Uncommon TravelersUncommon TravelersUncommon TravelersUncommon Travelers “An Unusual Group of Exceptional Wanderers”“An Unusual Group of Exceptional Wanderers”“An Unusual Group of Exceptional Wanderers”“An Unusual Group of Exceptional Wanderers”

(J.R.R. Tolkien)

Our meetings are held the second Saturday of each month (September thru May) from 5:00 to 8:00 PM

www.uncommontravelers.org NOVEMBER, 2012

Directions to Piccadilly Cafeteria, 11810 North Dale Mabry, Tampa (Phone: 813-963-1660)

From the I-275/Dale Mabry junction, head north on Dale Mabry. Go past Busch Blvd. and Linebaugh, then get in left lane. Just past the traffic light at Hudson Lane, you will take the second left turn lane, into the Barnes & Noble parking lot, which it shares with the Piccadilly Cafeteria next door. Heading south on Dale Mabry, Piccadilly is just south of Stall Road, on the right.

Important Membership Notice:

The month / year your member-ship expires is on the bottom right corner of your newsletter mailing-label; or you will be reminded in the email which includes that month’s newsletter.

Membership fees are: $20/single, $30/couple.

Make checks payable to Ken Gould, and mail to: Uncommon Travelers C/o Ken Gould 1310 Gulf Blvd., Apt. 16A Clearwater Beach, FL 33767

Newsletters are mailed only to those whose memberships are current, and two consecutive issues to prospective members.

Contact Persons:

Shawn Milligan - President (813) 863-1180

Catherine Mitchell - Vice President & Newsletter (813) 237-3787

Ken Gould – Treasurer (727) 595-3717

Anneliese Tedeschi – Membership (727) 544-8233

Jacqueline Seal – Newsletter (813) 985-4672

We welcomed quite a few interesting and well-traveled guests at our October meeting, including two USF students from India, as well as having a good attendance by members.

Members’ travels since they were last at a meeting included:

• Gini and Ken Weiss went to Scotland with three other couples, visiting – among other locations – the Orkneys and Hebrides, Mull and Edinburgh.

• Cheryl Winegar, who took her third grandchild on another Elderhostel grandparent/grandchild trip, this time to Montana for two weeks, including Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. And Cheryl just returned a few days ago from a trip to Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and St. Petersburg, Russia.

• Ken and Shirley Gould took two six-week trips. The first was to Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet, including to Everest Base Camp, then took a train across China to Beijing. They were among the last tourists allowed into Tibet due to monks self-immolating in Lhasa. In August they did an extensive tour of south-east Asia, including Thailand, with a visit to the Tiger Temple - mornings are the best time, and James Bond Island near Phuket, Malaysia, Indonesia – Java, Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei, Kalimantan (Borneo), Sulawesi, Bali, Komodo Island and ending in Singapore where they saw the first Formula 1 night race.

• Catherine Mitchell spent another two weeks in Italy with her sister. Attending a family wedding was the reason, but the wedding was called off. Since they already had their tickets they went anyway and had a fabulous time, visiting the town where their father was born and where her mother lived as a child, as well as many other spots.

• Carl and Carolyn Weiland also accomplished a few travels, first to Spain for three weeks in May covering a good deal of the country; then in June to relax at an all-inclusive resort in St. Maarten; then to the coolness of the Carolinas, Tennessee and the Smokies in July; then in August to Budapest for a few days, a week in Vienna, then to Germany for their annual visit to Carl’s family.

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Member Gertrude Hinsch gave a fascinating account of her trip with a friend to

Greenland, June 21-July 2. They flew into Iceland, then took a smaller flight to

Aasiaat in Greenland where they and 41 other passengers boarded a vessel – the

“Rembrandt Van Rijn” – all the harbors were clogged with ice so they had to go

by Zodiac around the boat to take photos of it and to get ashore. Greenland has

control of its own governance but is supported by Denmark. There are

approximately 56,000 Inuit in the country. The water has not frozen for the past

three winters, so the Inuit can’t walk out on the ice to fish. Very interest program,

since we don’t often hear much about this country. Thanks Gertrude.

NOVEMBER 10 PROGRAM - A Travel Medley

Ken and Shirley Gould will be presenting two short programs that give insight into native

culture and – if time allows - a third one of eerie beauty

• Southern Ethiopia – We will visit the ancient walled trading city of Harar, then venture into Southern Ethiopia to visit Mursi, Hamar and Karo tribes. Included will be some pictures and video of a Hamar Bull Jumping Ceremony which, for some, may be disturbing. • Papua New Guinea – A ride up the Sepik River to native villages where they spent six nights. Then to the Mt. Hagen Festival where the tribes of the interior highlands compete in native dress • Western Desert of Egypt (if time allows)– The raw beauty of the Western (Libyan) Desert of Egypt- stunning rock formations and some very large and interesting oases.

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NOTE TO MEMBERS: Our annual Christmas Party will be held at Judy and Mike Butler’s house the

afternoon of Sunday, December 16th

, so be sure to note this on your calendar. More information will be in

our December newsletter.

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The web browser Google Chrome can help you learn a language or maintain your language skills. The site has an extension that changes words in web pages to another language. You can set your skill level. Here is info from the site. Experience a new language while you browse the web. Language Immersion for Chrome is an experimental extension that aims to simulate the experience of being immersed in a foreign language. By switching certain words and phrases from English into a language of your choice, the websites you already visit can provide a way to experience the world from a different perspective. Here are some features:

� Choose from all 64 languages currently supported by Google Translate � Novice-to-fluent skill settings let you immerse at your own pace. � Click on a translated word to switch it back to English. � Roll-over a translated word to hear it pronounced.

