You might be wondering what New York, Riga in Latvia, the island of Madagascar and Beijing’s historic hutongs have in common, but they are all on an endangered destinations lists.” Read more at http://www.travelmole.com
Received by The Ant from Avalon Travel Publishing:-
“Avalon Travel has released the eBook editions of Moon Fiji and Moon Tahiti, the leading travel guidebooks to the South Pacific. They are now available in the Kindle store at Amazon, in the Nook store at Barnesandnoble.com, on the Kobo at Borders, on iTunes for the Apple iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and at the Sony Reader store.” Read more at http://www.akgmag.com
From Matt Doughty again via the BBC:-
** Pair in 14-day isle hop challenge **. Two men from Edinburgh are aiming to visit as many Scottish islands as they can in the space of two weeks. Read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk
Long term, active traveller & member Tony has come up with a novel idea – a web site giving an insiders’ point of view on his native Portobello home & surroundings in London ! Those who know Tony, realise that it won’t be the bland, safe view of London that is presented officially…it’s aiming to be a fully-fledged experience of what is worth enjoying, whether you’re a local or a visitor 🙂
Tony has used his experience in TV & socialising to come up with a different perspective on how show what London life could be about and what is worth making an effort to seek out.
Tony’s web site can be found at http://www.portobelloland.co.uk/ – browse away & send him your feedback, questions & comments…he’s waiting to hear from you 🙂
Or do you know someone who could benefit from a helping hand into the wider world?
What is the award ?
Each year the club offers up to two £1,000 awards to give out for the best independent travel plan, as judged by the club’s Committee.
The deadline to receive applications for the next award is 31 October 2011.
See the legacy page on the club’s web site for more details, where you can review previous winners’ trips and/or apply with your plans for a totally independent, travel trip.
If your idea catches our eye we’ll take a closer look at what you’re proposing and give you feedback & maybe a helping hand on your journey of a lifetime!!
Ontario meetings are held at 8.00pm on the third Friday of January, March, May (4th Friday), September and November, at Old York Tower, 85 The Esplanade, in downtown Toronto.
Everyone welcome especially visiting travellers 🙂
For more information contact Svatka Hermanek at hermanek@yahoo.ca, Bruce Weber at bruceaweber@hotmail.com / on tel. 416 203-0911 or Paul Webb on tel. 416 694-8259.
LOZISCA AND BOBIVISCA.Our walk starts in Lozišća, which has the most beautiful belfry on the island. We walk to the picturesque fishing harbour Bobovišća luka where you can take a break for sightseeing and swimming (weather permitting) Every Tuesday. Own transport or share a taxi meet on bridge in Lozisca 9am. Please call ahead to let us know you are coming and we can give directions…Distance 5 kilometres. Approx 2hrs 30mins.
FULL DAY HIKE FROM SHEPARD’S VILLAGE GAŽUL TO VIDOVA GORA AND DOWN TO BOLOld Sheppard’s village Gažul on Vidova gora. We walk through a forest of black pines arriving at the highest peak on this Adriatic island, “Vidova gora” a beautiful view of Famous Zlatni Rat Beach. Time for sightseeing and photos then we walk down hill back to Bol.
Every Thursday. Meet 9am at Gazul Village. Please call ahead and let us know you are coming and we will give directions. 8. Kilometres approx 4hrs.
No charge for buddies to show you the way. Be aware we are not professional guide’s just fellow walkers who want to share our passion for this beautiful Island. Please note we do not operate in JULY or AUGUST. Own transport, public bus or taxi. Transport can be arranged sharing the costs for four or more persons..
Minimum 2 persons required max 10. Bring a Picnic lunch and bottle of water.
Many other Beautiful and interesting walks on request for private groups.
“Doing the door” after the meeting has started is annoying in most respects: we never start at 14:30…more like 14:45, when those who have made it on time are now less patient and all the last minute checks have been made with the oncoming speakers.
Those who are late, are therefore very late and miss the first 20 minutes setting of the presentation. They are the disorganised (like me), the cyclists who think they can speed faster than time itself, the long distance public transport users with wows of the British public transport system (the “vandals” had stripped the signal cable again between the West Country and Reading yesterday), the old and the infirm.
Having an elderly Mum I now understand their needs better, are just slow: they need time to shuffle and not fall down the stairs. Other late comers just lost their way: new visitors and infrequently attending members. So my patience was stretched when I opened the door to the 7th late attendee: a large elderly, bearded gent with stick and American accent.
