June 2004 Travel Newsletter

Thanks For Another Successful Luggage Donation Campaign!
We want to thank everyone who helped make our annual luggage drive another wonderful success!  We delivered lots of used luggage items to the Boulder County Safehouse, where they will be put to good use helping battered women and their children make a new start.  We appreciate your help and generosity for such a great cause!
Traveling With Power
Many of our fellow travelers ask questions about what they need to get an electrical appliance to work properly when traveling internationally.  That can be a bit confusing with the various electrical systems in different countries and with the different power requirements of various electrical appliances.  So, we'll help out by reviewing some of the basic ideas about traveling with power.

The first thing to keep in mind is that other countries have electrical wall outlets with different shapes than those of the United States.  If you are taking an appliance that plugs into a U.S. wall outlet, one thing you will always need is an adapter in order to fit it into the outlet of a foreign country.  Adapters connect onto your U.S. plug and "adapt" it to the shape of the other country's electrical outlet.  There are adapters for both two-prong (ungrounded) appliances and for three-prong (grounded) appliances.

The other big difference between countries is voltage.  The United States works on 110 volts in a standard wall outlet, while most other countries work on 220 volts.  If the appliance you are taking is designed only for 110 volts, plugging it into a 220-volt outlet in another country might burn out the appliance.  (The plug adapter that allows an electrical appliance to fit into the foreign outlet does not convert the voltage.)  To use an appliance designed for 110 volts in a country that works on 220 volts, you will need either a converter or a transformer, which “convert” the electricity.

Converters come in two categories, low wattage (up to 50 watts) and high wattage (50 - 1875 watts).  Most battery chargers, CD players and portable radios are low wattage appliances.  Most heat generating appliances, such as hair dryers, travel irons and curling irons, are high wattage appliances.  Be sure to check the electrical information for your appliance to be sure of its voltage and wattage requirements.  Many newer electrical appliances are dual-voltage, meaning they work on either 110 or 220 volts.  The electrical information for these appliances will state a range (for example, "100-250V") that will cover both voltages.  Some dual-voltage appliances may have a switch to indicate what voltage it is being used with.  Dual-voltage appliances do not require converters.  They require only plug adapters.

You may want to consider purchasing a new, compact and dual-voltage travel appliance instead of a converter.  A compact travel appliance can save you packing space and weight compared to carrying both a converter and a larger, single voltage appliance.  Leave the larger appliance at home for use there and leave the compact travel appliance in your luggage for your next trip overseas.
Our New Toll Free Number!
We’re always improving our customer service!  For that reason, we went out and got a brand new toll free number.  It is easier to remember and easier to use when you’re placing an order or when you have questions about an order.  Our local telephone number here in Colorado is 303-786-8406, as it has always been.  And now our new toll- free number for our fellow travelers outside Colorado is 866-786-8406, the same number with a toll-free area code of 866.  So, when you need luggage, guide books or travel accessories for your next travel adventure, just call Changes In Latitude, the travel store for those with a passion for travel!
Upcoming Travel Programs
Summer already!!  The sad part is that we’ve completed our travel program schedule for the season.  We hope everyone learned some information about a new part of the world and received some inspiration and ideas for future travels.  The great part is that now it’s time for everyone to head out on summer vacations and adventures of their own.  We’ll start up a new season of travel programs in the fall.  Watch our web site and our newsletter for the new schedule - and maybe a packing clinic or two over the summer!

Our thanks to all of the presenters over the last nine months for their wonderful programs.  If you have slides and stories from a unique trip that you’ve taken (or will take over the summer) and want to share them with fellow travelers, let us know and we’ll schedule you for one of our Tuesday night slide shows.  The best shows have nice pictures, fun stories, a knowledgeable and entertaining presenter, and provide some interest to our well-traveled audience.
Suggested Reading
“Journey Without Maps” by Graham Greene, 1936, published by Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics.  In 1935, Graham Greene set off to discover Liberia, a remote western African republic founded for released slaves, where white men were not particularly welcome.  He traveled with a chain of porters, on foot, from the border of Sierra Leone across the headwaters of several rivers and down to the coast at Grand Bassa.  He came to know one of the few areas of Africa untouched by colonization.  He found that not poverty, disease, nor hunger seem to be able to quell the native spirit.  This book is regarded as one of the best travel books of the twentieth century.
Just For Fun
A man moved his baggage up to the ticket counter at the airport.  He said hello to the woman working the counter
and told her, “Could you please send one of my bags to London, send one to New York, and send the third one to New Orleans.”
“I’m sorry sir.” she replied. “We can’t do that. We have to send all the bags with you.”
He countered, “But you did it last week!”
Newsletter Subscriptions
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"Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.”
    - Walt Whitman
Happy Travels!
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www.cil.com		 Changes In Latitude    2525 Arapahoe    Boulder, CO 80302    USA
phone: 303-786-8406     fax: (303) 786-8408
e-mail: adventure@cil.com
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