Spring is upon us and with the sunshine comes some itchy feet, and many of us are busy planning for an adventure filled year ahead. From the Gower to the Galapagos, the Globetrotters Club offers a wealth of information and inspiration for like minded explorers. Here’s a roundup of the latest travel events, news, campaigns, publications, meetings, ticket offers and competitions – don’t forget to check our our newly designed website to find out more.
Waterstones are offering their loyalty card holders – free to sign-up for online – 2 for 1 tickets to the Natural History Museum’s latest exhibition Britain: One Million Years of the Human Story.
With tickets usually costing £9 each, the exhibition showcases the dramatic story of prehistoric Britain, its changing landscapes and the people that lived here. With life-size models and rarely seen specimens brought to life using the latest scientific techniques, the exhibition reveals what life was really like one million years ago.
This 2 for 1 deal is on offer until 26 September 2014, for visits from Monday to Friday 10.00 to 17.15 and booking isn’t required. Visit waterstones.co.uk for details.
While on holiday in Cape Town, South Africa, Jeanett Andrea Soderstrom was assured by operators of the benefits of taking a township tour. Unable to pin-down specific data, on returning to home she decided to research the claims as part of a Responsible Tourism Management MSc.
Her results are a worry to anyone who considers ethical travel an integral part of holiday planning. Interviewing operators and inhabitants, Soderstrom found that while operators were well meaning, evidence for a positive impact of their tours was difficult to find. Shockingly, none of the inhabitants she interviewed said they benefitted economically from the tours themselves, only receiving occasional donations from tourists themselves.
Soderstrom concluded that in their current form these tours hindered both economic and social empowerment, but believes with better regulation and awareness this could be reversed.
If you are looking to make a difference while on holiday this summer, Uganda Lodge are looking for volunteers to help with various projects, from working with children at the school to aiding in the new medical facility. Such opportunities can be a great way to make friends, get fit, and become immersed in a new culture while seeing a new part of the world and benefiting local communities.
Opportunities last from a few days – great for combining with gorilla trekking, say – to longer term projects, and profits from staying at the lodge are ploughed back into the community projects. For more information visit ugandalodge.com
Inge and Harald are due many congratulations, for their upcoming wedding on July 24th. They’d like to pass on their honeymoon tour plans, as they’ll celebrate the start of wedded life with a continuation of their two greatest passions: travelling and creating art.
Through their unique project, Paint the Planet, they travel the globe and exchange their artworks for a place to stay. They love meeting new people, going on real adventures and sharing their experiences, skills and artistic talent with others along the way.
On 26th July they’ll set off from Amersfoort (Holland) and travel through Germany to Denmark, and on the 28th of July they’ll arrive at Kristiansand in Norway and travel through Sweden. On the 7th of August they’ll arrive at Turku in Finland and on around the 11th of August, they’ll arrive at Tallinn in Estonia. They’re due to enter Latvia (Riga) on the 15th, and then on the 19th of August they’ll arrive at Lithuania. On the 22nd of August they’ll take the boat to Kiel in Germany, and then finally two days later they’ll arrive back at Amersfoort.
Anyone who is based in these countries, or who knows someone who is, or who may be passing through any of the same places on the same dates should definitely get in touch with Harald and Inge! Their email address is Info@painttheplanet.nl and you can also find out more on their website: www.painttheplanet.nl and why not befriend them on facebook and twitter @PaintthePlanet
In 2014 tour operator Untamed Borders will be running three fixed date trekking trips to Pakistan and Afghanistan, led by Moritz Steinhilber, an old friend of Untamed Borders and a very experienced trekking guide who has reached K2 base camp 11 times on tours.
The trips on offer are to some of Steinhilber’s favourite places and offer a route into some of the world’s most incredible scenery and experiences, taking groups to the remote Wakhan corridor in north-eastern Afghanistan; K2 base camp, Concordia and the 62km Baltoro glacier; and Shimshal Pamir, a rarely visited region of Pakistan’s Karakorum mountains.
Author David Fletcher is addicted to visiting the world’s greatest locations including Africa, India, the Middle East – all places of astonishing natural beauty and remarkable culture. So what is the biggest cause of environmental and cultural problems that he sees when travelling to these places? David says it’s the people who travel. People just like him. In their thousands. All “off the beaten track”.
The Brian’s World series of books (the fifth book on Namibia and Botswana, published on 27th January) takes a sidelong glance at sightseers and their attitudes. Part travel journal, full of amazing locations and information, and part humorous fictional narrative of a grumpy, misanthropic Brit, the popular Brian’s World books are both a celebration of the wonderful world that we live in and a challenge to us, the people who are slowly destroying it.
