Category: newsletter

  • Gibraltar Sovereignty

    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…

  • Final Reflections on Mikindani, Tanzania by Ian Smith

    Ian, a former teacher, has worked on the Mikindani project, in Tanzania, for nearly two years and was responsible for the transformation of the Education section of Trade Aid. The legacy he leaves behind is one of sound training and education structures as well as a vision for the future conservation of the Mikindani area…

  • Have you got a tale to tell??

    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

  • New Incan Site Found

    A team of explorers acting on a tip from a mule-handler have discovered the ruins of a lost city, Cota Coca, some 50 kilometres southwest of Machu Picchu in the Andes. Cota Coca is likely one of the places to which fleeing Incas retreated from the Spanish in 1532, before their total defeat about 40…

  • US TV Show Appeal

    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…

  • Buddha's Teeth

    You may have read recently about one of Buddha's fingers being brought from Thailand to Taipei in Taiwan. This got the Beetle wondering about other parts of Buddha and where you can see them. It is possible to see the casket containing the left incisor of the Buddha in the sacred temple in Kandy, Sri…

  • Best airport nominations

    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,…

  • Free London Museums: The Science Museum

    The Science Museum is vast and is a great place for both children and adults and there are many interactive displays that capture the imagination as well as being educational. However, it is so big, plan your day by identifying specific areas of interest so as not to spend too long – museum fatigue can…

  • Tribute to Thor Heyerdahl

    When the Beetle was a very small Beetle one of the first books about travel she read was by Thor Heyerdahl, the world-renowned explorer and archaeologist. He must have fired the imaginations of millions with his exploits, trying to recreate the journeys of people from past times. He was born in 1914, in Larvik, Norway…

  • Jacqui: Voyages around South America . the end and the beginning!

    Greetings from Guatemala! Yes, the South Amercing Circuit is finished and our overland is finished. Hopefully everyone who left Caracas over the past few days got home to their various destinations and I just wanted to let you know that I got to mine. The last two weeks of the trip were very relaxed, except…