Tag: June 2003

Still in Argentina, after El Chalten, we journeyed on to another place
called El Calafate where again we spent three nights and it was here that
we saw our most spectacular glacier ever, the Perito Moreno glacier which
is enormous, rising many metres in the air and looking like a massive
landlocked iceberg but much more spectacular than any other iceberg.

We took a trip on a catamaran to go right up to the face of the glacier
and the catamaran stayed an hour, just circling so that we saw the glacier
from every angle and were able to photograph it ad infinitum. Some people
used up an entire film or more just on this incredible natural phenomenon,
as following the boat trip we were taken to a viewpoint on land where
we could carry on gazing at the glacier from different levels. Many of
our group refused to leave at the stated time as they were convinced they
were going to see great chunks of ice break off. One chunk did fall off,
which I didn’t see.

Then we moved on from El Calafate to the Torres El Paine National Park
in Chile. Judith and I weren’t too impressed with the actual walks
we went on there as they just did not match up to the 12 hour one we had
done before and the glaciers we had seen then, as the weather was not
good in the park, very misty and although we managed the walk (8 hours
again but we did it in 7 hours), we considered it mediocre, and a lot
of hard work climbing for very little reward. However, the camp site where
we stayed, on Lake Pehoe was superb with the most magnificent view of
the mountains with their snowcaps and this marvelous lake beneath them.

The actual facilities at the camp were atrocious, as the camp site was
large and well used by an incredible number of people but there were only
two loos for the women with one sink to wash at, and similar for the men,
and only four communal showers in a different location which only produced
out hot water from 8 to 11 in the morning and from 1900 to 2200 in the
evening and very often we had to leave to go on our excursions before
the showers were hot in the mornings and often arrived back too late to
take advantage of the evening sessions!

The only good aspect of the camp was the tiny shop which was hardly
bigger than a garden shed but sold the most amazing range of wines, beers,
biscuits, snacks, cigarettes etc to suit just about every taste and did
not rip us off as other places appeared to be doing. While there, we also
went on a bus ride to a glacier (yes, this particular area both on the
Argentine side and the Chile side is renowned for its glaciers) and although
we could only see the end of the glacier at a distance we were able to
walk around a beautiful lake with the most fantastically shaped and coloured
blue icebergs which obviously had broken away from the glacier at some
point. And this little place in the middle of nowhere had the most beautiful
toilets we had seen in a long time as it had obviously just been built,
was brand spanking new and had toilet paper as well as soap and hand driers
and doors that actually locked and believe me that really is luxury in
the public loos here!

And now I am in Ushaia, the city at the end of the world, on the little
island at the base of South America called Tierra del Fuego and we discovered,
Judith and I, with a visit to the little well run and very informative
museum here that it was so called because when the first white men arrived
they saw all these fires burning on the hills that the natives had lit,
but whether this was to welcome or frighten away the intruders or just
to keep the natives warm, is not known!!

It is extremely cold here all year round and 15 degrees is considered
hot! The sun does shine but there is always a cold wind blowing and that
gets worse in winter and spring apparently! We took a boat trip up the
beagle channel yesterday and saw a colony of cormorants and a colony of
sea lions and circled the lighthouse at the end of the world and yes,
we took dozens of superfluous shots of everything in sight! But the boat
was also a luxury as it was the first boat trip we had been on which actually
served food on board and hot drinks and alcoholic drinks and for the men
provided these two very attractive young ladies to serve it! And these
young ladies would dress up in their navy blue topcoats with brass buttons
to come out on deck and tell us all about the sights and scenes we were
seeing, and informed the more ignorant of us that no, that wasn’t
a colony of penguins we were viewing but cormorants! (They looked very
similar with black backs and white chests and from a distance and even
close to looked very penguin like).

Next month: en route to Buenos Aires and real penguins.

If you’d like to contact Iris, whether to wish her luck with her
trip or to ask questions about her itinerary and places visited, I am
sure she would like to hear from you. She can be contacted on: irisej2002@yahoo.co.uk

The Beetle received this e-mail from a Globetrotters who thought it might
be useful to pass on to other travellers. If you find yourself under the
weather, there is almost always an alternative remedy to finding the local
doctor – but if in doubt, seek proper medical advice.

