As I write this I am crossing the Mackenzie river on a ferry on the way to Inuvik, Northwest territories, several hundred miles north of the arctic circle and as far as the road goes north in Canada. It’s about 12:30 am and the light still shines bright here. Twilight is my favourite time of day and I have just enjoyed six hours of it as I drove further and further north. Shortly it will become lighter and lighter again as the seemingly eternal dawn takes over from the eternal dusk I love no place like I love the north-it really brings out my soul and makes it sing. I left Dawson city this morning. The distance from Dawson to Inuvik is longer than from Anchorage, Alaska to Dawson. I have enjoyed every minute of it–the mountains, the wild fall colours, the quiet, the sight of the occasional moose or fox or caribou, all of it. Most of all, I love the closeness of the people up here.

I stopped about 100 miles north of the arctic circle to help three Eskimos who had a flat. Their uncle had borrowed their jack and forgot to put it back. My lug wrench and jack didn’t fit so we flagged down two cars-a New Zealander furnished the lug wrench and a British Colombian furnished the jack. We used the occasion to have a kind of party and I distributed beer from my ice chest. The Eskimos told us that right here in this gorgeous place where they broke down is where the hundreds of thousands caribou would migrate in just a few days time. I hope that I will be able to see it – it was a lovely experience and was probably my favourite experience in fixing a tire. In many other parts of the world people wouldn’t stop at all; they would be full of fear and suspicion about being robbed or killed or maybe just numb from the demands on their soul where they live. Here it is life or death, and people are used to helping each other and being available for each other. I remember when I first arrived in the north of pulling over to the side of the road in the winter to take a leak and having several cars stop and ask me if I needed help. It feels so very very good to be here! Even though I left Alaska 13 years ago, I still carry my Alaska driver’s license, and have not doubt that it will always be my real home.

To get in touch with Robert, contact the Beetle: Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk , but in the meantime, if you have a tale to tell, share your travel experience with the Beetle!

Want to join the London Committee? Already a member of the Globetrotters Club? We don’t say no to people who have some time to commit and can offer some help! Please contact Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

James Greenwood, a British 30-something, gave up his job and travelled the world by horse for 10 years! His journey brought him through South America, the Far East, Europe, and the Middle East. Part of journey was in Afghanistan where he spent 6 months. The NY Globetrotters loved James and his dynamic slide show! He was informative, entertaining and fun! James featured highlights of his trip, as well as a close look at the land and the people of Afghanistan. He even went so far as to explain what inspired him to take this trip (you’ll have to hear him speak to find out!) as well as interesting facts, i.e., how he found and cared for his horses, what he ate and some magical things that happened along the way. The meeting went so well (ran an hour past our scheduled time, because fellow Globies had so many questions for James!) that a small group, including James went on from the meeting to dinner and (quite a few) drinks that did not finish up til 3 am!

The November speaker is in the process of being organized.

New York meetings are held at The Wings Theater, 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.

Charlie Loram, the intrepid trekker/philosopher first visited India in 1992 and visits the Himalayas almost every year. Who else is so well qualified to talk about trekking in Ladakh and to talk about life and the people there. Charlie showed us some superb slides of the area, interspersed with maps of his routes and some of his own philosophy about eco-tourism and the quality of life. You can order a copy of Charlie’s book, Trekking in Ladakh (Trailblazer) online from www.trailblazer-guides.com.Fantastic, Charlie, and we look forward to seeing you again!

Just when you thought things could not continue on such a high, Paul Grogan took over the gauntlet in the second half and entertained us with some of the highs and lows of his adventures kayaking across Siberia with his babe magnet friend. Paul amazed us using slide and video footage (well done to Webmaster Paul!) starting with his moments of getting stuck in mud on the way to the source of the river Amur, flat calm days, sinister watch towers, political bureaucracy, gorgeous girls (!) and getting sozzled on a Chinese boat and waking up finding a very nasty plastic watch strapped to his wrist in exchange for his nice one! Brill!

Next, in London on 3rd November, Tim Burford will look at the varying styles of architecture in his talk on the Castles and Churches of Romania. Tim is a regular at the various London travel shows (along with the Beetle) and has impeccable guide book writing credentials and is author of both Bradt’s Hiking Guide to Romania and the Rough Guide to Romania.

Sebastian Hope will be talking about the Sea Gypsies of South East Asia, finding and travelling with the maritime nomads travelling the coasts of Borneo, Burma, Thailand, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Sulu Archipelago before returning to Sabah to search for Sarani a sea-gypsy chief and his friend. Another author, he has written Outcasts of the Islands about the sea gypsies of SE Asia published b by HarperCollins.

London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotter Info.line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk

As soon as we get information on the annual barbecue we will let you know what happened! 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.

The Beetle has just come back from a diving expedition to Bermuda and can share all the do’s and don’ts. Bermuda is without doubt a beautiful green and lush island in the Atlantic, some 775 miles off New York. It is very pretty with some great caves, lovely secluded little sandy bays, nice walks (although walking anywhere other than the beach and the disused railway tracks is very much discouraged – there are very few pavements) and lots of history.

First off, tourists are not allowed to hire cars. To get around, you have two options. You can pay $36 for a 7 day bus pass (which includes the use of the ferry) or you can hire a scooter for about $175 a week. The buses are clean and the network is reasonably extensive, but don’t rely on them at night. Taxis are expensive – very expensive. Scooters, on the other hand are just plain dangerous. The roads in Bermuda are for the most part narrow, hilly and windy – and don’t forget, they drive on the left! Scooter accidents are frequent. The speed limit is 35 kph, but you cannot tell how fast you are going because all of the speedos are disconnected – for obvious reasons!

If you are planning to sit by the sea and sun and swim, it is advisable to stay somewhere on the north coast because the sea is calm enough to swim without any worry on this side of the island. The sea has large waves that sometimes preclude swimming on the south coast.

Bermuda is very expensive in terms of accommodation and eating out. Both are poor value for money. In fact, it is cheaper to both eat and stay in New York, comparing like for like. Take some basic essentials with you, like ground coffee for your coffee maker, cookies etc.

The diving, quite frankly, is very mediocre. This is a great pity as there are over 400 documented shipwrecks off the coast of Bermuda. The dive boats resemble cattle trucks with up to 20 divers on them and the wrecks are disappointing. It is also not possible to dive to depths greater than 10 metres because the bottom of the ocean around the reef of Bermuda is seldom deeper than 10 metres.

It is not a destination the Beetle would whole heartedly recommend to anyone when there are so many other places in the world with similar activities on offer at a fraction of the price with considerably less hassle. A final warning, if you plan on staying at a certain guesthouse in Salt Kettle – do not turnover your valuables for safekeeping. Somehow, somewhere on the way, the Beetle’s wallet was $20 lighter.

If anyone would like to comment on an over rated travel destination or share a disappointing experience – e-mail the Beetle on: Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk