Welcome to Travel Post Monthly

Dear Reader,

This month Austin goes batty, Monarchs make a peaceful invasion of Mexico, a flight attendant trades-in her wings, and a casual photo becomes dinner at an embassy.

Extra kudos go to Fred Mays for his story, Austin Goes Batty. While attending a Great Escape Publishing travel writer’s workshop in Austin, Fred covered the evening bat flight, took photos, and wrote the story, submitting it to TPM the day after the workshop ended. Way to get the assignment Fred.

Ellen followed Monarch butterflies to Mexico for their annual migration. She shares her experience of their peaceful invasion and tells us how she got there, where she stayed and how to help the endangered creatures.

Golf in the morning, ski after lunch, then have coffee and cocktails where the royals relax, Klosters Switzerland. Elsa Dixon knows the area well and shares excellent places to immerse in the local sport, culture, and scenery.

Lastly, we are invited to dinner with the Aparan Ambassador. Charlotte Boyle’s small act of kindness, sharing her photo, resulted in a dinner of Armenia’s finest food and beverage at the Aparan Caucasus embassy. She tells us how it all came about.

Read these stories and see the great photos that go with them—below.

Till next time,

Mary Charlebois
Editor, Travel Post Monthly

This Month …

• Austin is Going Batty (10/11/2018) - First, there are a few, then hundreds, quickly followed by thousands. Soon the sky is dotted with over a million bats off on their nightly forage for food. They are cheered on by hundreds of spectators who crowd the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin. Hundreds more line the banks of Lady Bird Lake, and even more watch from tour boats in the water.
• Monarch Butterflies Peacefully Invade Mexico (10/11/2018) - Every September millions of migrating Monarch Butterflies fly the sky road clocking over a hundred miles a day to a winter destination in Central Mexico where they will end their remarkable nine-month life cycle. Where do they go exactly? Why do they do it?
• Après-ski in the Alps: Kaffee Klatsch Lounge in Klosters (10/11/2018) - A welcome wood fire burns in the hearth as we shake off the snow and enter Kaffee Klatsch Lounge. We wind our way through the tables in the Kaffee restaurant to the adjoining Sports Bar where the air is thick with laughter and chatter (klatsch). It is après-ski time in Klosters Switzerland when winter sports fans flock from all over the world to this region.
• Dinner with the Ambassador (10/11/2018) - Aparan in a small town in Armenia, which itself is a small country in the Caucasus. Despite its tragic history of wars and genocides, few know the whereabouts of this hidden gem. I spent four months living there and can say if you want to visit a unique country with an abundance of kindness, get yourself on a plane to Armenia.