For a truly unique experience with nature, you can't beat Xcarat in the Cancun area of Mexico.

Best known for the swimming with dolphins opportunity they offer, most tourists flock there for the experience, and it is well worth it. For a reasonable fee you have about an hour with the dolphins. The trainers teach you about their habits in the wild and how they interact with humans. At some point you are allowed to pet them and feel connected with these incredible animals. The trainers then get the dolphins to do tricks in the pool and even jump over you in incredible formation. It is all caught on video tape and photos that you can purchase after the experience. It was incredible to me, after viewing the video tape, to see how close the dolphins came to us before leaping up behind us and jumping over our heads. When you are in the pool waiting for them to jump you actually don't feel them behind you. You just suddenly see them over you. That proved to me how graceful they are in the water and how they could be inches away from you without you even realizing it. It was a truly thrilling experience.

The rest of the park is also amazing. We saw an exhibit with quails, hatching before your eyes, out of their eggs. It is a credit to the park that before you enter, they supply you with sunscreen made from only natural ingredients. So you don't harm the animals with which you interact.

Also available is a wonderful open exhibit with local birds, monkeys and even baby crocodiles. You walk along a paved walkway and all the creatures are out in the open, so it's almost like being in the forest itself, with nothing between you and the animals. The variety of birds is spectacular and the colours are a real feast for the eyes. Just when you think you know what to expect something surprises and delights you. For example, at one point we were only expecting to see more birds but were pleasantly surprised to look up and saw a large family of monkeys, directly above us. The male of the group became territorial and to protect his family threw branches at us. It was truly an interactive experience and something we weren't expecting.

There are also guides around that allow you to hold a small crocodile; still another photo op! You can even walk up to some of the larger parrots to pet them. Don't try this while they are eating though, because they think you are trying to steal their food. But it was really incredible seeing all this wildlife and actually being able to touch and interact with them.

Xcarat is truly a must see for nature lovers as well as those who want to experience local animal and bird life.

Our first speaker was Denise Heywood, who stepped in at short notice, and gave a talk titled Bombay to Borobudur. Denise took us on a journey from Bollywood in India to Raffles hotel in Singapore, we saw pictures of saris, flowers, markets and Christian cathedrals. Denise finished with the tale of Mr Raffles who the hotel is named after and who discovered the Borobudur temple lost in the jungle

After the break Tim Burford gave a talk on Alaska, a journey of 2300 miles along the Alaska Highway. Tim took us from Vancouver, at the start of the Canadian Pacific railway and then across the White Pass, visiting gold rush towns on steam engines over trestle bridges and glaciers and old mines.

Forthcoming London meetings:

Saturday 2nd July – 3.00 pm – Concert Artistes Association,20 Bedford Street,Covent Garden, London WC2

NB – change of meeting place and time for July and September.

This is the last meeting before the August break, when we'll be back in September. There will be an examination of Members Slides comprising eight mini-presentations from Globetrotters members.

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

What is it: hookworm is an intestinal parasite of humans that usually causes mild diarrhoea or cramps. Heavy infection with hookworm can create serious health problems for newborns, children, and pregnant women. Hookworm infections occur mostly in tropical and subtropical climates and are estimated to infect about 1 billion people — about one-fifth of the world's population. One of the most common species is found in southern Europe, northern Africa, northern Asia, and parts of South America. Hookworm eggs require warm, moist, shaded soil to hatch into larvae. The larvae are hardly visible and penetrate the skin (often through bare feet), and are carried to the lungs. Then they go through the respiratory tract to the mouth where they are swallowed, and eventually reach the small intestine. This journey takes about a week. In the small intestine, the larvae develop into half-inch-long worms, attaching themselves to the intestinal wall, where they suck blood. The adult worms produce thousands of eggs. These eggs are passed in human faeces (stools).

How do I get it: you can become infected by direct contact with contaminated soil, usually by walking barefoot, or accidentally swallowing contaminated soil. Children in the countries or areas above are most likely at risk because they often play in dirt and go barefoot. Since transmission of hookworm infection requires development of the larvae in soil, hookworm cannot be spread person to person.

What happens if I get it: itching and a rash at the site of where the skin touched soil or sand is usually the first sign of infection. These symptoms occur when the larvae penetrate the skin. While a light infection may show no symptoms, heavy infection can cause anaemia, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, and weight loss. Heavy, chronic infections can cause stunted growth and mental development.

Diagnose and treatment: the infection is diagnosed by identifying hookworm eggs in a stool sample. Hookworm infections are generally treated for 1-3 days with medication prescribed by your health care provider.

How can I avoid contracting hookworm: don't not walk barefoot or have contact with the soil with bare hands in areas where hookworm is common or there is likely to be faeces in the soil or sand.

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 10,000 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

After four years back in London, the Beetle is scuttling to pastures new. She will continue to be involved with the Globetrotter e-newsletter, so please keep your stories, anecdotes and comments coming!

“Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” – Samuel Johnson

I've lived longer in London than any other place. I love London; if based in the UK, it's the only place I'd chose to live, but…you knew there was a 'but' coming…..like any large city, it has its downsides. On the plus side, I like London for its cosmopolitan mix of people and all that they bring with them. So, for example, one of my favourite restaurants is the Ethiopian restaurant, Merkato on Cally Rd.

I like London's tolerance for dress and eccentricity – if you want to have a pink Mohican, well fine, no-one is going to stop and stare, if you want to have 1000 piercings or walk down the road holding hands with the same sex – nobody minds, or is it more a question that nobody cares? One day whilst walking in the City, I almost bumped into a very tall man with 3 day stubble, blue eye shadow, pink lipstick, wearing a Laura Ashley print dress and Doc Martin boots, and he had amazingly hairy legs! I like the tolerance of however you want to present yourself goes, it's not frowned up to stand out. I like it that we have a live and let live attitude, so no matter what your personal, sexual or religious preferences are, that's fine in London.

I guess I like the diversity of people and backgrounds London offers and all the activities available. If you want to learn tango, go to origami classes, learn car maintenance or Japanese or dress making, there's always a class for you. The night life is good too, ranging from the sort of full on clubs you'd see in any big city to individual hang outs, great wine bars, coffee shops – there's something for everyone – at a price.

Most British people take our heritage completely for granted. I have to confess, I lived 3 minutes walk from St Paul's cathedral, but I've never been in it – I objected to the outrageous entry fee. I could have attended a service, but I didn't. I went to the Tower of London as a child, but not since. One job I had involved working in a John Nash designed building and walking past the Royal National Opera House and St Martins in the Fields on my way to work. I admit, I used to look up and think how lucky I was, but I have only been to the opera twice, though I use the café in the crypt at St Martins in the Field on the odd occasion, but both are very expensive. I like the theatre very much, and there are ways of obtaining reasonably priced tickets, but if you want to go and see a movie in the West End, it'll set you back around £10. The cinemas at the Barbican are my favourite, because you can choose where to sit, it's not quite so expensive and people are generally better behaved – and this is the key to my leaving London.

In London, there is a two tier system of activities and places to go. There are the places that tourists go, like Oxford St, Covent Garden and all of the shops, bars and restaurants around there that no self-respecting Londoner would admit to going to. They are usually too expensive, too loud, too busy and of embarrassing quality; you really have to know where to go, and if you are new to London, this takes time to build up. For me, and I am not a native Londoner, part of the fun in London is discovering new haunts and hang outs. Building this knowledge can be frustrating too. It took me years to find a decent plumber, electrician and painter, and still not found a good builder.

I find London expensive, and I live here, so I imagine that visitors must feel the same. I also think it often offers very poor value for money, ranging from the tourist trap restaurants to historic site entrance fees. Having lived and worked in the US, Germany, Switzerland, Cayman to name but a few places, I don't think we have a very good service culture here in the UK, in shops restaurants and other services. The costs of renting, and even buying a place in Central London are often prohibitive. Bus fares are outrageous – £1.20 a journey and usually take twice the time of a crowded tube in London's traffic. A tube journey costs a minimum now of £2.20 – just avoid rush hour if you can, tube travel is becoming unbearable. Weekly passes are better value, but still expensive. Londoners regularly complain about London transport, but I think we are lucky in having a good network of buses, tubes and trains, even if they are often unpleasantly crowded, smelly, dirty, expensive, slow and late – you try using public transport outside London, in rural areas in the UK, it is almost non existent. Mind you, when I compare the attitude of New York City subway kiosk attendants to the London Underground counter attendants, London wins, hands down for not being as rude and as unhelpful as their NYC counterparts. I won't even bother to discuss driving in London, with congestion zone charges, cameras, lack pf parking, astronomical parking charges and over zealous ticket toting traffic wardens.

Whilst I like the live and let live attitude in London about people's dress and preferences, there are chinks in this when it comes to public behaviour. In the past month, I have witnessed three incidents of bus rage – seriously! The first was a man who was too late to get on a bus on Upper St in Islington. The bus driver refused to let him on the bus as he'd pulled away from the bus stop, so the man walked in front of the bus, arms stretched out wide and refused to let the bus move on. After 10 minutes of this and a torrent of the foulest abuse imaginable, and the bus driver calmly radio-ing “we have a problem”, the man decided to try and punch in the driver's window, repeatedly spat at it and then tried to kick in the bus' folding doors. The passengers and I was one, sat frozen and mute in horror. Another bus incident involved a woman who was either mad or badly in need of help and announced that she was going to kill the vandals responsible for chopping down some tress near where she lived. She took to accusing the entire downstairs of the crowded bus and in particular a gaggle of chip eating school girls at the back of the bus who refused to open the window to let in some fresh air to dilute the stink of chips they were eating. The mad woman and the girls then proceeded to engage in a battle of the foulest language and threats until the mad woman got off. The third incident just makes for more depressing retelling. And yet, I have seen Asian youths give up their seat for older people, but no-one offer their seat on a sweltering and crowded tube for a very pregnant woman. I offered, she refused, like she expected this kind of behaviour. But there are good Samaritans: a couple of months back, I saw a lady trip on the bottom stair of a moving escalator at Euston and a huge number of people stopped to help pick her up, dust her down and collect her bags for her. We are not entirely a capital of monsters, but I do wonder sometimes. When I recounted these tales to my friends, they shrug and say, well, this is London.

