September 2018

Have you ever wanted to travel to a very remote place but thought it was a good idea to have someone help with the plans? Well, my husband, Fred, and I did. Our desired destinations were Robinson Crusoe Island and Easter Island.

We chose Chilean Special Journeys, or CSJ (Palacio Concha, Av. Concha y Toro 44, Barrio Concha y Toro, Santiago, CHILE; phone, in the US, 888/345-6077, www.chileanspecialjourneys.com), from an advertisement in ITN. We could not have chosen better!

Our first stop during a May 2018 cruise around the British Isles was St. Peter Port on Guernsey. Online, we had booked a tour there with Tour Guernsey (Barnabe Ltd., Market St., St. Peter Port, Guernsey, England, GY1 1HB, U.K.; phone +44 778 1423 616, www.tourguernsey.com), whom we recommend enthusiastically.

Guide in Dubrovnik

During a half day of free time that we had in Dubrovnik, Croatia, while on a wonderful tour of the Balkans with Overseas Adventure Travel, my friend Cheryl Cohen and I took a private tour. Our tour guide, whom we found through Viator.com, was Vesna Barisic (vbarisic.dubrovnik@gmail.com).

On Viator, I had searched for "Jewish tour of Dubrovnik," and Vesna's "Dubrovnik Jewish Heritage Private Walking Tour" popped up. For June 28, 2018, booked through Viator, the total cost of the tour for Cheryl and me was $170.

Trip to the Netherlands

My husband, Bernie, and I decided that, after we took a 24-day cruise aboard the Seven Seas Voyager and stayed a few days in the United Arab Emirates, we would go west to make it an "around-the-world" trip.

From Dubai, we flew to Amsterdam via Istanbul. Istanbul's international airport was confusing and chaotic, with people sleeping on benches and on the floor and others at the gate making lots of noise. But it did have a peaceful lounge, which included a prayer room.

ITN subscriber Carol Anderson of Delray Beach, Florida, wanted to alert travelers to a major policy change regarding the Trip-Cancellation/Interruption Insurance coverage provided by the Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Visa card.

Violent antigovernment protests in Nicaragua, ongoing since April 18, had killed up to 300 people as of press time.

The city of Masaya, south of the capital, has seen the heaviest fighting, between antigovernment groups entrenched in the city and armed forces assisted by pro-government militias.

Protests began when Nicaragua's president suggested introducing pension reforms that would have reduced incomes in the nation. He later backtracked on the reforms, but, by then, protests had become more broadly antigovernment and continued.

Rallies held for local politicians in Pakistan were repeatedly targeted by suicide bombers in July.

On July 10, a bomber killed 22 people at a campaign meeting in the city of Peshawar. The Islamist group the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

On July 20, Zimbabwe held its first elections since former president Robert Mugabe was deposed on Nov. 21, 2017.

On Aug. 1, protesters took to the streets of the capital, Harare, after results showed that the ruling party, led by the former Mugabe confidant and appointed president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, had won a majority of seats in the Parliament. Protesters clashed with police and armed forces, who opened fire on the crowds. One person was confirmed killed and another was injured.

At least three people were killed as thousands of Haitians took to the streets on July 6 to protest a 40% increase in the prices of cooking fuel and gas, setting up roadblocks and burning cars and tires. Even after the prime minister announced, the next day, that the proposed increase would not go into effect, protests continued into July 8.

In response to the protests, Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant resigned from his position on July 17.

Demanding that Palestinian refugees be allowed to return to their former homes in Israel, more than 100 Palestinians were killed at the border between Gaza and Israel in protests that began on March 30 and ended in June.

Since then, smaller incidents have occurred, primarily the flying of kites and balloons — armed with incendiary devices — over the border from Gaza, causing small fires and threatening Israeli farms. Israel implemented a fuel blockade in order to deny Hamas materials to create firebombs.