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“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.”
Martin Buber, philosopher (1878-1965)

marina Welcome to yet another edition of the JSG TraveLetter!

As long as we continue to travel, the TraveLetter will continue to publish, so I guess that means we’ll be together a long time.

Travel takes on many themes, but mostly I think travel conjures up the image of packing bags for a faraway voyage across oceans of time zones. This issue is packed with plenty of stories from our writers that include such interesting destinations as Lithuania, Mexico and England.

Pictured: JSG Managing Web Producer Marina Farrell at Trakai Castle, Lithuania.

JUSTSAYGO DESTINATIONS Join our Travel Vitals columnist Marina Farrell on her recent visit to Lithuania, one of the newest members of the European Union that is filled with Old World charm and interesting places to visit. Jennifer Stock’s lens and pens capture both the beauty and tranquility of Mexico in her piece, “Ahhh, Mexico, one of the most relaxing places on earth.” A must read and, even more so, a must visit. We here at JSG are equal opportunity, offering coverage of both borders. Judith Liddell brings us to Grosse Île, to a living history of the immigrants’ experience in Canada. Like all the pieces here at JSG, “Retrace Your Ancestor’s Immigration at Quebec’s Gross Ile” a well-written educational piece, which I found fascinating.

		Seeking new travels? Come to Lithuania! Every time I visit Lithuania I see transformation, renovation and the rollout of brand-new buildings. Lithuania, like all new... More

		Ahhh, Mexico Even though the heat and humidity hits you like a wall as you get off of the plane, and even though there is.... More

		Grosse Île A visit to Grosse Ile and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site, in the St. Lawrence River not too far.... More

JUSTSAYGO FIESTA Fiesta Editor Vivienne Mackie lists holidays, carnivals and parties all over the world. Visit http://justsaygo.com/fiesta/fiesta.html for Vivienne's favorites.

		Fete de la Musique This 24-hour nationwide music festival has grown more and more successful over the last two decades, and is one of the... More

PHANTASTIC PHOTOS

geneva

Lake Geneva

Snowy mountain peaks and lake through the wine-glass lens of JSG Editor-in-Chief Ron Stern. From his collection of stunning travel photos.

Hawaii Beach, February 2007

Rainbows are always arching over the beautiful Hawaiian Islands. JSG reader Kathy Untermeyer captured this photo of not just the rainbow, but the sun, sand and surf, the island’s three best qualities.

Snowy Walkway

Greece is also known for its warm weather charms, but don’t put anything past Mother Nature. Travelwriters Alf B. Meier and Roberta Beach Jacobson captured this photo of a snowy walkway in their hometown of Karpathos, Greece in February.

Do you have a photo that deserves a spot on this page? Send it to traveletter@justsaygo.com. We'll post it here!

From the Traveler’s Bookshelf

Venturing to the Brink on Mick MacO's TRIP by Maggie Melanson

Review by Carol Sorgen, JSG TraveLetter Editor The true story of one man's journey through 28 cities and 15 countries in 31 days, alone.

In TRIP, the new mixed media book release from Lulu Press, author Mick MacO describes what happened to his head while travelling through 28 cities and 15 countries in 31 days, alone. This book illustrates, in an intimate and fun way, how somebody can go out of their mind when they've nobody to share their thoughts with. Though experiencing all the joys of touring Europe, MacO found that the solitude of the journey caused him to see the world in an altered state, not unlike a psychedelic trip. Free form writing, handwritten notebook entries and photographs from each of the cities help convey the emotion of the ride. "I was determined to see as much of Europe as possible, and wanted to find some truth. It was a physical and mental expedition, and definitely threw me off kilter," says MacO about his trip of a lifetime.

TRIP documents, with modern slang and an Irish twang, a whirlwind tour of places as varied as Amsterdam to Auschwitz. The journey took place in 1995, before the Euro had arrived, when former communist countries were changing fast, and the internet hadn't yet kicked in. MacO gives us a glimpse of what it must have been like to live a month full of daily culture shocks. The languages, currencies and national traits fly by, but the trek gradually takes its toll on the storyteller.

"At various times during the trip I felt in turn, alone, euphoric, afraid, and triumphant. Sometimes I was glad I was on my own. I think that solitude can be a good thing - you can get to know yourself.

"The culmination came after two weeks, in my seventh country and twelfth city in fourteen days. I still had two weeks to go, and could go to whatever countries I wanted. That was when I broke down and cracked up! But I continued on the trip with a head full of craziness. Other people might have liked to relax somewhere for a few days. But because I was alone, it spurred me on to keep going - a new place everyday for a month."

MacO's words tell the story in a lighthearted way of what must have been a mind-blowing experience. The reader sees not only how the author himself was affected by the solitude of the journey, but also how even complete strangers can shape your view of the world when your social interaction is limited.