I could be boring and go on about the weather, the politics, the dumbing down of our tv, (ironically, the only tv programmes I watch are from the US – CSI, Law & Order, Futurama and the odd film), the British press – we have some of the most obnoxious and intrusive tabloids in the world. We've just had a general election, though you wouldn't know it. Our political apathy is maybe based on the pathetic characters available for election. What's that Dr Johnson said?

The Human Development Index (HDI), published annually by the UN, ranks nations according to their citizens' quality of life rather than strictly by a nation's traditional economic figures. The criteria for calculating rankings include life expectancy, educational attainment, and adjusted real income.

Source: www.infoplease.com

Sally, from Malmsbury, Wiltshire in the UK packed her bags a few years ago to make a new home for herself in a small village near Estoril, Lisbon in Portugal. She works as an English as a Foreign Language teacher and here are some of her latest exploits. If you have ever thought or dreamt about becoming a TEFL teacher, then this may provide some inspiration.

I had an interesting job just after Christmas. I was asked to go to Lisbon to assess the level of English of six candidates for a job with a large insurance company. As it was 9.00 in the morning I decided to take the train. So I got up early, got the bus and then the train into Lisbon. It brought back vivid memories of all those months I commuted from Chippenham to Richmond just outside London, except that stood on a chilly platform at Estoril gazing at a blue sea certainly beat standing on a freezing platform at Chippenham and gazing at a car park with bored seagulls. The crowds negotiating train to metro were just like dear old Paddington but hey, trains coincide with the metro and I was at my appointment at 8.50 – not bad eh?

I really enjoyed the interviewing. They all sat round the table and I kicked off a conversation asking them what they all did – some were very good and articulate but there was the usual “I am better than all the rest” one who got on peoples' nerves. I then asked them to write a letter of application in English applying for the job and giving reasons why they thought they were suitable. This narrowed the field tremendously as although they could speak English well, their written work let them down. I managed to shortlist three with one clear contender and then was very pleased when the HR lady told me I had picked the three she had thought were right for the second stage. Result!

Teaching is still fun – I now have an Argentinean plastic surgeon who wants to move to England and has limited English. Joaquim is 33 and has been in Portugal for three years. His brother is a GP in Patagonia. He wants to have his own clinic eventually back in Argentina but the timing is not right at the moment. He is very keen for people to visit the country as the currency exchange is in our favour and not theirs at the moment. I took him on a practical lesson the other Saturday – a tour of Jumbo supermarket and Cascais fruit and vegetable market – he really enjoyed it.

I have also got a new class at a huge toy store. They are a hoot. They are all in the office and I do two hours with them usually on a Tuesday night. It's nice when you work on site as you get to see them in situ. They are very friendly with a wicked sense of humour and don't want books, just conversation and how to deal with English phone calls. One of my students has a great catchphrase when she doesn't understand – “whattee”. They are very interesting and ask intelligent questions regarding translations of phrases or as last week, the headings on a financial spreadsheet. When the Head of HR is not in the lesson, the questions tend to get more relaxed as in “Miss Sally, tell us some swear words in English”! Body parts are also of great amusement.

Jeronimos Monastery, Lisbon, photo by the Beetle

Jorge, my Siemens student, is constantly keeping me amused – if it's not the latest scandal in football, it's the problems at work and the entertaining saga of getting building permits and planning permission for his new house. He is a real pleasure to teach because he is such fun. In fact the whole office makes me very welcome and they all come over and chat and tell me whether they think he is improving or not. He went to Dresden two weeks ago that meant a couple of German/Portuguese/English lessons – I seem to be learning bits of German as well as Spanish these days.

Last week I gave him a crash course in football reporting – three English articles on Jose Mourinho and Chelsea – very amusing and of great interest to the other guys in the office that wanted to know what he was reading. I was very pleased when he told me that he had tried to read English articles on the plane to Dresden.

Tatiana, my tourism student, is having problems working on essays so we have been trying to break her block. We did a short one last week that was basically a précis of a Portuguese legend from Nazare. I'm hoping that the work we did will give her the confidence she needs. We started meeting in the coffee bar at Jumbo supermarket but the smoke was a pain on days when we couldn't sit outside, so then we moved to Cascais Library, where they have tables and chairs (and resident cat) outside but that got too cold. We then found a very nice pastelaria (Lua da Mel or Honeymoon) but recently she has had problems with babysitters, so we have the class in her flat with her baby daughter, Ayeesha who is very sweet and loves unloading my bag and pinching pencils.