Author: admin

by Anja Heij / AeonGlobe.com

Twenty mountains on planet Earth bear the name Olympus,
being the dwelling of the gods. On Mount Olympus burns the eternal fire
of creation and this sign of a bond between the gods and the humans is
kept alive and still spread around as the flame on the Olympic Games.
In the region Lycia in Turkey we find a remarkable natural phenomenon:
a high mountain from which small fires spring to 1 to 3 feet high. This
phenomenon has been recorded for at least 4000 years. One can extinguish
the small fires, but the natural gas inside the mountain will light them
again in minutes. Although the mountain now goes by the Turkish name Tahtali
Dag, in older days it formed part of the Greek civilization, was non-surprisingly
called Mount Olympus, and in the neighbourhood one can visit the ruins
of the ancient city of Olympus (founded around 300 BC). I believe this
is the real Mount Olympus the chronicles speak of.

Mike is still looking for his missing friend. My missing
friend is called Bob Arthrell and he is sailing a 40 ft. yacht named Tasneem.
Four months ago he was at Nuku Hiva island in the Marquesas, and looking
for crew to help him sail to Fanning (Tabuaeran) island which is a tiny
part of the republic of Kiribati in the pacific ocean. If you can help
Mike, please contact him by email.

Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a
place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our
Mutual Aid section of the Website: Mutual Aid

Hotel brochure, Italy:

THIS HOTEL IS RENOWNED FOR ITS PEACE AND SOLITUDE. IN
FACT, CROWDS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD FLOCK HERE TO ENJOY ITS SOLITUDE.

Hotel lobby, Bucharest:

THE LIFT IS BEING FIXED FOR THE NEXT DAY. DURING THAT
TIME WE REGRET THAT YOU WILL BE UNBEARABLE.

Hotel elevator, Paris:

PLEASE LEAVE YOUR VALUES AT THE FRONT DESK.

Hotel, Yugoslavia:

THE FLATTENING OF UNDERWEAR WITH PLEASURE IS THE JOB
OF THE CHAMBERMAID.

Hotel, Japan:

YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHAMBERMAID.

Write in and tell us your funny sign! Drop a line to
the Beetle! E-mail the Beetle.

Over half of Cuba's 2 million visitors come from
Europe, so it perhaps makes sense that tourists visiting Cuba's biggest
tourist beach resort, Varadero, some 3 hours east of Havana can now use
the European currency, the euro. Of course, you are still welcome to pay
for good and services in US $ or Cuban pesos. News reports say that even
small Cuban children have started to ask for euros!

Ever wondered who were the most corrupt countries in
the world?

The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) lists those countries
which are perceived by suppliers as requiring the most bribes of businesses.
The countries that currently do worst on this score are Russia, China,
Taiwan and South Korea, with Sweden and Australia faring the best.

At the end of May, beginning of June, the UK was in party
mode to celebrate 50 years of the Queen on the throne. Two public holidays
added to the weekend lead to four days of celebrations. Street parties
were held across the UK and thousands went to Buckingham Palace in the
evenings for massive rock and classical concerts.

The English Tourist Council predicted that around one
third of Britons took part in a Golden Jubilee event of some kind over
the long bank holiday weekend. Also to celebrate the event there was almost
2,000 beacons lit across the UK and many more in all of the Commonwealth
countries. The fact that the jubilee coincided with the start of the World
Cup gave an extra boost to the festivities and resulted in far fewer (about
1.5 million people) people going abroad to take advantage of the 4 day
holiday.

Not a lot of people know that John Lennon and Yoko Ono
were married in Gibraltar, or that Prince Charles started his honeymoon
there with Princess Diana. Gibraltar is, at the moment, a 3 square mile
piece of independent territory in southern Spain overlooking Morocco with
some 30,000 inhabitants.

The original settlers came from around the Mediterranean:
from Malta and Italy. Both Spanish and English is spoken in Gibraltar
and most of the population are, unlike Britain, Catholics. Back in the
18^th century, Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain.
Spain now wants Gibraltar back! In 1969, the people of Gibraltar included
a proviso in its constitution that Gibraltar will only be returned to
Spain if is population vote for this in a national referendum.

The Gibraltarians feel very passionate about not becoming
part of Spain and Spain has been practicing all manner of restrictive
practices towards Gibraltar, including causing a 3 hour wait to make a
100m drive across the border, even bribing ferry companies to move a few
miles across into Spain to provide services to Tunis.

One has to consider the irony of this latest Anglo-Spanish
diplomatic scuffle; true, Gibraltar with its geographical position almost
at the mouth of the Med is well strategically placed, but equally, let's
not forget that Spain maintains two separate territories in Morocco, which,
strangely, Morocco wants back.

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

Tina is a segment producer for a TV show called “Radical
Sabbaticals” which airs on the Fine Living Network in the United
States. The show features passionate, inspirational stories about successful,
professional people who have walked away from their careers to pursue
a dream…i.e. the CEO of a multi-million dollar company who left to become
a wine maker. They could also be on an open-ended sabbatical We are also
looking for people who have also given up their career to move to Europe
to pursue their dreams. If you could refer any people or stories to us,
it would be greatly appreciated. Your response would be greatly appreciated.
Tina can be reached at (818) 755-4800 ext. 207 or click here to email Tina.

With thanks to sleepinginairports.net

Last month we had the winner, Changi airport in Singapore,
which the Beetle can wholeheartedly agree with – it is a lovely airport!
According to the website Sleeping in Airports, the runners up to the best
airport to sleep in are as follows:

Runners Up (in alphabetical order):

• Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Auckland, New Zealand
• Hong Kong
• Melbourne, Australia
• Munich, Germany
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Portland, Oregon
• Toronto (Terminal 3), Ontario
• Vancouver, British Columbia

Write in and tell us your best airport nominations! Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk