The Mälar Valley in Sweden has some of Europe’s most beautiful scenery, with unspoilt forests, lakes and rivers where you can get away from crowds, traffic and all the other pressures of the modern world. Lake Mälaren is the third biggest lake in Sweden and stretches from the capital, Stockholm to around 150 kilometres to the West. The total population in the Mälar Valley is around 1.5 million.

Have you ever been in the Mälar Valley? I suppose not! For most people outside Sweden, the Mälar Valley is still an undiscovered place – it’s one of Sweden’s best-kept secrets. So read and be inspired and then come to the Mälar Valley and experience the real thing!

History: once this area was the power base for the Swedes, from which wealth and power arose. Where Lake Mälaren flows into salt waters, people built a castle as protection from pirates. Birger Jarl decided that a town should surround the castle. The town that was built was named Stockholm. It later became the capital of Sweden until today. Iron production, boat building and farming were the three most important industries. Each of these technologies thrived in central Sweden due to the availability of the resources they were dependent on. Later, these became contributing factors to the Viking expeditions. Based on the archaeological remains of farmsteads, it is thought that there was a great increase in the population in the Mälar valley during the Viking era.

History’s legacy: the long history of the region naturally contributes to its rich cultural environment. To travel in the Mälar Valley is to travel through Swedish history: castles and manors on the shores of Lake Mälaren, rock carvings from the Bronze Age, rune stones from Viking times, medieval churches with beautiful frescoes and much more. The north of the valley is an old mining area, and the history of metal manufacturing can be studied at old works and mines. The cultural heritage of the region is thus both rich in content, and easily accessible. The region has since the Viking Age been a center for trading and transport.

The Connecting Bond: Lake Mälaren was once the natural way to and from the capital, Stockholm, between different parts of the region and between the region and the rest of the world. It still is for the thousands of leisure boats that pass through the Stockholm lock each year. Today the Mälar Valley is well connected: the national roads are many and excellent and there are two airports in the region, Arlanda, the largest, and Västerås, right in the middle of the Mälar Valley.

The Castles in the Mälar Valley: when you come to the Mälar Valley I strongly recommend you to visit some of the castles around Lake Mälaren. All of them are historically interesting and have their own anecdotes. For example Tidö Castle is a real toy palace with its grand toy museum with collections dating back to the 1700s. Also, a young boy Dohna disappeared in the castle at the end of the 1700s aged only four years old. He was never found, but you can still hear him calling….

18 of the castles and manors around Lake Mälaren are members of an association called Mälarslott, the Mälar Castles and all are accessible by land and sea; some of the castles are also hotels. One of these, Sundbyholm’s Castle is in easy reach, on the seaside right in the middle of the Mälar Valley. Skokloster dates from 1654 and is the largest castle with 77 rooms covering almost 2,139 sq.m. It houses a fantastic collection of art, textiles, furniture, weapons, tools and books. The Skokloster Pageant, a folk festival of Swedish history takes place from July 23-27, 2003. Close to the castle is Skokloster Inn & Hotel, one of the hotels we use.

Other activities: the environs of the Mälar Valley offer a range of outdoor activities: it has Europe’s northernmost beech forest, attractive country walks in the woods and by the water. For those seeking a more structured program of activities, there is plenty to choose from – you can play golf – there are 41 golf courses, hike, ride, fish, canoe, bicycle and more.

Peace and Quiet Travel is family-run business located in the Mälar Valley. We specialise in creating tailor made holidays. We use the kind of hotels that we ourselves would want to stay in for a relaxing and refreshing break. Right now we have a special summer 2003 offer. For more details, see our website http://www.peaceandquiet.co.uk or e-mail us at info@peaceandquiet.co.uk.

Nicaragua was colonised by the Spanish and has the old colonial buildings and cobbled streets to show; it has the oldest cathedral in Central America, and Granada is reputed to be the oldest city on the western hemisphere. Nicaragua has also had more than its share of destruction through earthquakes and revolutions. Managua, the capital was hit particularly hard by the 1972 earthquake which pretty much wiped out what was the centre of town.

This tour takes in the “best” of Nicaragua in 10 days. It is not a big country so everything is within easy reach and there is a reasonable bus system. Everyone seems to agree that Ometepe Island is the highlight of Nicaragua, followed by Granada. No one much seems to like Managua, saying it is a bit dodgy. You could do most of this itinerary as day trips from Managua, but the Beetle recommends that you get out of Managua – not such a great place – and stay over in different places.

