ZECO TRAVEL TALK

Calling all shutterbugs: Do you have great photos from your travels to the Falkland Islands? If so, our friends at the Falkland Islands Tourist Board are sponsoring a ‘Falklands Exposed’ photography contest for professionals and amateurs alike. Enter you best photos in six different categories and you could win cameras, camera equipment, magazine subscriptions, and more. Photos must be submitted by March 31, 2010. Visit their contest website at www.falklandislands.com/exposed to read the rules and enter your photos. Good luck!

On Thursday, October 30, 2008 CBC-TV premiers a four-part series, The Adventurers, which follows modern-day explorers as they search for vanishing populations and cultures. Zegrahm lecturer and archaeologist, Edmundo Edwards, is the focus of the November 13th episode. Armed with the knowledge that the French Polynesian islands were once the home of thriving native populations—until European diseases tragically wiped them out—Edmundo set out into the interior jungles of Tahiti, Raivavae, and the Marquesas Islands where he discovered a vine-covered realm of stone cities and structures never before seen by the outside world. Program repeats on Thursday, November 20 at 10 p.m. on CBC Newsworld.

A little more than a year ago, in our July 2007 Newsletter, Scott Fitzsimmons introduced Zegrahm travelers to a remarkable 14-year-old classical pianist from Odessa, Dasha Bukhartseva. Some of our Black Sea voyagers had the delight of being entertained by Dasha, and other performers, at a concert at the Gagarin Palace.

Those who met and heard her were astonished at her talent and dedication at such a young age. And a few of our passengers were so moved they felt compelled to take this young lady under their wings and carry her from a very humble existence to a doorway that would open into a world she never could have dreamed of. Her journey to the U. S. in 2007, to the prestigious Aspen Music Festival and School, and next—with highest hopes—to Juilliard, is nothing short of amazing. And all due to a few people, our wonderful passengers, who saw a diamond in the rough and realized they could help make it sparkle.

To quote from Scott’s letter last year:

“The remarkable discovery [of Dasha] and eventual U.S. journey seems fit for a motion picture, with a cast that would include Zegrahm travelers Dan and Lynne Levinson of Colorado and Mieke and Hendrik Smit of Hilton Head, along with expedition leader Lia Oprea and our terrific tour partner in Ukraine, Janna Belousova…

With Dasha on the brink of entering Juilliard, and with support for this endeavor coming from sources all over the country, including many Zegrahm travelers, we felt it was time to give you an update on her progress: Read more

We are extremely happy to report that the news this morning from France is that the crew of the Le Ponant has been released. “PARIS, April 11 (Reuters) -The 30-strong crew of a luxury French yacht have been freed without incident a week after pirates took them hostage off Somalia, President Nicolas Sarkozy’s office said in a statement on Friday.” Read the rest of the article here. We hope to only hear more good news of their return and will update you with any more information we receive in the next few days. Again, please check your reliable news source for more information as developments may happen rapidly today.