This summer, tour operator First Choice will switch all its holidays to all-inclusive. Thomas Cook is reportedly increasing the number of all inclusives holidays it offers by 10 per cent. But what does the resurgence of the all-inclusive model, where tourists are invited to ‘leave their wallets at home’, mean for the destinations we visit? The implications for employees, other local businesses, the destination economy, and the tourist experience in terms of meaningful cultural exchange, throws up some serious questions about the sustainability and ethics of this tourism model.
Tourism Concern has researched into labour conditions in mainstream all-inclusive hotels that are used by all the mainstream tour operators in five popular destinations. The results include failure to recognise workers’ rights to join a trade union; lack of training; being pressurised into working a considerable amount of unpaid overtime; and not earning a living wage.
All forms of tourism can be made more socially, economically and environmentally responsible. But these efforts need to start with the rights of workers and communities in destinations. The current mainstream all-inclusive model is perpetuating social and economic exclusion and inequality, while threatening the very character of the destination that tourists pay to see. This does not make for sustainable tourism.
To find out more, check out the Tourism Concern website http://www.tourismconcern.org.uk/all-inclusive-holidays—excluding-local-people.html and why not add your thoughts in their short survey and contribute to their research.
Watch out for Tourism Concern’s forthcoming briefing on all-inclusives in the coming weeks.
More than 850 British nationals are currently locked up in prisons across the globe for drug-related offences, often detained for months without trial and facing distressing living conditions. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), in conjunction with the charity Prisoners Abroad, is launching a campaign to highlight the consequences of the use, possession and smuggling of drugs in countries around the world.
The zero-tolerance approach of some countries often results in strict penalties which can come as a shock to British travellers. Offences that may carry cautions in the UK are often penalised with long prison sentences when overseas, and in 33 countries or territories some drug offences carry the death sentence.
Terry Daniels and Billy Burton are two British nationals that have seen valuable years of their life spent in prisons overseas. Both want to see the number of Britons involved in drugs in other countries reduced and have described their experiences in a video to warn others not to make their mistakes:
In the United Arab Emirates, sentences for drug trafficking for possession of even the smallest amount of illegal drugs can lead to a minimum 4-year jail sentence. The Emirati authorities count the presence of drugs in the blood stream as possession. And in Indonesia, possession, trafficking and manufacture of any illegal drugs are serious offences. The Indonesian authorities have a zero-tolerance policy and those caught face lengthy prison sentences or the death penalty, usually after a protracted and expensive legal process.
If you have any enquiries for FCO consular staff before you go or while abroad you can now ask questions via the FCO’s new Twitter service @FCOtravel. This service adds to the ways that British people travelling or living overseas can already get in touch with the FCO: by emailing the travel advice team or contacting local consular staff.
Santorini, Rhodes and Crete are famous for being glorious beach destinations, while the beautiful secluded coasts of mainland Greece are often foolishly overlooked. Chloe Marshall explores these hidden treasures on a unique retreat at Artisa, nestled in the mountainous Pelopenesse region of southern Greece.
Landing at Athens and promptly heading west on the train to Kiato, I follow the journey that defeated Nero across the Corinth canal, taking in the towering mountains on one side and the deep blue sea on the other. Breathing in the clean, citrus scented air and looking across the breathtaking landscape, I think about the mythical and historical background of this picturesque peninsula.
The Peloponnese is the mythical heart of Greece, with many towns and former city states named after the Greek gods and goddesses, such as the nearby Sparta. There’s a cast of ancient characters including Agamemnon as he perilously returned from the Trojan War to Mycenae, and Nestor’s Palace at Pylos, where Odysseus’s son set off in search of his father. Thanks to being the birthplace of Apollo’s healer son Asclepeios, Epidauros has the most celebrated healing centre of the Classical world; people travelled from far and wide to be cured at the sanctuary and mineral springs. In the 4th Century BC, the prosperity brought by the Asklepieion funded the making of a large theatre with astounding acoustics, which is still used for performances to this day.
I get off the train at Corinth, a once mighty city state of ancient Greece, and as I jump in a taxi for the short last leg of my journey, the winding roads become narrower and smaller, yet my sense of relaxation and isolation only gets bigger. In between the mountains there’s deep gorges, lush forests, green valleys and flowery meadows and as I scan across the coastline I joyfully note that there’s not one single hotel chain in sight. Although there’s some small guest houses dotted in between the residential housing and traditional tavernas, the whole place feels totally unspoilt and nature abounds – in short, this is the perfect place for a retreat.
I’m not here to work on anything, or to even speak to anyone for that matter, and any interaction will be kept to a minimum. I’m here to spend a week in silence on a silent retreat, and to be taken on a journey of self discovery, emotional exploration and mindfulness. Before we go quiet, together we discuss our reasons for seeking silence and there are some touching, intriguing and truly moving stories. From dealing with the loss of a loved one to facing some pivotal life choices, or for some, simply seeking a sense of inner calm, our group already seems to have a few unifying themes that link us all together despite our obvious differences in age, background and nationality.
