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Subject	Date	Category	Presenter	Description
Solo Traveling While Old	Sat Jan 24	Slide Show	Linda Durham	Linda Durham, writer and storyteller. At 83, she has traveled alone to scores of countries for more than sixty years. Recent solo journeys include Bulgaria, Poland/Ukraine, and Russia, including a month long journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway. At 70, she traveled around the world in 70 days. Drawing on decades of experience, Durham shares stories of continued adventure, the kindness of strangers, and the thrill of discovery that comes with traveling alone at any age. She is the author of Still Moving, The Trans-Siberian Railway Journey, and the forthcoming Naked Women.recent solo travels to Bulgaria, Turkey, Ukraine
Guatemala During the High Holidays	Sat Jan 31	Slide Show	Jack Shlachter	It 's Mayan, Not Yours! Leading Congregation Adat Israel, in Guatemala City for the Jewish High Holidays Rabbi Jack Shlachter is a physicist and ordained rabbi whose long career at Los Alamos National Laboratory provided him with the luxury of galavanting around the world to lead small congregations for the Jewish High Holidays. His travels have taken him to Vienna, Beijing, Warsaw, Bangkok, and most recently, Guatemala City. When home in New Mexico, Rabbi Jack serves as rabbi for the Los Alamos Jewish Center as well as congregation HaMakom in Santa Fe. The Jewish community of Guatemala is small by world standards; Jewish population for the entire country of 18 million people is estimated to be under 1000 or a mere 0.006%. Rabbi Jack will describe his experiences leading a small, non-Orthodox congregation in Guatemala City for the Jewish High Holidays in 2025 as well as a first-time traveler 's impressions of Guatemala.
Travel Bug Book Discussion	Tue Feb 03	Book Group	Aimee Gwynne Franklyn	Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan 6:00-7:30pm Jaffna, 1981. Sixteen-year-old Sashi wants to become a doctor. But over the next decade, a vicious civil war tears through her home, and her dream spins off course as she sees her four beloved brothers and their friend K swept up in the mounting violence. Desperate to act, Sashi accepts K 's invitation to work as a medic at a field hospital for the militant Tamil Tigers, who, following years of state discrimination and violence, are fighting for a separate homeland for Sri Lanka 's Tamil minority. But after the Tigers murder one of her teachers and Indian peacekeepers arrive only to commit further atrocities, Sashi begins to question where she stands. When one of her medical school professors, a Tamil feminist and dissident, invites her to join a secret project documenting human rights violations, she embarks on a dangerous path that will change her forever. Set during the early years of Sri Lanka 's three-decade civil war, Brotherless Night is a heartrending portrait of one woman 's moral journey and a testament to both the enduring impact of war and the bonds of home.
Financial Fridays!	Fri Feb 06	SPECIAL	Emily Estes	Join us and Emily Estes (Financial Advisor, Edward Jones) the first Friday of every month for an informal, but informative way to enjoy your evening! From 5:15-5:45pm Emily will cover various financial topics to help you live a life worth living. Stay after the talk until 6:30pm for the Q&A, casual discussion, and a beer! Remember Happy Hour is 5-6pm! Everyone welcome!
Bali	Sat Feb 07	Slide Show	Ellen Kemper	"Around Bali " - Volunteering, sightseeing, and swimming around Bali. Six weeks and twelve accommodations later, Ellen Kemper traveled the island of Bali enjoying its culture, landscape, and seas.
Mi Corazón: Stories for Valentine's Day	Fri Feb 13	SPECIAL	Regina Ress	In tennis, "love " is nothing, but in life, love is everything! It appears in many guises and often comes from unexpected places. Love reaches across time and space, its power undiminished. Stories about love, too, come in many forms and from many places. And like love, the stories can be a healing force for the heart and soul. This Valentine 's eve, four fabulous storytellers, Dusty Deen, Lucinda deLorimier, Liz Mangual and Regina Ress will share tales traditional and personal, ancient and hot off the presses. We cannot guarantee that Cupid, with his flowery arrows, will show up, though his predecessor Kama might! Join us at the Travel Bug and we will take a delightful trip into the territory of love. This program is in conjunction with the statewide organization, Storytellers of New Mexico. Visit our website at storytellersofnewmexico.org Many thanks to The Travel Bug for hosting our offering of Love. 4:30-6:00 Free!
