Newsletter Issue 12 - 16th July 2002

Hello and welcome to another newsletter from Karibuni!

Coming up below you can find out who is the winner of the FREE Adventure Weekend that we were giving away, along with all the usual articles and features from the world of travel…

For those of you who are reading our newsletter for the first time, we hope you enjoy it and if you have any comments, feedback or amusing stories or travel articles to share, then please send them through to info@karibuni.co.uk

Coming up in this exciting issue: -
Karibuni News
- Competition winner
- Win FREE beef jerky
- Featured Trip - Snowdonia Aug Bank Holiday
- "K-Adventure" Racing - do you fancy a challenge?
Travel News
- Top European Festivals coming up
- Saving Machu Picchu
Travel Feature
- A new contender to topple St Tropez?
Global Quickies
- Humorous news from around the world

Karibuni News

FREE Adventure Weekend - and the winner is…
The winner of the free Adventure Weekend from our website competition is Bruce Wildman, who actually took the first available weekend going and has already enjoyed his Adventure Weekend away with us at Karibuni - so congratulations to Bruce, and better luck next time to all of you who entered the competition...see below for a chance to win some free outdoor snacks below…

Win some Beef Jerky
If you have trekked, rafted or toured in the US you may well have come across a great food snack that is commonly used whilst enjoying the great outdoors…Beef Jerky!
It's an ideal outdoors snack and survival food as it lasts a year in it's original packaging, cannot melt or be squashed, is very light and has a high 50% protein value. It comes in three flavours, Teriyaki (a bit like chinese spare ribs), Peppered and Classic original.

We have teamed up with www.wildwestjerky.co.uk who are now supplying the UK with KingB jerky, and you can win a bag of each of their 3 flavours.

To enter the competition, simply send an email to info@karibuni.co.uk and we will enter you into the draw. We will pick 5 winners and send you your jerky, but if you want to get your own beef jerky then you can always buy online at www.wildwestjerky.co.uk

Featured Trip - Snowdonia Bank Holiday
The final Bank Holiday of the summer and your last chance to grab a long weekend without using your holiday allowance…so come and enjoy 3 days in the mountains of Snowdonia, North Wales and enjoy some fantastic activities in our small group trip.

We leave London on the Friday evening, and will enjoy some great mountain biking, walking, gorge scrambling and horse trekking as well as visiting Conwy and the beaches of the north Wales coast. The trip costs £170 and places are starting to go fast, so please book early to avoid disappointment - full details at www.karibuni.co.uk/snowdonweekend_AugBH.htm

"K - Adventure" Racing
Do you fancy a challenge?
Adventure racers do, and the thrills and excitement that comes from a day spent competing against the elements, yourself and other teams in these multi-activity events explains why this is one of the fastest growing sports in the UK.

And on the weekend of September 7th you will be able to partake in this new phenomenon and compete in Karibuni's first Adventure Race Event…

The single day event will take place in Snowdonia, North Wales and will involve teams of 3 or more competing in 3 disciplines - mountain biking, trail running/orienteering and canoeing. You don't have to be an expert in any of these or a real fitness freak….the event is open to anyone and we will make sure that the event is suitable for all levels…
Packages will be available that include bike hire, accommodation etc. and the overall aim is to be a fun and rewarding day's activities with a good social evening planned to mix with fellow competitors.

So - if you are tempted… get a team of colleagues together and maybe raise some money for charity, or if you know a group of friends who like an adrenalin buzz then come and compete in the spectacular British countryside.
Full details are still being finalised, but please check the website at http://www.karibuni.co.uk over the next few weeks for all the information. Also - if you wish to receive further information then please send an email to race@karibuni.co.uk and we will keep you posted.

The event will also raise funds for the Carolyn Jones Trust which was set up to pay for the long-term care of a British Adventure Racer who was tragically injured during a race in Switzerland.

Travel News

Top European Festivals coming soon
The following cities all have some exciting festivals and celebrations coming up in August - and are all easily accessible with low cost airlines such as Ryanair www.ryanair.com, Virgin Express www.virgin-express.co.uk and Easyjet www.easyjet.com

Copenhagen Cultural Harbour 1-4 Aug
Copenhagen's harbour front hosts a four-day festival with all sorts of entertainment on offer from beach volleyball to diving, trampolining into the harbour, live music and dance. Last year attracted over 25,000 people

Geneva Festival -2-11 Aug
Over 2 million people watched last year's fireworks festival - reputedly the best in Europe. Geneva's summer festival boasts 10 nights of pyrotechnic wonders plus lakeside parades, pumping techno nights and numerous other performances including live rock concerts, a children's day and street performers from all over the world.

The Gothenburg Party -9-17 Aug
The largest outdoor festival in Sweden takes over Gothenburg for a week of free fun in all its guises. Numerous parties are held, with well-known artists (mainly Swedish) performing a variety of live shows. Firework displays by night and a motor festival by day with monster trucks, drag racing and go-karting keep everyone entertained.

Feria de Malaga -15 -25 Aug
The entire town of Malaga will be dressed in flamenco costumes during the Feria de Malaga. Andalusian carriages convey the grandees to marquees in the city's central parks. Everyone else walks but when they get there it's a serious party. Special bullfights draw thousands and at night the party continues in 200 pavilions

Saving Machu Picchu
Peru has implemented strict new measures to limit the damage caused by thousands of trekkers walking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Tour agencies are now subject to tough regulations designed to protect the fragile environment of the trail, which can attract more than 500 walkers a day during the peak months of June to August.

Following inspections, only 40 of the 93 operators going to the Machu Picchu Historical Sanctuary have been given permission to continue offering the trips, and they have all committed to using approved campsites, carrying all rubbish out and limiting the weight porters carry.

