 issue of Globe (free to all members).

Dear Globies, friends and fellow travellers,

Welcome to the Winter eNewsletter, packed with tips, news and discounts as always. I hope many of you have been enjoying the  digital edition of Globe magazine, we’ve had many new members join us since the switch over so I’ll take that as a good sign!

This edition is some news and archive articles from from our past issues, if you would like to help edit the eNewsletter or even just submit stories please get in touch.

Happy travels,

The Adventure Travel Show is returning to London’s Olympia on 23rd & 24th January and is the UK’s only event dedicated to off the beaten track travel experiences, featuring over 100 FREE Inspirational Talks.

The show is the UK’s only event that is dedicated to off the beaten track experiences, featuring once in a lifetime adventures, wildlife encounters, eco travel, remote discoveries and more.

Volunteer to give travel advice.

We will be again having our travel advisor stand at the Show, if you would like to help on the stand and give advice on places you have been etc please signup below.

Volunteers will receive free admission passes to both show days, hopefully you will explore the Show and attend some talks – but spend much of the day advising as part of our team, with at least 4-5 globies available to share advising visitors.

Our volunteer travel advisors can :-

• Give general advice for anxious travellers making their first major trip.
• Share in-depth knowledge of countries they have visited in the past.
• Share current experience gleaned during recent travels.

To volunteer click here.

Buy show tickets at a reduced rate.

If you would just like to attend the show, we also have a discount offer for show tickets.

Get your tickets to The Adventure Travel Show 2016 for only £6 when booking in advance!*

Just quote ‘GLOBETROTTERS’ when booking tickets online at www.adventureshow.com or when calling 0871 230 7159. (Calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras.)

*Advance tickets go off sale at PM on Friday 22nd January 2016.

In advance of Tony’s trip to the interior of Brazil later this year, I have dug up the account of his previous adventure, with Mm Mitterand and the . Globetrotters Club members recall Tony presenting an abridged version, but for those who wish to know more…

The Ant

The small plane lifted of the tarmac, climbed into the sky, banked away from Rio Branco by the border of Brazil and Peru; and at last we were up, up and away on the last part of our journey to visit the Ashaninka near the small town of Marechal Thaumaturgo.

I saw our future and the future was green, not just the sea of green we were flying low over with the occasional break in that verdant mass below, revealing a river with its golden banks meandering through the luxuriant forest. It has been sometime since I had been with a group of VIPs but now instead of doing a sword dance with a Saudi Prince I was in a small twin engined plane flying over the rich green rainforest of the State of Acre in Brazil accompanying Mm Danielle Mitterrand, the widow of a past French President, The Ministra do Meio Ambiente from Brasilia, the Governor of Acre and the usual body guard, TV cameraman etc. which follow VIPs. Last, but not least of all was Joao Fortes the leader of our small group and passionate helper of the Indians for more than twenty years, Cristina Mendonça (expert on carbon credits), Maria Alice, whose expertise was to help the Indians make the right craft goods that would sell in the outside world.

Why was I there? I had been invited by Joao Fortes to write and take pictures of the Ashaninka as I and Adam Baines had twelve years ago about the Yawanawa people. This time instead of going up the river Juria, I was going to take the right fork up the river Amônia towards the border of Peru. Before that though I was to accompany the French delegation and record Mm Mitterrand’s meeting and signing of an agreement between France and the Ashaninka and the State of Acre.

The village greeted the very pleasant widow representing France and it seems in no time at all we were all exchanging views and the Indians were explaining how they had made their people live a sustainable way of life in the rain forest and now wanted to show the rest of the State of Acre how this could be done. This charming lady was told how they had no cattle on their land but planted thousands of trees each year and bees that did not sting but produced a honey, so good, that the gods would come down from the heavens to taste it. They had many different fruits, many types of potatoes, also a great knowledge of over two thousand medicines that the forest provided. They also wanted to publicise the fact that people were invading from Peru, with ‘Pistoleiros’, with large machines, that ripped out the trees and then pulled them back to Peru and then said they had been grown under licence there. Also the chemicals that these invaders were using have started to change the taste of the fish in the Rio Amônia. The Ashaninka have started to petition other nations as well as their own government to do something about this problem. The Brazilians have now put in satellite phones in the border villages, so that State forces can be called up to help in case of invasion by these foreign companies.