Ø Drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain
almost immediately – without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional
pain relievers.

Ø Did you know that toothpaste makes an excellent salve for burns?

Ø Achy muscles from a bout of the flu? Mix 1 tablespoon of horseradish
in 1/2 cup of olive oil. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, then apply
it as a massage oil, for instant relief for aching muscles.

Ø The Beetle’s own remedy for back pain is to put some
powdered ginger and some water in a pan and heat until very hot; stir
it all around. When the water is cool enough to handle, soak a tea towel
in the water and ginger mixture, wring it out and place it over the sore
area – bliss!

Globetrotters meeting 7^th June 2003 by
Padmassana

Simon Myers was our first speaker, who described part of his
epic motorbike trip from Beijing across to the border of Pakistan. Simon
had been living and working in China and was thus able to buy a very unreliable
motorbike and set off with some companions and a Chinese mechanic on their
trip, no licence or crash helmet required. Setting off from Beijing under
the gaze of Chairman Mao, they were soon in the countryside and breaking
down at regular intervals. But thanks to having their local mechanic along
they were soon on their way again.

Their group was often the centre of attention in the places they went
through and they were often fed along the way, one of Simon’s memorable
photographs was of a breakfast consisting of all the bits of a chicken
that you are unlikely to want to eat. Along the way he saw where the Great
Wall of China is nothing but a ruin and the Dun Huang Buddhist grottos.
Somehow they managed against the odds to cross the Taklamakan and Gobi
deserts.

At Urumqi they said goodbye to their mechanic who flew back to Beijing.
The final few weeks to the border they were on their own. They had tried
to keep their trip a secret from officialdom so as not to attract attention
and problems, but at the border the guards knew all about them from a
photograph and piece in a newspaper. The guards were surprised to see
them, as nobody in China believed they would make it!

Our second speaker was Globie committee member Jacqui Trotter.
Jacqui took a year out to travel around South America, during which time
most Globies were kept informed of her progress via regular e-mail bulletins.

Her talk covered only part of her trip, from Ecuador where she first
arrived and tried to get to grips with the language down to Chile. Jacqui
was part of an overland group, which left Ecuador in November 2001 heading
south into Peru. She showed us some wonderful pictures of Peruvian beaches
and the snow capped Andean peaks.

She braved a light aircraft flight in order to see the Nazca lines,
bravely managing to take a photo before airsickness kicked in. Jacqui
showed us Arequipa church being held up by scaffolding after one of the
many earthquakes that the area is prone to. Her other highlights of Peru
were seeing a condor after waiting a few hours and the more obvious sights
of Cuzco and the spectacular ruins of Machu Picchu. Crossing the border
into Bolivia she visited La Paz.

By this stage as she headed for Chile the rainy season was starting
and her vehicle had to make a long journey to avoid the salt flats. Jacqui
and her fellow travellers continued over the border and visited the Salar
de Uyuni, where she showed us the salt hotel, where literally everything
is made of salt including the furniture and fittings. At the end of this
section of her trip Jacqui managed to take some superb photos of ice breaking
from a glacier, right place, right time.

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. There is no London meeting in August, but we will be back
in September. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotters
Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk

U. S. Soldiers Home, Washington: during a century of travel (well
78 years!) both in and out of service I have travelled to over 150 countries
(I count both North and South Dakota as countries) and for some reason
have jotted signs and happenings that I thought funny at the time (and
now wonder why). So here is the perfect opportunity to share some of my
anecdotes.

In the Bangkok post office two Scandinavian girls came in with backpacks
the size of a Volvo Auto on their backs. They were wearing dresses and
proceeded to take them off in the middle of post office and stood there
in their panties while they looked in their backpacks for jeans and blouse.
Naturally, I volunteered my help. Patrons were dropping their mail at
the sight of this goings on. You don’t have to go to the strip shows.
You can just go to the Post Office.

