Mosquito-born diseases affect millions of people worldwide each year. The bite of a mosquito can result in anything from a skin irritation to contracting malaria, dengue fever, encephalitis, yellow fever, and many other serious diseases. Clearly, mosquitoes are not just a nuisance, but also a major health hazard, making it vital to know how to avoid getting bitten.

One of the most effective ways to avoid mosquito bites is to wear an effective insect repellent, containing DEET (N,N-diethyl meta-toluamide). It is essentially a poison that masks the natural odour and carbon monoxide that is released from the human body. DEET, when combined with permethrin impregnated clothing and mosquito nets will provide the best protection from getting bitten. Backpackers are advised to travel with their own mosquito nets because hotel and hostel mosquito nets are often damaged, rendering them useless. If you don’t want to travel with a mosquito net you should sleep in rooms that are properly screened with gauze over the windows and doors. There should be no holes in the gauze and no unscreened entry points to the room. Air-conditioned rooms are good, too.

Mosquitoes particularly bite at dusk and during the night, so you should take most precautions during this time. You should wear long, baggy clothing after sunset but it may be hard to follow such advice in a hot climate. Keep as much skin and hair covered as practical. Avoid bright, floral coloured clothing as light colours are less attractive to mosquitoes. Khaki, beige, and olive have no particular attraction for mosquitoes. It would be better to avoid being outdoors altogether during peak biting hours (from dusk until dawn) if you are staying close to where mosquitoes dwell such as swamps and dense forests.

Mosquitoes are also attracted by some body odours, and for this reason they choose some individuals over others in a crowd. Avoid fragrances in soaps, shampoos, and lotions. It is a good idea to take shower before dusk to minimise any body odour.

One thing you should look out for when travelling is how different cultures have an entirely different concept of time. In the European worldview, time exists outside man, exists objectively, and has measurable and linear characteristics. According to Newton, time is absolute: “Absolute, true, mathematical time of itself and from its own nature, it flows equably and without relation to anything external.” The European feels himself to be time’s slave, dependent on it, subject to it. To exist and function, he must observe its ironclad, inviolate laws, its inflexible principles, and rules. He must heed deadlines, dates, days, and hours. He moves within the rigors of time and cannot exist outside them. They impose upon him their requirements and quotas. An unresolvable conflict exists between man and time, one that always ends with man’s defeat – time annihilates him.

Many people apprehend time differently in the developing world. For them, it is a much looser concept, more open, elastic, subjective. It is man who influences time, its shape, course, and rhythm. Time appears as a result of our actions, and vanishes when we neglect or ignore it. It is something that springs to life under our influence, but falls into a state of hibernation, even nonexistence, if we do not direct our energy toward it. It is a subservient, passive essence, and, most importantly, one dependent on man.

The absolute opposite of time as it is understood in the European worldview. In practical terms this often means a clash of cultures and increased stress levels. If you board a bus in rural Guatemala, it will undoubtedly be a European passenger who starts looking around, squirming, inquiring, “When will the bus leave?” The driver will probably give the passenger a strange look and then reply “the bus will leave when it is full.” Meanwhile, every local person on the bus will be calmly and patiently waiting for the bus to fill. We once went to a afternoon music bash in Ecuador that was scheduled to start at 2pm. On arrival there was no one at the appointed spot but we didn’t need to ask “when will the event start” as we already knew the answer “It will start when people arrive.” On another occasion we agreed to meet a contact in San Jose, Costa Rica, for an late morning meeting about a reforestation project near the Sarapiqui River. He didn’t show up until the early afternoon but we kind of expected it as many Ticos run on what is affectionally known as Tico Time. If you want one further example of how different cultures have an entirely different concept of time let’s pretend we have dropped off one hundred indigenous Peruvians at Düsseldorf Central Station. How many of them do you think would complain if their train was 10 minutes late? Answer, none. How many Germans do you think would complain? It would be different to tell as the station master would be mobbed.