This has effectively wiped out many of the cheaper tour operators popular with backpackers and has forced remaining companies to put up their prices…but will ultimately mean a better and fairer service as well as protecting the long term future of Peru's number one visitor attraction.

A new contender to topple St Tropez?
The name of St Tropez has become associated with fake suntans - but another French resort town has claimed to be the genuine article, and offers much more to the visitor than the swanky resorts of the south coast.

Instead of being fringed by the calm Mediterranean coast of the south of France, this town faces the Atlantic and enjoys the surf and vitality that comes with the Cote Basque region of south-west France.

The town is Biarritz and its history of being a chic resort town is coming full circle as it rises once again to be a fashionable Parisian getaway with a lot to offer for short breaks.
Ryanair have recently added Biarritz to their destination list making it a convenient and good value destination for a weekend break from the UK…so what has it got to offer?

Well, for those after surf, waves and fantastic Atlantic rollers you won't be disappointed. The surf comes onto the flat sandy beaches in town and there are many surf schools and centres offering lessons and courses for the un-initiated (about 30 euros per session). Beaches to the north and the south of the town also offer excellent surfing conditions and many international competitions and events are often held in Biarritz for all surfing disciplines- whether that be the pure surfing or the "wind" and "kite" variety.
The breeze (for which Biarritz is renowned) helps make this an ideal location for the rapidly growing sport of kitesurfing and there will usually be a selection of experienced riders showing you how just how much fun it can be...but believe me its not as easy as it looks! Again lessons and courses are available from a number of suppliers in the town.

Not all the beaches are battered by Atlantic rollers and there are other nearby beaches which are ideal for relaxing on, and which are safer for kids. 10 miles south of Biarritz is St Jean de Luz which as well as having a sheltered beach is also a big centre for the distinctly French phenomena of "thalassotherapie" - a seaweed based beauty and health therapy which is reputed to work wonders for cellulite. The French are very enthusiastic about their sea based therapies and a whole range of treatments, processes and potions are available to cure practically any ailment you may be suffering from.

The sea off Biarritz also has a long history of supposedly healing and restorative properties - which even attracted mental patients who were brought to the area to bathe in the waters to help with their illnesses. It's not widely hailed as a success in mental health medicine, but many of the beauty and relaxation therapies are extremely popular with the rich and glamorous set who are returning to Biarritz - and if it's good enough for them, then why not you?

The coastline is not all surfing beaches and seaweed and the waves have carved out some interesting coastline with impressive sea cliffs, coves and bays. Great for both walking and cycling if you prefer to get your natural healthy life by more conventional means than soggy seaweed.

Back in town - the centre of Biarritz is refreshingly uncrowded and the seafront is not solely the domain of the mega-rich and their crowds of wannabee, bronzed admirers looking for a ticket aboard a yacht (as afflicts St Tropez, Cannes et al.) Indeed, at the southern edge of the bay you can watch the fishermen unload their daily catch and then feast upon them at the nearby restaurants.

The town itself is well laid out and easy to navigate around and despite wrapping itself around the sweeping bay and stretching for some distance, walking is as good a way as any to enjoy the town's relaxed and upmarket charm. And borrowing slightly from its south coast competitors walking or strolling (as opposed to strutting) is a great way to see and be seen!

And let's not forget the food and wine. The region has some great food, but first maybe a dish to avoid - "cojones" which is the stuffed testicles of the bull from the bullfighting arena!!
Anyway - back to the delicious food which can be enjoyed in and around Biarritz. Being close to the Spanish border and within the Basque region the traditional local food is strongly influenced by this and offers hearty stews and casseroles with delicacies such as wild boar.

Wash this down with any of the wines from the nearby Bordeaux region and you have a fitting end to any day spent enjoying the invigorating mix of sea and land that Biarritz captures so well. And whatever you do here you're bound to feel better for it - which has to be the sort of therapy we all need!

For flights to Biarritz visit www.ryanair.com We found weekend flights in September for just £75 inc. taxes for a Thursday - Monday trip. Singles start from £13 so good luck!
From the airport, there is a convenient bus into town centre.

For all information about the town and links to regional sites, visit www.biarritz.tm.fr

Global Quickies

Otter Bother
Two Canadian otters at a sanctuary in Scotland have had to be separated from aggressive local otters who are confused by their "foreign accents"
The Canadian guests, Fingal and Sula are almost twice the size of the wild Scottish relatives, but they "talk" and "smell" different - and so have not been accepted!

"Dialects are common in animal communications, but because of the differences in the sounds they make it will be difficult for these Canadian otters to communicate with the native ones," according to Matthew Evans, an animal communications expert from Stirling University.

"There is no doubt dropping two foreign otters into a territory of wild locals would lead to the local ones beating the living daylights out of the new ones," he added.

Cold-calling saves climber's life!
A Colombian mountaineer became stranded in South America's Andes during a blizzard- and tried to use his mobile phone to summon help - only to find that his prepaid minutes were all used up. He survived for 24 hours but was starting to slowly freeze to death at over 12,500 feet and feared the worse.

When suddenly he heard a familiar ring - as his phone indicated a call. As chance would have it, the call was from a Bell South operator reminding Lenoardo that his minutes were up and asking if he would like to buy any more!

"He said it was the work of an angel, because he was lost in the Andes," said Maria del Pilar Basto, the operator who called the stricken climber. They were able to arrange assistance and also kept ringing him to keep him awake and ward off hypothermia.
Seven hours later he was eventually rescued, grateful for some cold-calling sales tactics!

Well, that's all again for this time - and we hope you enjoyed it. The next edition will be out in early September with more snippets of news from around the world and updates from Karibuni.

Many thanks, and happy travels

Paul