“Welcome” I said.”Well thanks. I am a member but don’t often get over to the UK to attend meetings, so thought I should make the effort”.
“Well thanks for making the effort” I replied and helped him down the stairs and into the room.
After the meeting, I invited him and our remaining speaker to the pub. As both are infrequently in the UK, pints of Flowers went down well. Once seated, we got chatting.
“So what brings you back to England then?” An acceptable opening question you may think. Would you expect a joke reply?
“To receive an OBE from Her Majesty” What an answer!
Mike Shawcross in action
Quick double take: no glint in the eye and one not of an age to joke. But what a fabulous response to work in, next time some jerk asks me a similar question?
So, Mr Michael Shawcoss OBE (22 June 2011), Globetrotter Member from Hebdon Bridge W.Yorks, originally went to Turkey to do potholing there, then on to Canada and since 1989 has been living in Guatemala teaching and learning from the 22 indigenous tribal Indian peoples there. But that’s not all. In 1964 (pre-hippi trail) he hitch hiked back from India on £9 0/-. It would have been £10, but he needed to renew his passport for £1.
Simon
To quote the UK government, via the 2011 New Year’s Honours’ List, Mike received his OBE “For services to aid projects helping disadvantaged communities in Guatemala”. Mike returned to Guatemala on July 22 but managed to speak at the July’s Members’ slides meeting in London…
This time round Mac discusses movies that could inspire you or him to go travelling:-
1. Outsourced (India) – see what happens when a US company outsources an entire department to India.
2. The Motorcycle Diaries (in Spanish I think with subtitles)…a dreamy, reflective view of Che Guevara’s formative travels across South America
3. Into the Wild – Its what most backpackers dream of doing and directed by Sean Penn
4. Under the Tuscan Sun – Hollywood’s take on Frances Mayes 1996 novel
5. Slumdog Millionaire What it is like to live in India, from the ground up, in the modern world…
6. Lost In Translation…with Bill Murray clashing cultures in Japan
7. Eurotrip – Makes you want to buy a one way ticket to see Europe from a graduate’s perspective…
8. Shanghai Kiss – After watching it you will want
to see China, again from a cross cultural graduate point of view.
9. City of God – Stories of life from very different perspectives in Rio De Janeiro Brazil
10. The Beach – set in Thailand, staring Leonardo Di Caprio
Whilst some are certainly down to personal choice, I suspect Mac has thrown enough thoughts into the proverbial hat, so that we can come up with our own ideas. What do you think – are Mac’s choices rotten tomatoes or Oscar winners ? Which films would you chose instead ?
If you enjoy writing & travelling, why not write for the free Globetrotters eNewsletter ! The Ant 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 15,000 people currently subscribe to the Globetrotter eNewsletter.
Email The Ant at theant@globetrotters.co.uk with your travel experiences / hints & tips / questions. Your article should be approximately 1000 words, feature up to 3 or 4 jpeg photos and introduce yourself with a couple of sentences and a contact e-mail address.
Wonderful to get your news as we are in mid Australia on BIKE THE EARTH – www.biketheearth.net (Please check out at least the first page of our website).
We have done 3500 km, connecting communities, inspiring initiatives, on ABC Television, on the radio, and in the media, with some great testimonials for the work we are doing!
From a sunny, summery London J Amidst Royal weddings, Olympic preparations & numerous big issues in the worlds of politics & finance, Globetrotters and friends are still managing to enjoy travel… We in this edition of the eNewsletter talk about Croatia, Mac’s World, Mike Shawcross OBE, Portobelloland and what’s been happening in the UK based branches of the Globetrotters Club. An eclectic mix and you’d be very correct…read on & find out how so !
What else is happening across the wider travel world ?
“Outside Lands” music festival in San Francisco, USA features a host of acts in a top location close to the Golden Gate Bridge…see http://www.sfoutsidelands.com
Slow Food Cheese Festival in Bra, Italy for those passionate about eating good quality food – see http://www.deliciousitaly.com/guide/north-italy-regions/piemonte-guide/piemonte-food-and-wine/item/667-bra-cheese-festival.html
London’s Mayor is again holding the Thames Festival this year, September 2011, and details of this “one of London’s best” can be found athttp://www.thamesfestival.org/