There are other countries in the world that enjoy divinely inspired natural landscapes, but Costa Rica boasts a higher biodiversity than Europe and the United States combined. Its small size also means that travelling from cloud forest to coastline and from summit to savannah is quick, easy and a matter of course. Here are some of its most natural wonders:

1. Corcovada

Famously labelled by National Geographic as ‘the most biologically intense place on earth,’ this national park is the last great original tract of tropical rainforest in Pacific Central America. The bastion of biological diversity is home to Costa Rica’s largest population of scarlet macaws, as well as countless other endangered species, including Baird’s tapir, the giant anteater and the world’s largest bird of prey, the harpy eagle. Corcovado’s amazing biodiversity has long attracted a devoted stream of visitors who descend from Bahía Drake and Puerto Jiménez to explore the remote location and spy on a wide array of wildlife.

2. Manuel Antonio

One of the country’s original ecotourism destinations, Manuel Antonio practically put Costa Rica on the map for international jet-setters. While the secret has long been let out, capuchin monkeys bounding across a tropical beach remain an arresting sight, as are iguanas, howlers, sloths and squirrel monkeys, which may be the cutest fur balls you have ever seen.

Manuel Antonio is a coconut-filled paradise. The park’s clearly marked trail system winds through rainforest-backed tropical beaches and rocky headlands, and the views across the bay to the pristine outer islands are unforgettable.

3. Arenal

Arenal has been producing menacing ash columns, massive explosions and streamers of glowing molten rock almost daily since 1968. Miraculously, the volcano has retained its picture-perfect conical shape despite constant volcanic activity, though its slopes are now ashen instead of green. In the shadow of Arenal, there’s something for everybody including luxurious hotels, romantic restaurants and Tabacón Hot Springs.

4. Monteverde

This iconic cloud forest was first settled by a community of Quakers who sought to protect their invaluable watershed. Home to such rare fauna as the resplendent quetzal, which is the Maya bird of paradise, Monteverde is partly responsible for Costa Rica’s international fame as an ecotourism hot spot where you can be inspired about the possibilities of organic farming and alternative energy sources.

5. Montezuma

A laid-back, budget beach town with a hippie vibe (locals call it ‘Montefuma’), beautiful beaches, a chill atmosphere and great restaurants. It’s the perfect base for exploring the southern part of the Península de Nicoya.

Up until the late 1990s, a traffic jam in Montezuma was getting off your bike to shoo some cows off the road, Montezuma is still a charming village, and foreign travellers continue to be drawn here by the laid-back atmosphere, cheap hotels and sprawling beaches. And while nothing ever stays the same, Montezuma has managed to hang on to its tranquil appeal.

6. Cahuita and Puerto Viejo de Talamanca

By day, lounge in a hammock, snorkel off uncrowded beaches and visit the remote indigenous territories of the Bribrí and KéköLdi. By night, dip into zesty Caribbean cooking and sway to reggaetón at open-air bars cooled by ocean breezes. Nearby, you’ll find rainforest fruit farms set to a soundtrack of cackling birds and croaking frogs. The villages of Cahuita and Puerto Viejo de Talamanca seem to have it all.

7. Tortuguero

Watch endangered sea turtles practice the millennia-old ritual of building a nest and laying their eggs on wild black-sand shores in this charming Caribbean jungle town. Tortuguero is more than just turtles; it’s thick with wildlife, and you will find sloths and howler monkeys in the treetops, tiny frogs and green iguanas scurrying among buttress roots, and mighty tarpon and endangered manatee swimming in the waters.

8. Jacó

There’s a loyal surfing contingent, resident North American expats and international developers who bill Jacó as the ultimate central Pacific destination and one of the country’s most rapidly developing cities. Truth be told, the surfing is excellent, the restaurants and bars are cosmopolitan, and a skyline of future high-rise apartments and luxury hotels is rapidly being constructed. While it couldn’t be classified as the ‘real’ Costa Rica, it is fun. There may be better surf spots and cleaner beaches, but its bar, restaurant and club scene is the best you will find along the entire Pacific coast.