"If you had even just brief contact with someone, whether it was positive or negative, it would stand out in your head longer because you were alone," says MacO, who made the trip when he was 24 years old and single for the first time in five years. "You could be in a good mood for hours after a smile from somebody in a ticket office. Or if someone was fleetingly grumpy to you, it could turn your day."

The whole adventure covers the full gamut of emotions, and details the author's questioning of what he believed and why he believed it. One notebook entry says that all the people wanting you to believe in them seemed like they needed it too much.

"The impressions and ideas that I was having were totally overwhelming. I was conversing with my notebook, simply because I had to get it all off my chest and out of my system. The end result was that the journey changed the way I looked at the world and myself. I wouldn't want to do that trip again, but I am glad that I did it. And I'm happy now that I've finally put things into words."

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

Review by Vivienne Mackie, JSG Fiesta Editor

Neither the main title of this book (Three Cups of Tea) nor the cover (three young Muslim girls sitting, their heads covered with white scarves) prepare the reader for the contents of this amazing book.

You can read this book on many levels: it’s part travelogue, part memoir, an adventure story, a love story, and a clear discussion of modern history and current events in northern Pakistan and Afghanistan. It’s also an amazing example of how cultural understanding, or at least an attempt to understand another culture, can lead to more tolerance and acceptance.

This is Greg Mortenson’s story, as told by David Oliver Relin, a journalist. It took two years to research and write, but spans a 10-year period, from 1993 to 2003.

Mortenson was a mountaineer and nurse and, after a failed attempt at scaling K2 in Pakistan’s Karakoram mountain range, he ends up in a small remote mountain village. He is treated with great kindness as he recuperates and, on finding that they have no school, he determines to help them build one.

Thus begins his new quest in life: To raise money to build schools for poor children, especially girls, in this part of the world. His basic philosophy is that with education comes understanding, and with understanding there is less likelihood of these young people blindly following extremist Muslim leaders. It’s a peaceful way to fight terror, by going to one of the root causes---lack of education.

Mortenson tells his story very openly, of his successes and failures, his frustrations, and the extreme hardships he often endures to get the schools built. But he perseveres and, one school at a time, life changes for those village children, who fondly call him “Dr. Greg”.

He was in the region at the time of the September 11, 2001, attacks and we get a different perspective of the tragedy from him from that side of the world. He even had tea with someone from the Taliban.

Mortenson has expanded my world view. I personally have a much better understanding of the life, politics, and religion of that area now. The book is inspiring, uplifting, exciting and non-judgemental and I thoroughly recommend it. We can all learn a valuable lesson from his story and his mission.

JSG Product Reviews
Reviews by Ron Stern, JSG Editor-in-Chief

As snug as a bug: Bedbugz bedrail

One of the problems of families traveling with small children is bedtime. When our daughters were little we had to either move the mattresses on the floor or barricade the bed with pillows to keep them falling off the edge. Enter Bedbugz, a productthat eliminates the need to worry about their safety or traveling with those metal jail-like bars that slide under the mattress to keep them in place. Bedbugz is an inflatable bedrail that packs easily and attaches to any size mattress. Your little tike will feel safe and secure as they can snuggle right up to the rounded edge of the soft material that holds itself in place. The product sells for $34.99-$39.99 at retailers nationwide or check www.toddlercoddler.com for locations.

Product Description: Hard metal bedrails for children and toddlers' beds are a thing of the past! Now your child can feel cozy and safe with BedBugz, an inflatable bedrail that works without a box spring. It attaches to any size mattress to make on-the-go travel easy. Great for bunk beds, toddler beds, and convertible cribs. Perfect for travel!

Rebit™ computer backup

Let me be honest, I hate to back up my computer whether it be a laptop or desktop. It’s not that I don’t realize that someday they might crash but rather, I have had such rotten luck with cumbersome hardware and software issues in the past that I just hope that I have done enough to recover data in the event of a failure.

If, for example, you are traveling to distant lands and want to make sure your laptop doesn’t lose your prized photographs once you have downloaded them, a reliable and dare I say easy backup program would be advisable. Enter Rebit™ the first and only “just-plug-it-in” back up program for Windows®.

As I have heard similar simplicity promises from other manufacturers I was somewhat skeptical about Rebit™. I was pleasantly surprised to find that once connected to my computer it dutifully started backing up not just my data, but the applications and the operating system—effortless I thought.

They say that recovering files is just as easy but fortunately, I haven’t had to do this yet and hope I never do.

So, if you are like me and are looking for something simple in the event of a hard drive failure, try Rebit™. They have multiple sized backup units for every size hard drive at reasonable prices. You can check out their website at www.Rebit.com for more information.

TRAVEL Q&A
Do you have travel questions we haven't answered yet? Ask Marina. She'll share your questions — and then offer a few answers. Email Marina at and she'll get the answers. We'll share the results with readers right here.

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The JustSayGo TraveLetter was created by Denise Dube.