August 2004 Travel Newsletter

Italian Language Class
We have had a lot of interest in another Italian language class.  So, we brought back our wonderful instructor to give another six-week class in traveler’s Italian.  Here is your chance to brush up on your Italian skills before your next trip to Italy!  Classes will be starting on Monday, August 16th, from 7:00 to 8:30 and will run for six Monday evenings, with one week off for Labor Day.  (Class dates will be 8/16, 8/23, 8/30, 9/13, 9/20 and 9/27.)  Learn what you need to know for travel with a small group of fellow travelers.  The cost is just $79.95 (plus handouts) and class size is limited, so stop by our store or call us at (303) 786-8406 to reserve your place.
New Product Spotlight
We recently received some of the great new Fall 2004 product additions to Eagle Creek’s popular line of luggage and travel gear.  Whether you are a business traveler, a casual traveler or just looking for some convenient new accessories to make life easier, you will find something for you.  Take a look!

Fling/Shuttle - Just in time for the start of the school year, these two new bags are functional and hip.  The Fling is a single-strap daypack designed to be carried on either shoulder and yet sit comfortably on your back.  The Shuttle is a shoulder bag for the organizationally challenged.  It has multiple pockets and an organizer panel to help anyone carry everything they need and still be able to easily find it.
Slim Wallets - This great new line of wallets features a more European-style thinner profile.  They take up less space in a purse and reduce the bulge in your pocket.  There is a style for everyone:  tri-fold, bi-fold, classic and a zippered.  Great for travel or everyday use!
Laptop Caches - These great new computer laptop cases pad and protect your laptop, whether you are carrying it in a briefcase, daypack, shoulder bag or suitcase.  Or, you can travel light and carry it by itself using the comfortable carry handle.  They are sized to fit today’s larger-screened laptops.
Travel Photography & Travel Companions
This month, we thought we would discuss mixing travel photography and travel companions.  Few travelers go anywhere without a camera to capture some of the images and memories of their journey.  It is also a great way to share part of your experience with family and friends who did not have the opportunity to join you.  But what about the people who are traveling with you?  Some advance thought and planning will make a big difference in how successful you are at combining your travel photography goals with the happiness of your traveling companions.

A couple of the first things to think about are the priority photography will have while traveling and the type of photos you would like.  Are you looking for a complete photographic journal of your adventure or a few wonderful photos that you can frame and display in your home?  Are you willing to miss a tour or train when a photo opportunity presents itself?  Your answers should determine whether you book a group tour or travel with one or a few companions.  You should discuss the answers to these questions with your travel companions during pre-trip planning sessions to set expectations.

Good photography can take a lot of time.  If photography is a high priority, a strictly scheduled itinerary won’t allow you the flexibility to wander off the beaten track and discover a seldom seen image, to spend an extra hour capturing an unexpected ceremony or to return to a certain site to take photos in better light.  So, don’t plan on participating in an organized group tour, and make sure your travel companions enjoy the more relaxed, flexible travel schedule this requires.  If a photo journal of your trip is your goal, you can easily snap lots of pictures quickly without slowing anyone down, even on a structured tour.

A great way to combine serious travel photography with travel companion happiness is to plan blocks of time with companions ahead of time, during which you will focus on photography and they can focus on their own travel objectives.  Getting up a few hours early allows you lots of time to explore and photograph a city as it wakes up, or capture a specific site, with few other tourists around, in beautiful morning light.  This can produce wonderful pictures and will cause little disruption to a day’s schedule with travel companions.  You can also use the time your companions spend wandering around a museum to wander the area in search of photo opportunities.  Inform your travel companions and always meet back at agreed upon times.

Just remember that you are traveling with people with whom you enjoy spending time and want to share your travel experience.  Friends, children and/or family will get frustrated and will not enjoy the trip if they are always waiting, missing anticipated sites or activities, and only get to see you with a camera in front of your face.  You can capture memories with photos, but enjoying your trip with your travel companions is what makes it truly memorable.
Upcoming Travel Programs
Tuesday, October 5th (7:30pm) - IRAN, An Independent Adventure!
If you imagine Iran as a country of chador-clad women, of third-world conditions, and inhospitable to travelers, you are in for a big surprise!  Sheryl Shapiro spent one month traveling around Iran this past spring and found it to be a friendly, easy to get around and quite modern country.  Join us for a slide show of spectacular images and listen to Sheryl as she gives us a unique perspective of travel in Iran.
Tuesday, October 12th (7:30pm) - Bicycle Expedition Across Africa & Ascent of Mt. Kilimanjaro
In March 2004, a group from Boulder dipped their back wheels into the Atlantic Ocean off the shores of Capetown, South Africa.  Nearly two months and 3000 miles later, they dipped their front wheels into the Indian Ocean near Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.  They rode through the remote regions of South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Tanzania.  Then they climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro!  Join us as Stan Havlick shares his tales and slides of this extraordinary adventure.  A $5 DONATION will be collected at this show for the Colorado Cancer Foundation.  Please join us!
Tuesday, October 19th (7:30pm) - Packing Light For Easy Travel
Make travel easier by avoiding the hassles of over-packing!  Whether you are traveling for a week or for several months, learn the secrets of traveling light with everything you need in one convenient bag.  Learn all about the latest fabrics, packing methods, and travel accessories that allow you to travel light without giving up any conveniences and get you through airport security a little easier.
Tuesday, October 26th (7:30pm) - Travel Medical Clinic
Getting sick while traveling abroad can turn an exciting adventure into an ordeal.  Dr. Cory Sperry, a travel medicine specialist, will discuss common health problems and what medical supplies to take on your trip as well as immunizations required.  He will cover such topics as safe eating and drinking habits while traveling abroad, west nile virus and related mosquito diseases, and answer general questions about travel medicine for an international trip.  Come join us… this will be an informative and helpful clinic for all travelers!

Suggested Reading
“Red Dust: A Path Through China ” by Ma Jian, 2002, published by Anchor Press.  In 1983, Ma Jian, a poet, painter, photographer, and writer, tired of the China that was his life, left Beijing in search of his native land.  He quit his job, grew his hair, and over the next three years wandered through some of the most remote and roughest parts of China - into the western desert, through the mountains of Shaanxi, down the steamy southern coast, and eventually, to Tibet.  This book is a sharp-edged, remarkably written account of his adventures and travels into corners of China and Chinese life that few non-Chinese travelers have experienced.  Ma Jian’s subtly changing portrait of his country provides no understanding of its enigmas, no neat generalizations, no sweeping predictions.  It simply reminds us of China’s scale, its shadows, and, ultimately, its otherness.
Just For Fun
While on duty as a ground attendant at the Johannesburg, South Africa airport, I was directing passengers to the bus that would take them from the terminal building out to the aircraft on the tarmac.  I noticed a rather upset elderly woman, apparently on her first air trip.  When her turn came to board the bus, she started to leave the line.  “You are going to Durban, aren’t you madam?” I asked.  “Well, yes I am,” she replied, “but for what my ticket cost me, it certainly won’t be by bus.”
Newsletter Subscriptions
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"When I was very young and the urge to be someplace else was on me,
    I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch.
When years described me as mature, the remedy prescribed was middle age.
In middle age I was assured that greater age would calm my fever,
    and now that I am fifty-eight, perhaps senility will do the job.
Nothing has worked. I fear the disease is incurable.”
    - John Steinbeck
Happy Travels!
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phone: 303-786-8406     fax: (303) 786-8408
e-mail: adventure@cil.com
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