Day 1: fly into Managua. Managua, the capital of Nicaragua is on the southern shore of Lake Managua. Settle into your hotel/hostel and explore. Managua itself is a bit of a sad city. Despite the new building boom, it is not hard to see that the centre is still astonishingly devastated from the 1972 earthquake, so it a curious place as there is no real centre any more, it is spread all over, wherever funding allows new building. The Intercom hotel is something of a landmark, it is built in the shape of one of the old Mayan pyramids, some consider this as the centre – it was the only building that survived the 1972 earthquake. The lake is brown and has waves and looks like the sea, but it is dirty and not nice. Things to see include the Plaza de la República, the newly renovated cathedral which is now a museum, the Peace Park where you can see the giant lighthouse, and the tank and thousands of guns mummified in spray-on concrete. Near the cathedral is the grave of Carlos Fonseca, the founder of the Sandinistas, the Palcio Nacional, and the new Casa Presedencial. There are several museums, including a Museum of the Revolution. There are some places to swim, in the lagunas that are volcanic crater lakes. People tend not to stay in Managua, they usually head straight out to Granada – note Granada not Leon. There is a good bus network though, so getting around is easy. If you have time, take a morning bus to the Laguna de Xiloá, a crater lake that is a popular swimming spot about 20km north west of Managua and have a swim. Return to Managua.

Day 2: do a day trip to Leon. Take the bus to Leon, north of Managua and not far. Leon allegedly has Central America's oldest cathedral that took over 200 years to rebuild. It has some large paintings of the 12 Stations of the Cross and also houses the tomb of Rubén Darío, the poet. There are monuments to the revolution and Sandanista murals all over Leon. Leon is smaller than Granada and will not take more than a half day to look around, have some lunch and return to Managua. You can wander the streets and admire the colonial churches and the whitewashed adobe buildings with red roofs. There’s plenty of info about the 1978-79 revolution too for those interested in some of Nicaragua’s past. If you find, like the Beetle, that there is not a lot to keep you in Leon, then take the bus back to Managua and then on to Granada.

Day 3: Take a bus from Managua to El Trapiche, 17km southeast of Managua. El Trapiche is a place where large outdoor pools have been formed by near by natural springs. It is quite pretty as there are gardens and restaurants. Have lunch and have a splash. You may meet some tourists here! From here, continue to another 5kms southeast to the Massaya Volcano Nat Park. It is only 23kms south east of Managua and also 20 mins drive from Granada. The volcano is still active and you can see (and smell!) the steam coming out of it. There are some hot springs, the usual sort of volcano stuff. There's also a big market at Massaya where you can buy hammocks etc. When you have had a look around, take the bus to Granada and overnight there.

Day 4: Granada is only around 45kms away from Managua. It lies at the base of the Mombacho volcano and is on Lake Nicaragua so it has a constant cool breeze. Granada has cobbled streets and you will see lots of Spanish style colonial architecture, the cathedral, the Colon Park and Mombacho. It took the Beetle less than a day to visit and explore Granada, although she did not go on the lake. Some say that Granada is the oldest city in the western hemisphere. If you are a bird watcher, there are over 350 volcanic islands in Lake Managua. The islands that people visit are called Las Islets de Nicaragua where you can see nesting cormorants etc. You can go kayaking here if that is your thing.

Day 5: take a trip out onto Lake Nicaragua and visit some of the islands. San Pablo has a small fortress built by the Spaniards to protect against British pirates in the 18th century, Isla Zapatera is a national park and has some old stone statues. Isla del Muerto also has tombs and rock carvings to see.

Day 6 and 7: From Granada take the bus to San Jorge, near Rivas it’s about 4 hours by bus and take the ferry out to visit Ometepe Island, the largest freshwater island in the world (complete with fresh water sharks!) Ometepe is the highlight for most people visiting Nicaragua. Once there, you can lie around on the beaches or if you are feeling slightly more energetic, you can climb up Volcano Maderas. Take the bus from San Jorge to San Juan del Sur on the Pacific coast.

Day 8, 9,10: laze on the beach at San Juan del Sur. Day 10 take the bus back up to Managua to fly back home.