9. Llanos de Cortés

If you have time to visit only one waterfall in Costa Rica, make it Llanos de Cortés. One of the most dramatic waterfalls in Costa Rica, it cascades into a tranquil pond with a white sandy beach. Scramble behind the falls with your sweetie to reach romantic nooks veiled by curtains of water.

10. Dominical

A permanently chilled-out beach town where time slows down to a crawl, Dominical has a way of forestalling your future plans. But when the surf is crashing and the sun is blazing, few travellers seem to really care.

Throughout most of the world, lightning is a rare occurrence. Residents of certain locales can go years and even decades without ever glimpsing a single bolt. However, there is a region in South America where you can witness a mighty and spectacular lightning display for almost half the year. This region hosts the world’s greatest natural light show; the Catatumbo Lightning.

For residents of temperate regions accustomed to storms of brief duration and intermittent frequency, the immensity of this phenomenon can be difficult to comprehend. This single storm, which never changes position, creates over 1,000,000 electrical discharges (bolts) per year. The intensity of the discharges can reach 400,000 amps and the light from the storm is clearly visible 250 miles (400 kilometres) away. It is also the largest natural producer of atmospheric ozone in the world.

The storm is active about 150 days per year, every year. During periods of peak intensity, the storm can last up to ten hours a day and produce 280 electrical discharges per hour. This provides near constant illumination of Lake Maracaibo and the surrounding areas. The phenomenon has also been called the Maracaibo Beacon, as ships have used the storm as a navigational aid for hundreds of years.

The phenomenon is created by the unique environment surrounding Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo. As the Catatumbo River flows into the lake, it passes through an expansive bog. As the organic material contained in the bog decays, a constant supply of methane gas is released into the atmosphere. The methane gas, which is lighter than air, is carried high into the atmosphere by the strong winds blowing in from the nearby Andes Mountains.

The towering storm clouds created by this interplay can reach incredible heights of up to 6 miles (10 kilometres). One surprising aspect of the almost continuous lightning bolts is the conspicuous absence of accompanying thunder. This is due to the predominance of cloud-to-cloud lighting within the storm. Few of these bolts ever reach the ground. Also, the great distances from which the storm may be observed can also account for the noticeable absence of audio.

The Catatumbo Lightning has played a significant role in many of the events that have shaped the history of Venezuela. In 1595, Sir Francis Drake attempted to capture the city of Maracaibo by launching a clandestine raid across the adjacent lake in the middle of the night. However, the city’s defenders were alerted to Drake’s machinations when his assault force was illuminated by the ceaseless glow of the lightning and the attack was thwarted.

The Venezuelan government is seeking to have the Catatumbo Lightning classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If they are successful, it will be the first meteorological phenomenon to achieve this distinction.

Head to Congo Mirador, a Venezuelan village built on stilts over Lake Maracaibo for your chance to witness this unique natural phenomenon.

Colca Canyon is located in southern Peru. It is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon but it is not as deep as its sister Cotahuasi Canyon. The canyon was created by the Colca River which starts high in the Andes mountains flowing through the canyon and changing names twice before flowing into the Pacific Ocean.

The greatest depth of the canyon occurs at Nevado Ampato, an extinct volcano, with a vertical rise of 20,630 feet (6,288 m). The Colca Canyon is home to the Andean Condor which is a frequent attraction for visitors who watch the condors soar through the air hunting for food.

This year’s ILA Air Show in Berlin gave the public its first look at flight powered fully by algae-derived biofuel. The demonstration, courtesy of EADS Innovation Works, a division of European aerospace manufacturer EADS, featured a twin-engine Diamond DA42 NG light aircraft, which used algae biofuel in one engine and conventional jet kerosene in the other.