After Mm Mitterrand had collected some honey, planted a tree, taken a short trip up river, with body guards, TV Cameraman and the rest of the entourage – She was whisked off to Rio Branco to sign documents with all the group, leaving Cristina of carbon credits and myself back at the Ashaninka College.

Benki was a charming remarkable man and from the age of thirteen he had taught himself all about the forest, its over two thousand medicines and how to make the tribe self sufficient and was now the recognisable face of the tribe on TV or in the political circles of Brasilia. His paintings are shown in Rio de Janeiro, his music sells on CD and women fall at his feet – Intelligent, charismatic, good looking and I’m glad to say he is a good friend of mine – I will say, that I would surely like some of his magic to rub off on me! Benki playfully said to me “Tony my friend, you are lucky you were not born in my village – Nobody wears glasses because no one in the tribe is short sighted. No woman would marry me because I would not be able to hunt fish and look after a family”. Survival of the fittest and I certainly wasn’t the fittest either in the rain forests or in cities with their high forests of concrete reaching for the sky. The Ashaninka are very fit, healthy and the only person who wore glasses was one lady in her seventies. The Uruku, the paint on their faces, gives them a very good skin complexion and also acts as a mosquito repellent. Aveda, the makeup company, use it in their lipsticks etc. And buy it from the ‘Yawanawa Tribe’.

Cristina and I spent an interesting night at Benki’s house on the other side of river in Marechal T, built to show the locals that a house can make its small section self sustainable and it certainly was – He reared chickens, grew fruit and vegetables and needed very little to be bought in to his home. He played his guitar, sang and listened to Cristina explaining the ins and outs of Carbon Credits as she was leaving next day to go back to her consultancy in Rio de Janeiro. Sunday, Benki and I hit the beach where the rest of the School and the residents of the small town pretended they lived on the coast and behaved as if they lived by the Atlantic instead of thousands of miles inland – We downed a few cold ones and planned the next part of the trip, basically turning right up the River Amônia and going up river for a few hours until we reached the Ashaninka village.

Picture by Tony Annis : Benki and friends at his home with the Ashaninkas

We reached the village and of course, right in the middle of it was a football pitch – The Ashaninkas are Indians but also Brazilian and all Brazilians love football. We had broken our journey to take some pictures of his family and watch a local tournament and unfortunately watch the tribe lose even though Benki came off the bench to play centre half and shore up the defence. Benki told me, “I am growing ‘The greenest little stadium in the world’ I have cleared the ground and started planting palms to cover the thousand spectators and then I will try to weave in flowers the names of famous European teams, such as Chelsea and Juventus and probably a French one as they are helping us now”.

Benki showed me round the village, the tree plantations, the pond where the turtles were reared, and the ladies making their craft beads, as well as one of them making their homemade beer for a village party. We were going further up river to a waterfall and camping for two or three days but as luck would have it we broke our propeller and one of Benki’s friends had to fix it by carving a propeller out of wood and all without the help of anything other than a knife and a stone used as a hammer. This coming July I hope to return and complete the journey to the waterfall with a few good friends of mine.

We headed down river back to the College of the Forest, via Cruzeiro du Sul (For Benki to pick up his e-mails). Finally, Rio de Janeiro for Benki and other Brazilian personalities to plant trees live on TV and for Benki do a brilliant live two minute piece to camera and as one of the Politicians said, “If I co uld only speak as well as that and to time, I would be Gover nor in the State of Rio by now, instead of being a local Deputy”. All this on my last day and before long the big plane lifted of the tarmac, climbed into the sky, banked away from Rio de Janeiro by the border of Brazil and once again I was up, up and away.

First Published:  Jun 25, 2008