The Globetrotters eNewsletter
eNewsletter Archive

Win a Moon Handbook on Guatemala – see
www.moon.com by answering
these questions.

The winner of last month's Moon
Handbook on Vancouver is Dian Anderson from Canada.

One of the oldest indigenous peoples,
the Inuit, have turned to one of the most modern forms of
communication to tell the world about their culture.

The Inuit are a founding people of
Canada. Inuit hunters and their families started crossing
the 320-kilometres-wide (200 miles) Bering Land Bridge from
Siberia perhaps 30,000 years ago, then wandered slowly
across the Polar north, reaching Greenland 50 centuries
ago.

The Inuit were an entirely nomadic,
hunting people until about 50 years ago, when the central
government began an effort to bring them into mainstream
Canadian life.  They now live across the Arctic
reaches of northern Canada, where they are struggling to
decrease high rates of alcoholism, suicide, teenage
pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

They have launched a website detailing
their 5,000-year-old history, cataloguing their origins,
when they first came into contact with white explorers and
their struggle for land rights. Part of the reason for
setting up the website was to tell the story of the Inuit
in their own words, as until now, most of the research on
Inuit culture and history has been done by others. "http://www.tapirisat.ca/">http://www.tapirisat.ca/

The FCO has just developed a web page of
advice for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
traveller.  It starts by saying: “Attitudes
towards gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender travellers
around the world can be very different to those in the UK.
However, despite potential extra hassles, it is possible to
have a very positive and enjoyable travelling
experience.  One thing's for sure: the better
prepared you are, the fewer problems you are likely to
have. We hope the following tips will help you.”

The page then goes on to give some
sensible and quite detailed advice on a range of advice
about how to avoid problems, down to how to obtain a new
passport with a new post operative trans-gender
identity.  Visit: "http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1025627602968">
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender

A disease which has devastated one type
of Caribbean coral, Elkhorn coral, has been traced back to
bacteria found in human faeces. On some reefs, 95% of
Elkhorn corals, which used to be the commonest coral in the
Caribbean, have been wiped out by the condition, called
white pox that shows itself as white spots on the coral,
which spread and kill the coral, destroying the living
tissue. On average, the disease spreads at a rate of 2.5
square centimetres of coral a day.

The problem is particularly bad in the
Florida Keys, where human waste is treated in septic fields
rather than extensively treated to kill bacteria.  It
is thought to be the first time that a human gut bacterium
has been linked to coral disease.

Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett has
reached Australia and finally succeeded on his 6th attempt
in becoming the first solo balloonist to circumnavigate the
globe, completed after covering nearly 20,000 miles (32,000
kilometres) around the southern hemisphere.  It took
13 days in the air and his silvery balloon, often travelled
along at speeds up to 200 mph (322 km/h), at an altitude
more familiar to jetliners.

Following a fire that killed at least 24
and injured 13 others in one of Beijing's internet
parlours, the mayor of Beijing has ordered the immediate
closure of all cyber cafes in the Chinese capital.

Mayor Liu Qi also suspended new licences
that are still waiting for safety inspections. An official
hi-tech police – nicknamed “the great firewall of
China” – keeps watch over the internet 24 hours a day.
A few weeks ago, a senior figure in China's Communist
government expressed concern about the amount of time young
people are spending surfing the internet and called for
tighter regulation of cyber cafes.

Tens of thousands of internet cafes have
sprung up in China in recent years, with many people -
especially the young – seizing the chance to explore life
in other countries through the internet. Journalists say
China's tight controls on the internet have driven many
operators underground. 

BAA's expert Personal Shoppers are
there to help you find exactly what you're looking for,
every step of the way.  For complimentary and
impartial advice on special offers and gift ideas, why not
ask for guidance from one of the team.

They're available on request in each
terminal, but you can also book their assistance in advance
by calling 0780 000 1 000

St Helena is a British Dependent
Territory; a tiny island in the Atlantic, midway between
Africa and South America.  Around 5,000 people live
there, bolstered by 36 births last year.  Some 40% of
the population work in the UK, the Falklands or Ascension
Island.  About 800 tourists visit the island each
year, and the occupancy of the hotels and B&Bs averages
around 15%.  At present, the only way to reach St
Helena is by the Royal Mail Ship St Helena, and this only
arrives six to eight times a year. 

Does all this give you the idea that not
a lot happens on St Helena?  Well, you could be right,
that is, until recently.  Plans are afoot for a
£102 million ($163m) 10 year construction project to
build an airport, runway, a five star hotel, golf course,
and luxury villas.  St Helena Chief Secretary John
Styles is reported to have said: “Access is
crucial……St Helena will be an absolutely niche
market.  We will attract the wealthy tourist who wants
to stay in a superb gold estate on a far flung island, or
tourists interested in the environment and history,
including the legacy of Napoleon, who spent his last years
here.”

Venue: Slug & Lettuce, Fulham
Broadway

Date: Wednesday 7th August, 7pm

Price: £4 on the door £2 if
pre-booked

Special Guest – Paul Goldstein

Tales from the Bush: An African
Journey.  Come and join Paul Goldstein as he recounts
tales from the dark continent. After countless visits
across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Botswana and
Namibia he has a wealth of knowledge on the area.  As
a prize winning photographer (2nd Royal geographical
Photographer of the Year 2001/2002) and guide his
presentations are illustrated with dazzling images and
outrageous and hilarious anecdotes.  He is not a fan
of mainstream travel, especially hordes of safari-suited
package holidaymakers in zebra striped minivans, nor does
he care much for luxury hotels. He gauges countries on
their people and wilderness areas, not by the amount of
food guzzled at lunch buffets with 'untraditional'
local dancing.  Don't say you weren't
warned….!

Also representatives from EXODUS, SNOW
& ROCK, and other Africa experts.

To book or for more information see HREF="http://www.itchyfeet-uk.com">www.itchyfeet-uk.com
or email "mailto:info@itchyfeet-uk.com">info@itchyfeet-uk.com or
call Dave on 07900 975 413

This is a fantastic free open air
exhibition planet, a series of large scale photographs of
amazing natural landscapes by Yann Arthus-Bertrand at the
exhibition at the Natural History Museum, Kensington. If
you can't get to London it's worth taking a look at
the websites: "http://www.earthfromtheair.com/">earthfromtheair.com
or "http://www.yannarthusbertrand.org/">yannarthusbertrand.org

Open from June
20^th to end September 2002.