The result: the biofuel was consumed more slowly due to its higher energy content, which resulted in fuel savings of 5 to 10 percent.

According to Dr Jean Botti, Chief Technical Officer at EADS, “This opens up the feasibility of carbon-neutral flights and we will continue to focus our research in this exciting area. Third-generation biofuels are more than just a replacement for fossil petroleum – they push the possibilities of future propulsion.”

Comparisons of gas exhaust have shown that algae-derived biofuels contain one eighth of the hydrocarbons of crude oil-derived kerosene and considerably lower levels of nitrogen oxide and sulphur oxide. Furthermore, algae biofuels offer distinct advantages over other biofuel sources. For example microalgae create at least 30 times more biomass per cultivation than rapeseed and can be grown on poor quality land using non-potable water and salt water, which means its cultivation does not compete with food production.

EADS, its helicopter division Eurocopter and Argentina-based Biocombustibles del Chubut, which supplied the algae biofuel for the flights, signed a cooperative agreement to evaluate the creation of an aviation biofuel production facility in Brazil.

As reported in GreenAir Online.

For decades the standard practice when looking for really cheap flights would be to contact your local travel agent or tour operator and book your flights through them.

Within the last five to ten years the advent of the internet and the widespread use of broadband connections have contributed to consumers looking online as their preferred method of finding the perfect deal.

Despite the shift of people to look online for flights, a whole new set of problems and obstacles present themselves when trying to master this new medium.

There are both advantages and disadvantages to the online revolution. Some of the benefits include being able to book flights any time of day or night, searching with ease and avoiding some corrupt travel agent practices.

Some of the disadvantages include some sites adding on extra taxes and fees without disclosing them immediately, the issues of customer care from less established sites and some scam sites which are only concerned with making a quick buck.

A quick search on the internet when looking for cheap flights will return millions upon millions of search results. For the average consumer this can be quite overwhelming and the amount of choice makes it difficult finding the right site. Who should you book with? Is it safe? Am I getting a good deal? These are just some of the questions the individual faces when looking online for flights.

Fortunately, with the advent of modern technology, a new type of site has been developed and is fast becoming the single most popular form of finding the best deal amongst savvy internet consumers. These sites are known as flight comparison sites.

In essence they are sites which use an advanced form of technology which search numerous travel sites for their best up to date deals and return the results to you in a matter of seconds. This is all achieved by filling out one simple form with your flight requirements rather than scouring through numerous different sites one after the other monotonously checking their offers.

The downside to this form of site is that they have not always allied with every single site on the net therefore they cannot make the claim that they have searched the entire internet.

If there was a competition between a high street travel agent who typically only has a limited relationship with airlines and online flight comparison tools, it is highly likely the online sites will beat the traditional method simply due to the vastly superior itinerary of flights they have at their disposal representative of anything from 10 – 400 major travel agents.

Flight comparison sites typically only ally themselves with reputable companies and are usually partnered with well known sites which spend millions on customer care, advertising and offering efficient product services. The trick is knowing which are the best flight comparison tools to use.

Out of all of the flight comparison tools out there we recommend you try Skyscanner and Cheapflights. Both of these sites search a large number of major travel agents, airlines and tour operators.

You should also complement these tools with some recommended online travel agents such as eBookers and Expedia. This is because they have direct commercial relations with airlines and can offer their own special deals.

Remember, the secret to finding cheap tickets is by exploring and checking numerous sites, not just one. Therefore, we recommend you use all of these sites to find the best possible deal.

Here are some other strategies and techniques that have the potential to save significant amounts of money on your next airline ticket.

Capitalize on your circumstances – airlines typically offer discounts for people in the following groups: students, children, groups, the elderly and the bereaved are all eligible for discounts from many different airline companies simply because of their status.

