The 322-foot-tall statue pictured in our October 2018 mystery photo has an interesting history. Erected in 1997 in central Moscow, Russia, on a man-made island at the western confluence of the Moskva River and the Vodootvodny Canal, the statue commemorates 300 years of the Russian Navy, which was formed by Peter the Great in 1696.
Mary Light of Ann Arbor, Michigan, has an information request. She wrote, “As a natural- and herbal-medicine practitioner and teacher, I have found that one of the most interesting and direct ways to connect with locals and their communities internationally is through their ethnobotanical culture. This could involve medicinal-plant trails, herbal botanical gardens and organic farms as well as encounters with various 'medicine men and women.'
Dear Globetrotter:
We asked our subscribers who recently had trouble renting vehicles outside of the US because they were above an age limit to each tell us which country it was, which rental company, what was said, what alternative was found and when it all occurred. Here are a few of the responses, and more will be printed in next month's issue.
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As an octogenarian (84) who continues to rent cars outside of the US, I've been refused many times in various countries, usually at the Internet-booking stage.
Wherever I travel, regardless of transportation mode, I try to pack light. I loathe lifting and wheeling heavy bags over and over… in and out of car trunks, up curbs and down train stairs, along rough sidewalks, etc. And I prefer not to have to paw through a lot of garments to get to what I want in my luggage.
Many seasoned travelers agree that traveling light is the only way to go. Here are my suggestions for making that possible.
Choosing luggage