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/bedbecnakfcpmkpddjfnfihogkaggkhl#detail/bedbecnakfcpmkpddjfnfihogkaggkhl

You have to download Google Chrome then go to “Language Immersion for Chrome” or the link above. Click the “Add to Chrome” button then choose the language and set the level. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Henry B. Plant Museum at the University of Tampa has its annual Victorian Christmas Stroll in December. The stroll is the museum itself, where each of the 13 rooms is decorated in Christmas themes, about 1 1/2 hours complete tour. Hours are 10 AM to 8 PM, 401 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa. (Contact person: Sally Shifke 813-258-7302)

Admission for seniors on December 3, 4, 10 and 11 is $8; any other days it is $11; (grand)kids ages 5-8, is $5.

If we can get enough members interested (minimum 15) – preferably on any of the four $8 dates mentioned above - a private tour can be arranged. Complimentary cider and cookies will be served on the veranda as part of tour, sit and chat as long as we want. Parking is free, but parking limited with school in session, it would be better to car pool; get there any time after 10 AM but leave before 4 PM to avoid rush hour traffic. The museum has beautiful grounds by the river, lovely walk on a nice day.

Please email Jackie Seal at catadupa@verizon.net if you have any interest in being on a tour, and which date would best suit you, and we’ll try to work it out so it’s mutually convenient.

We have a lot of good information posted on our website, including the newsletters, but our editors always welcome any kind of input to share with members in the monthly newsletters – articles, travel tips, interesting websites, news updates, etc. We always enjoy learning about your all-time favorite country, and if you don’t feel like doing a program on it at the meeting, how about writing something to include in the newsletter? So if you have anything to contribute, please email it to both Jackie Seal (catadupa@verizon.net) and Catherine Mitchell (tampacate@yahoo.com).

We look forward to seeing you Saturday, November 10 at Piccadilly Cafeteria.

We start with dinner and socializing between 5:00 and 6:00 PM, followed by a short slide presentation,

then our business meeting at 6:15, followed by the main program.

Note that all those attending must purchase food from the restaurant.

And remember, if you see someone new or unfamiliar at our meeting, please say hello and invite them

to join a group or table and make them feel welcome.

Following is Part II of Lew Toulmin’s account of living in Vanuatu for a year. Part I was in our October newsletter.

Thanks again Lew!

Vanuatu – Most Exotic Country on Earth? (Part II)

by Llewellyn Toulmin

Arriving in Port Vila, Vanuatu, I was met at the airport by my new boss, the CIO, and his charming assistant. Wow! In 50 assignments in 30 countries, I have never been met at the airport by my client before. That was a first. What a great guy – sharp, intense, knowledgeable, politically savvy, scrupulously honest and terrifically hard-working. Very unusual. He was clearly a tremendous resource for his country. And what a strange country it is:

� With 110 languages for its numerous clans and tribes, it has the greatest linguist density in the world.

� It was ruled for many years by the French and British in a bizarre system officially called the Condominium, but generally called the “Pandemonium.” Parallel French and British courts and legal systems ensured that no-one could figure out what was going on.

� The population has been largely converted to Christianity by missionaries from many denominations, yet that

religion is largely irrelevant. What really matters here is raising pigs with circular tusks, to slaughter in

ceremonies for tribal chiefs.

� It is beset by deadly volcanoes, frequent earthquakes, fierce cyclones and endemic malaria, yet is rated as one

of the happiest countries on earth.

� The national politics are based on island origin, clans and corruption, and some ministers regularly beat up their

critics in brawls in the streets. But the press remains vibrant and active and is highly critical of government.

� The current national political scandal involves a visiting super-yacht and super-models who may or may not

have been smuggling in diamonds, arms and drugs.

� There are tribes here which practice black and white magic, and some which worship Prince Philip as a god.

� The national drink is kava, which tastes like dirty dishwater and turns your tongue numb.

� The national dish is lap-lap, which tastes like roasted flip-flops.

� Western-style apartments cost about the same as in Washington, $1,800 to $2,500 per month, while new and

used cars are twice as expensive as in DC. But a local person with 10 acres of jungle and coconut trees for fruit

and veg, some wild pigs to hung, and a bit of coastline to catch some fish, can sleep until noon, build a grass

hut, and live off the land for only $2 per month.

� Most island “roads” are just strings of massive potholes, while the first paved road around the capital island of

Efate was just completed in April, 2011, thanks to assistance from the USA and New Zealand.

� The major athletic event is La Piste Bleue, a cross-island foot race through rivers of mud and up and down

perpendicular mountain ridges.

� There is a history of cannibalism which only ended (or did it?) in the 1960s.

� Some tribes are named after their penises – for example, the Big Nambas and the rather unfortunate Little

Nambas.

For pure wonderful wackiness, I’ll put this country up against any on earth.

Lew Toulmin has worked in 30 developing countries, and usually lives in Silver Spring, Maryland. He has traveled to

138 of the 195 countries on Earth, and holds an MPA from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University and a Ph.D. in

public administration and economics from American University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Above (left) - Vanuatu’s flag

Above (right) – Super-yacht Phocea

under arrest

Left – Melanesian child

(All photo credits – Lew Toulmin)