Maximize your frequent flyer miles – numerous airlines the world over offer frequent flyer programmes which offer free miles back to the traveller as a reward for flying with their airline. Once you have accumulated enough air miles you can exchange them in return for numerous products, including free flights. If you find that you do not have enough air miles to reach a particular destination you can pay for some extra miles on top to make up the difference. Nevertheless, you will still end up with a heavily discounted flight.

Consider a charter flight – charter flights typically operate from secondary, less busy airports and can potentially offer significant discounts to particular tourist destinations. Sometimes the whole holiday package is included with the flight including accommodation. (Many years ago we got a return flight to Cancun for £125 which made our 3 week trip to Guatemala an absolute bargain)!

Seasons, time & day – It is important when contemplating a trip somewhere to consider the season you are planning to depart and how busy your destination is likely to be. These factors play a significant role in the overall price you could pay for your airline ticket. There are times when certain destinations in the world have their ‘peak seasons.’ These are times when travel to these regions can be expensive. This is due to the demand associated with such destinations for that particular time of year. It is best when looking for cheap tickets to particular destinations that you research what are considered ‘off peak seasons’ to travel and plan your trip accordingly.

Another factor to consider when searching for the cheapest airline tickets is the time of day you plan to depart. Very early morning flights and late evening flights tend to be cheaper than those during busy periods of the day. This is due to fewer flights being available at those times and the general dislike of passengers to fly at those hours. The airlines want to fill as many of their seats as possible so they sometimes drop the price of tickets departing at those times. Our advice would be to experiment with departures at different times of the day and see if any discounts can be acquired.

Another factor to consider when looking for cheap flights is the actual day of the flight departure. Particular days of the week are considered busy periods and flights tend to be more expensive during these times. Weekends are generally more expensive than weekdays. The best time to look for departure flights would be either on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. No guarantees can be made for finding a cheaper flight but it’s definitely worth a try.

Vary the airports you arrive and depart from – check at least three different departure points to the same destination. Check those airports which are in close proximity to your initial departure point and check the prices. Likewise for the destination you are planning to travel too, check secondary airports to the initial destination you plan to go to, for example, if travelling to Bolivia, check Santa Cruz as well.

Fly from major hubs – if you are flying to an remote location it may be worth exploring two separate flights to your destination by flying first to a major international hub and then flying on from there to your remote location.

Begin your search early – have you ever seen a ridiculously low price offered on the TV or internet only to find when you look for it, that it has completely disappeared! Well, you may be thinking the agency has lied just to pull in consumers, but that is not the case. What the airlines tend to do is price a few seats on their plane for the ridiculously low rates they advertise in the media. You need to be extremely quick to get those seats as very few are available in the first place. The best way to assure yourself a chance at acquiring these seats is to start your search as soon as possible.

Final Thoughts – experimenting is the key to finding the best deals on the internet. Feel free to use any of the information presented in this post and the sites mentioned above as a base to begin your search. We are confident the advice given will save you money on your next airline ticket.

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Looking for a unique and free way to transit the Panama Canal? If the answer is yes you should consider volunteering as a line handler.

Panamanian law dictates that every boat, no matter how small, must have four line handlers when it makes a crossing of the Panama Canal – two on the bow and two on the stern.

Since professional line handlers can cost between US$50-100 per transit, many captains are prepared to give fellow travellers a free passage in exchange for working aboard.

We were offered jobs as line handlers by a lovely French couple aboard a beautiful 40′ catamaran when we last visited the Panama Canal.

You do not need any training or boating experience to be a line handler. You just need to be able to catch a half-inch leader line, tie simple knots, and follow orders.

When a boat transits a lock, the boat must be kept in the centre of the lock, and this is done by lines and those that handle them – line handlers. Imagine a square hammock with a rope at each corner holding the hammock steady and centered.

It takes about forty-five minutes to go through a lock and about twelve hours to transit the whole Canal (50 miles). As there are only three locks (Miraflores, Pedro Miguel and Gatun) this means a good nine hours of taking pictures or whatever else your heart desires.

