West Africa conjures images of deserts, music, voodoo, mud mosques and Timbuktu. I recently returned from my fifth trip to West Africa and I have to add my guide, Julius Debrah, to my list of most memorable experiences.

Julius was the leader of our small groups excursion through colorful, cheerful, lush and throbbing communities and landscapes of Ghana, Togo and Benin in March and April of 2008. Julius projects a dominating jocularity. Never at a loss for words (in any of five languages) Julius told jokes and stories, negotiated the necessary bribes at check posts, talked the police into loaning us gas in a dry zone, and partied and parlayed with politicians, game wardens, hoteliers and village chiefs across three countries.

There is a great deal to say about Ghana, Togo and Benin as interesting places to visit, but Julius convinced me, again, that the quality of a cross cultural experience is profoundly shaped by the leader who takes you across the invisible boundaries that artificially define human differences. I think I would not take another trip to these countries unless I know that Julius will be along!

The next solar eclipse on 1 August 2008, draws a long Path of Totality from northern Canada, across the polar region and down across eastern Russia, western Mongolia and central China. The Path of Totality terminates near X’ian, Chiina.

I plan to join a group observing the eclipse near Hami in west central China. Another JOURNEYS group will view the eclipse near Hovd in western Mongolia. These two sites were chosen for their position within the region of total eclipse and in locations likely to have clear skies. Both are quite difficult to reach. With the Beijing Olympics beginning a few days after the eclipse, it has been a real challenge to obtain reservations and transportation in China. The Chinese authorities dogged by pro-Tibetan protesters, emergency response to the Chengdu earthquake and general concerns about environmental and cultural appearances have made it quite difficult to make confident travel plans. We have had to submit a list of all hotels our group will utilize during the eclipse trip with validated hotel reservation stamps for each traveler before we can even obtain visas. Having witnessed a total eclipse before, the tedious preparations are still worth the potential experience. We still have a few spaces remaining for the Mongolia Solar Eclipse trip. Some air reservations are still available. The Next eclipse is in July 2009 and southern China is again a prime viewing area.

Boycotts are almost always a bad idea. The suffering people whom well meaning boycotters intend to help fall deeper into the pit of victimization. The current disaster in Burma underlines this problem. Reflexive response to calls for a boycott of all things Burmese, including the tourist sector, served to heighten the xenophobia of the ruling junta. In a peculiar way, the junta may well be supportive and encouraging of boycotts because it makes them less accountable to the outside world when there are fewer eyes to observe the debacle in progress. Aid and support for the people suffering from the recent cyclone cannot reach the victims, in part, because the government is uncooperative with those who want to deliver aid. But another reason is that The US and other governments have made it difficult for private sources to transfer funds to aid local efforts carried out by private individuals in Burma. JOURNEYS has representatives in Burma who are eager to use their offices and abilities to help cyclone victims, but it is difficult to transmit aid money, except through third countries because of government currency restrictions. Boycotts have created the impression that any aid to Burma is politically incorrect. Now when it is necessary to coordinate with the junta, there are no channels, infrastructure or relationships to deliver the aid many of us would like to send. Many humanitarian, commercial and NGO groups no longer have staff in Burma because of the tremendous pressure organizations like The Burma Campaign UK in completely discouraging private contact between Burma and the rest of the world. Now, in an about face, they are suddenly decrying the failure of Burma to accept aid. As travelers who believe in the free flow of ideas and and direct development assistance between travelers and the people they visit, regardless of government, we hope that the cyclone disaster sends a message to those organizations supporting the cutting of all ties between countries like Burma, Korea, Cuba, Zimbabwe. Their boycotts only serve to punish the people who are most in need of help and assistance. The generals, dictators and demagogues are happy not to have meddling do- gooders exposing their failings to the rest of the world. Organizations like Burma Campaign UK play right into their strategies of isolation and represssion.

Welcome to my first blog featuring themes of world travel, traveler contributions to environmental conservation, appreciation of nature and the politics of planetary preservation.