Alternative: there is a five-hour boat trip down the Río Escondido to Bluefields, on the Caribbean coast. Most travellers reckon that this is not worth it and the Beetle has not seen many good reports about Bluefields….but, the Corn Islands in the Caribbean just off Bluefields are worth the trip. To get there, the best way is to fly from Managua – around $100 return. Little Corn Island in particular gets some rave reviews for sunning and swimming.

The Santorini Ferry or as it is lovingly called Mama Tanzania, is one of those amazing things that can only be found in Tanzania. This boat is an experience in itself. The Santorini ferry is a 1960’s Greek cruiser and is run by a Greek Crew. It is in good nick for its age and is certainly the most upper-class thing ever to hit Mtwara.

The boat takes roughly 18 hours crossing time. You leave Mtwara lunchtime on Friday and are in Dar-es-Salaam by the morning. On return you leave Tuesday lunchtime and arrive Mtwara Wednesday morning. There are five classes, A-F ranging from class A at 40,500 Tsh to class F at 11,500 Tsh. Class A, B and C all have cabins although only class A has an en-suite bathroom! If you are in the top three classes you have use of the two restaurants one which serves Swahili food which will set you back about 2000 Tsh and is self-service canteen style and another which serves European food and is waiter service. This cost me about 8,000 Tsh but I did have three courses and a salad, what can I say Mikindani makes you hungry! And a good bowl of mushroom soup followed by spaghetti bolognaise followed by fruit salad was a well-deserved treat, I thought! Volunteers must be warned, local eating habits do not apply here and attacking food hyena style is not advised, believe me, I know! When a man wearing a T-shirt saying “ABIBAS”(ADIDAS) looks at you in disbelief you are really put in your place.

Despite this you are made to feel quite comfortable in the top three classes on this mystery boat. The bar is well equipped with two satellite TV’s and and a DJ, as I suppose you could call him – the man who bangs out tunes for the entire journey. This is needed, as the majority of passengers use this room just to keep their bags in, this is a style adopted by our very own Emmanuel who managed to make it the whole 18 hours propped up at the bar so I was told by the stewardess ladies on board who all remember Mr Casanova very well! This is a lively place, not for the faint hearted. If you suffer seasickness or hate rap avoid this bar like the plague. I seemed to know a lot of people and like anywhere in Tanzania everyone is related somehow!

Class D and E are made up of rows of armchair seats inside with a small counter to by snacks and drinks. All classes A- E are air-conditioned. Class F is a plastic seat outside that runs down the hallways of both sides of the boat. On the top deck there are benches covered by a canopy. In rough weather these seats can be a bit difficult and on the top deck is very windy and the coldest I’ve ever been outside in Tanzania. If you want to cool down, clear your head and get a wonderful view of the stars then this is the place to be. All in all I would recommend using the Santorini as a reliable way to travel from Dar-es-Salaam to Mtwara. Especially for future volunteers, it is a cheaper alternative to flying and the 1960s décor is bound to keep you amused!

Update: our friends at Trade Aid tell us that the Santorini has been pulled from this route. We do not yet know if this is permanent or not.

For more information about Trade Aid, volunteers and their work, please visit their website www.mikindani.com

We had easyJet (which spawned low cost imitators including Ryanair) and now easyCruise is coming our way in 2004. Not many people know that the low cost pile ‘em high and give them crap so called low cost airlines was started by the serial entrepreneurial Stelios Haji-Ioannou. Now, Stelios, as he likes to be known, is looking at a low cost cruise business. Don’t forget that he comes from a shipping background before making his name creating the UK’s extremely successful first no-frills airline.

He has plans to charge around £30 or US $50 per night on Mediterranean and Caribbean cruises. Prices will be berth-only, with extra charges for meals and drinks – sound familiar? (The Beetle rather cynically wonders if you have pre-allocated cabins or is survival of the fittest as to who can get there first?!) Passengers can choose where they join and leave the ship subject to availability. Summer cruises will take place in the Mediterranean and in the winter months in the Caribbean.

He hopes to attract a younger clientele, backpackers and even young families for whom previously, the notion of cruising has been prohibitively expensive.

If anyone can take on the big cruisers such as Carnival-Princess, RCL and Star Cruises, he can. The company is currently looking for smaller passenger ships and says that operations may start at Easter 2004. The easyCruise concept will be bookable on-line with early booking discounts available. Watch this space!