If you are interested in being a line handler go to the Balboa Yacht Club at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, the Pedro Miguel Boat Club next to the Pedro Miguel Locks, or the Shelter Bay Marina on the Caribbean side.

Ask around the boats and perhaps put up a notice. Captains check the bulletin boards at these yacht clubs for notices posted by anyone wanting to line handle.

Sadly, the Panama Canal Yacht Club in Colon was demolished in 2009; hence, the only option on the Caribbean side is currently the Shelter Bay Marina. This marina is about a 30 minute taxi ride from Colon.

The number of boats travelling each way is dictated by season, boats tend to be heading from the Caribbean to the Pacific during approximately January to May.

A cautionary note – in Colon muggings are a real threat, even in daylight. One should avoid walking anywhere outside of the yacht club and all shopping should be done by taxi. We recommend you plan ahead and get out of Colon as quickly as possible.

When choosing a digital camera for wildlife photography, there are a number of factors to consider, not least of which is the price.

But there are also other important considerations. Wild animals in general are wary of people, while many are dangerous, so in most cases you’ll need to photograph them from a distance.

The net result is that you’ll need a telephoto lens that will enlarge the subject and bring it closer. A small, budget compact digital camera with a 3x zoom lens (roughly equivalent to a 35-105mm lens on a 35mm camera) won’t cut it for wildlife photography as the zoom is simply not powerful enough. Therefore, the most important feature to look out for when choosing a ‘wildlife’ camera is a big zoom. In the past this meant huge telescopic lenses, but now there is a large variety of compact superzoom digital cameras to choose from with zooms that go up to 18x (35mm equivalent to over 500mm).

Battery life and what type of batteries the camera takes is also an important consideration to take into account. If you are travelling to remote locations there may not be any electricity to charge your batteries, therefore, buying a spare battery or two is a must. You could also consider getting a camera that uses standard AA batteries, but remember that some remote locations might not have a shop that sells batteries and it is for that reason it might be better to use rechargeable type batteries and carry a fully charged spare.

The size and weight of the camera is also something that shouldn’t be ignored. The camera should be compact, easy to conceal and carry as hand luggage. Lugging heavy and bulky equipment around with you is no fun at all. A small camera also decreases the chances of being targeted by thieves when travelling through towns and cities. A small, easy to carry camera is preferable if going on walking safaris or covering large distances by foot.

Taking into account the key features mentioned above in addition to the price, we think the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38 is the best compact digital camera for wildlife photography.

The FZ38 (FZ35 in the U.S.) is the successor to the very popular FZ28 and is our opinion one of, if not the best digital superzoom cameras on the market. The FZ38 brings more to the table than the FZ28, including an increased resolution of 12.1 Megapixels, direct access to HD video and is very competitively priced.

The FZ38 digital camera packs a bunch of features into a compact body, that includes the superb Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens with a very powerful 18x zoom (35mm film camera equivalent: 27-486mm) and AVCHD Elite high-definition movie recording capability.

Obviously the main reason to get a superzoom camera is for its zoom and the FZ38 has one of the best available. The super-powerful 18x zoom, equivalent to 486mm on a 35mm camera is great for getting closer to far away action as well as taking dramatic close-up shots. What is more, you can get even closer to the action, by using a 1.7x teleconverter.

One of the best features of the FZ38 camera is the very quick start-up time (just over a second) and super fast auto focus. There is a noticeable improvement between this and the older FZ28, meaning that you have a much greater chance of capturing that once in a lifetime photo that you may have previously missed. According to Panasonic their high speed AF is industry-leading and is twice as fast as that on the FZ28.

What is more, the new auto focus system helps keep focus on the subject while the camera is in recording mode even before pressing the shutter button halfway. This improves the chances of getting the shot because the focus is always near the subject and AF time is therefore minimized.

One of the main advantages of a superzoom camera versus a digital SLR is the much lower cost and with the Panasonic FZ38 camera you get plenty of camera for your money.