Elephant School Chiang Mai, Thailand: Elephants go to school for seven
years and live to be around 80. An American military retired man living
in Chiang Mai, with his Thai wife told me that the elephant’s pregnancy
lasts 2 years and he compared it to a U.S. Senator’s two year term
of office. It is high level, there is lots of noise and it takes two years
to get any results. Someone has asked me what elephants learn in their
school. They learn potty training, basket weaving and how to pick up logs.
I was given some bananas to feed the elephants at the elephant training
school. I gave my elephant one and ate the rest myself. He has never forgotten
this. I rode this elephant for an hour over mountainous hills sometimes
so steep that I feared I might fall off and down he cliff with the elephant
on top of me. The ride costs 480 bahts ($16.00) I kind of got roped into
taking the elephant trip. A Thai girl told me that she and her husband
would get a free ride on the elephant if they got eleven other people
to sign up for the trip. They had just gotten married and the elephant
trip was their honeymoon. (Don’t ask!) Elephants don’t eat
after midday and monks don’t either. However, the elephant I was
on ate everything his trunk could pull up along the road and it was about
1230 noon. Monks smoke but do not touch alcohol. If I understand correctly,
Buddhism does not tell others how to live but it is within oneself to
better yourself, treat others how to live and don’t steal bananas
from elephants.

I met a British retired military that spends his time living in monastery
guest houses in Thailand. He gives them a donation of $80 a month, which
pleases them. He married a Japanese girl while in India (I don’t
know what she was doing there) but she got homesick so left Thailand to
return to Japan. He believes in reincarnation. He thinks it is the only
way to handle the thousands of people that have died before us. He unfortunately
had a stroke while revisiting England but returned here to spend out the
last days of his life. He reads a book a day he rents from library in
Chiang Mai, sees the sites and eats tomatoes.

A lady in a tailor shop (“our materials are the sheapest”)
in Banglampor (the budget hotel section) of Bangkok claimed she knew me
from when I was stationed there and said I should buy a suit from her
for old times sake and the wonderful times we had together. I was never
stationed in Thailand.

Next month, Mac discusses clothing.

If you would like to contact Mac, he can be e-mailed on: macsan400@yahoo.com

Globetrotters meeting on July 12^th

The Texas branch will celebrate their 2 year anniversary – 24 months
of meetings – in July! Their monthly meeting participation averages around
20. People come and go. Since their first meeting in 2001, close to 200
people have attended. Thanks to Christina for keeping the meetings on
track and Mary Jane for spreading the information about the meetings,
the Texas branch is a definite success.

The Texas Branch of the Globetrotters Club will meet July 12th 2003
at the New Braunfels Public Library – note back to old location.
Dan and Jensie will present the July program. The topic is China. As always,
there will be time for sharing and networking.

If you like independent, adventuresome, fun, daring, exciting, “off
the beaten path” travel, this club is for you. Our meeting begins
at 2 P.M. Come early so you won't be late! Enjoy handouts, travel
talk time, and door prizes!

Dates of future meetings: August 9th and September 13

For more information about the Texas Branch or if you would like to
help Christina, please contact texas@globetrotters.co.uk
or register for e-mail updates at our website (click
here) or call Christina at 830-620-5482.

Due to popular demand, we have included the answers to last month’s
Travel Quiz. We are inundated each month by people entering the quiz,
and receive many correct submission answers. Our webmaster collates all
of the correct answers into a draw, and the Beetle selects a number. We
notice that some people are sending multiple entries – if we notice
this happening, we will restrict their entry to one.

1. How many states are there in Australia? Answer: 6: New South Wales,
Queensland, Victoria, Southern Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.

2. In which valley in New South Wales can you visit famous vineyards?
Answer: The Hunter Valley.

3. Which gorge named after a woman’s name is found in the Top
End? Answer: the Katharine Gorge

4. The Great Barrier Reef stretches for more than 2,000 kms (1,240 miles)
along Queens land’s coast and ends at which place 384km (238 miles)
north of Brisbane? Answer: Bundaberg

5. By which alternative name is Ayers Rock also known? Answer: Uluru.

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