Throughout the week, we are taken on a wonderful journey despite staying in the same place, and through being quiet I find myself developing a deeper sense of self awareness. Free from the usual demands of the daily grind and the pressure to communicate, I become more observant of my surroundings and I begin to appreciate them on a whole new level, recognising how much I have to be grateful for. Without being prompted, I stop to question myself in ways that I wouldn’t normally dare to, including the biggies such as asking what I really want out of life, and whether my current set up is really making me happy. I begin to identify some changes that I’d like to make, and I realise that familiarity isn’t an excuse for complacency. Not all of my fresh questions are easy to approach, but I definitely find some clarity and honesty in myself that will help to eventually find the answers.
Through exploring different meditative and physical activities, we are taken on an emotional roller-coaster of highs and lows that bring back the memories that triggered these feelings in the first place, then we face up to them and see how it might be possible to let them go. While I’m pretty sure that I haven’t found total enlightenment yet, and that I’d probably need to spend the rest of my days living in a cave to even get close, I definitely feel an inner peace that is only reachable through the absence of communication. And by the end of the week, I’m so elated that I don’t want to speak – even when I am finally invited to do so. For the first time ever, the words don’t naturally come to me and even now, I’m struggling to find the vocabulary to describe something so profound.
Keep your eyes peeled for the full version of Chloe’s article, along with a special Artisa discount for Globetrotters members in the next Globe magazine.
After an excellent talk and screening at London Globetrotters earlier in the year, Sarah tells Globe magazine about her dreams, her adventures and the results of her groundbreaking film.
I stared at the blackboard in total fascination. Then back at the textbook. The words, “Amazon Rainforest” overlapped the thoughts in my mind. The seed of a dream had been planted and I had no idea what was to come 12 years later… At nine years old, I was learning about deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest and how it affected the tribes living there. Instantly, I felt a connection to the jungle and its people. I had ever since fantasized about visiting the Amazon and sometimes in the night, I would experience visions of tribes people calling me.
At the age of 21, I was studying Filmmaking at Kingston University but I didn’t want a career that would fade into oblivion, so I took fate into my own hands. I quit my job, used all my savings, found a tribe that still practise ancient traditions, hired a Cinematographer and a Sound/Boom Operator and headed out to make my first film in the Amazon Rainforest.
I was lying on the canoe, staring up into the clear blue sky and wondering what life with the Huaorani would be like. Already I had passed some oil fields on my way, and the deforestation images from my childhood sprung to mind. Unable to stop, I wondered if we were going to enter a big patch of nothing amongst dense forest? Or did they live in a magical jungle from a mythical world full of wondrous species existing in an emerald green paradise? I had no idea what to expect.
As the canoe stopped at the village, I stared up at the Huao community staring back at me with smiles spread across their faces. A truly tribal welcome. I trudged up the thick muddy hill to greet one of the women and caught sight of my first fully naked Huaorani man – Kemperi, a shaman. He had only a string made out of the hammock leaf fibres tied around his waist.
I was challenged in every imaginable way to immerse fully into the Huaorani culture from weaving hammocks and gathering food in the forest with the women, to making blowguns and hunting with the warriors. With nerves flying frantically all over the place at first, I settled, found deep respect for their ancient traditions and even chose to strip my western identity to fully become like one of them.
Walking through the forest with the women seemed like such a magical journey; a quest back in time to glimpse the world at its most pristine state. I felt my dream had come true and that I had finally found freedom, walking through such natural wonder and breathing in this air. I was secretly hoping to stay there forever. The Huaorani women gathered their food and resources in the jungle with an effortless elegance – everything they need exists in the forest. From collecting plant fibres to make their hammocks and fishnets to cultivating yucca for food, this was definitely the Huaorani Super Store! To think that the destruction of these forests exists not only in the Amazon, but in jungles around the world is horrific.
My time with the Huaorani was definitely the most defining experience of my life. For that, I vowed to be their messenger forever and spread their message through my film and in whatever way I can, to teach people about what is truly important in life. Before I had to force myself to get on the plane back to civilization, I promised them that I would return and show them the film. My mission is to make that return possible and to complete the film by documenting their current situation, which will in effect become, “Amazon Souls part 2”. Now, I need all the help I can get to make this happen!
Amazon Souls was premiered at Cannes Film Festival, shown at the Sheffield Doc/Fest Videoteque, Native Spirit Festival, Sanctum Cinema, Globetrotters Club followed by Sarah’s talk and has been endorsed by Celebrity TV Presenter and Adventurer Bear Grylls as well as support from Sky Rainforest Rescue, Rainforest Alliance and Rainforest Concern. Currently with a sales agents Spier Films, Amazon Souls is aiming to be available to the public by either broadcast, series commission or an online platform.
