Here’s a little Beetle quiz based on airport codes. See how many you get right! Go on, have a guess!

Which cities are served by airports with the following codes:

1. MSY
2. FCO
3. MEL
4. LXR
5. CMB

For the answers, see at the end of the e-newsletter.

Would you like to take part in a documentary we are currently making for Channel 4? It is provisionally titled Travellers Tales, and is about travellers who have experienced tropical illnesses. Perhaps… you unwittingly transported a bot-fly home from a remote destination? You got lost at sea? You are being de-wormed for tapeworms? You were made part of drug smuggling scam? You were held hostage by terrorists? You left the country on a mission to solve a medical mystery? You survived a natural calamity? Or are you still staggered by a memorable bout of Delhi Belly? Perhaps you even know a British traveller currently receiving treatment in a clinic or hospital abroad?

I would like to hear about your experience of the places you have been to in addition to accounts of any illnesses you might have had. I am concerned with illnesses ranging from diarrhoea to dengue and would be very interested to hear your story – funny or painful – with a view to including it in the documentary. Should you be interested in taking part, your journeys will be portrayed accurately and responsibly.

The idea is to tell people's cautionary tales as a way of helping viewers understand the need to prepare for travel to far flung places in the world and to offer some suggestions of how to deal with problems should they arise.

If you have a gripping story to tell or know anyone who has been afflicted by long haul travel OR have faced unplanned challenges, please do get in touch. If you have been ill contact catherine.brindley@rdfmedia.com If you have a story to tell about the severe hardships you faced the please contact danny.horan@rdfmedia.com

If you have a travellers tale that your aching to tell. Then why not visit the “Travel Sized Bites” section of the Website and share it with the world. Travel Sized Bites

Visitor figures to the Balearic Islands have slumped because of a controversial eco-tax introduced just a year ago.

The tax, (around £12 million raised so far) paid by tourists to the islands, started in May 2002 to counter the environmental damage caused by mass tourism.

The levy proved very unpopular with families visiting Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza or Formentera as it added as much as £70 to their total holiday cost.

The tax now looks likely to be abolished by the islands' newly-elected government.

“Ladies and Gentlemen do you want the good news first or the bad news?

“The good news is that last Friday was my birthday and I hit the town and had a great time. I felt sadly let down by the fact that none of you sent me a card! I drive you to work and home each day and not even a card.”

“The bad news is that there is a points failure somewhere between Stratford and East Ham, which means that we probably won't reach our destination for a good ninety minutes yet. We may have to stop and return. I won't reverse back up the line – simply get out, walk up the platform and go back to where we started. In the meantime if you get bored you can simply talk to the man in front or beside you or opposite you.”

“Let me start you off: “Hi, my name's Gary how do you do?”

If you live in the UK, and have access to Channel 5, then switch on, tune on to Search for the lost city of Gold, Channel 5, 9pm Weds 9^th July> Thank you,

The Australian and New Zealand governments have both said they will commit to sending army and police forces to nearby troubled Solomon Islands. The on-going ethnic violence has resulted in the country being dangerous to visit, which is a huge shame as the Beetle can strongly recommend the wreck diving in the Solomons as being among the best in the world. Authorities fear that if the current lawlessness continues, the country will be used as a base by terrorists, money launderers and drug traffickers.

Anyone planning to visit Mallorca and Ibiza can now pop over to the Spanish mainland on a new high-speed ferry service. The catamaran service can carry up to 900 passengers and up to 265 cars. The routes include Palma to Ibiza in two hours, and Ibiza to Valencia in three hours. The journey will cost €56 per person or €65 to take a car. For more info, visit www.trasmediterranea.es

Under 30? A member of Globetrotters Club? Interested in a £1,000 travel award?

Know someone who is? We have £1,000 to award each year for five years for the best submitted independent travel plan. Interested?

Then see our legacy page on our Website, where you can apply with your plans for a totally independent travel trip and we'll take a look at it. Get those plans in!!

Frank from the US is currently 3,000 miles and more en route from Texas to Alaska. He sent the Beetle an e-mail to say that in Dawson Creek British Columbia there is an e-mail shop at the Mile Zero on the Alaskan Highway. This place is the only one in town. Cost $3.00 for 30 minutes, $6.00 per hour. It might be of interest for any Globetrotters that might be coming this way. E-mail sales@softemp.ca they will be happy to help you out.