Cruising the Bottom of South America	Sat Feb 14	Slide Show	Marion DuBeau	For our honeymoon we decided to see a part of the world we had never been to before. South America had the right combination of romance and remoteness so we chose a cruise that spans the bottom of South America from Valparaiso Chile to the Magellan Strait and ends in Buenos Aires with many stops in between.
Gen X Millennial book club	Wed Feb 18	Book Group	Jeff Grossman	The Millennial Gen-X Book Club is a once-a-month fiction book club for anyone in those generations. We skew towards the queer, the tender, and the strange. If you are interested in joining us, drop by on the night of, or direct your interest to Jeff through themillennialgenxbookclub@gmail.com February: Big Swiss By Jen Beagin March and April: East of Edem by John Steinbeck
Algeria	Sat Feb 21	Slide Show	Scott Lindenau	Algeria, a seldom visited country by westerners remains authentic and raw and is the largest of the 54 countries in Africa with much of the country dissolving in the vastness of the Sahara. This presentation takes you into the interior of this mysterious land to explore the ancient rock art of the remote Tassili-n-Ajjer, the expansive dunes of the Algerian Sahara bordering Libya, Niger and Mali and sheds light on Algiers, its kasbah 's and the wonders of the Roman Empire along its Mediterranean coast.
Palestinian Olive Harvest	Sat Feb 28	Slide Show	Dustin Weinreb	The annual olive harvest is one of the most important economic and cultural events for Palestinians in the Israeli occupied West Bank. However, it is frequently impeded by the efforts of violent settlers and soldiers. Dustin Weinreb spent a month with the organization the Center for Jewish Non-Violence working alongside farmers in the village of Burin to harvest olives and support Palestinian efforts to remain on their land. He will present his experience and detail the salient issues people in the West Bank are facing. Dustin Weinreb has a B.A. in religious studies from Reed College where he studied modern Islamic intellectual history and Arabic. He has extensive experience in the Middle East having spent months-long stints in Morocco, Lebanon, and Israel-Palestine. Prior to this visit to the West Bank, he spent three months with CJNV in Masafer Yatta, a collection of West Bank villages chronicled in the Oscar winning film, "No Other Land. " He works as a wildland firefighter across the American West, most recently as a member of the Geronimo Interagency Hotshot Crew.
Travel Bug Book Discussion	Tue Mar 03	Book Group	Aimee Gwynne Franklyn	Tuesday, March 3rd, 6:00-7:30 p.m. Playworld by Adam Ross NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORKER and a THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS ' CHOICE - A big and big-hearted novel--one enthralling, transformative year in the life of a child actor coming of age in a bygone Manhattan
Origins of Florence	Sat Mar 07	Slide Show	Linda Higgins	The Origins of Florence The Etruscans to the Romans Florence, the glorious Renaissance City. Everywhere you look you see the evidence of her beautiful artistic masterpieces that reflect this extraordinary era. But as you walk the cobble stone streets there is a history of her origins directly beneath your feet. A past that goes back thousands of years to the Mysterious Etruscans whose town Fiesole overlooks Florence and whose marketplace was located on the banks of the River Arno in Florence. A history that tells how the Romans established their city of Florentia in 59 BC to reward the Roman soldiers who fought with Julius Caesar. A Roman city with a forum for the religious and government functions, an amphitheater for “sports”, a theater for music and plays and, of course, baths and aqueducts to bring clean water from the surrounding countryside. Together we will explore the very foundations on which this Beautiful City of Art was built.
On the Road with On the Road	Sat Mar 14	Slide Show	Carl Moore	Robert Frank 's The Americans redefined photography in 1959 and inspired Carl Moore to hit the road with Jack Kerouac 's On the Road. Like Frank, Moore sought to reveal America to Americans—capturing the landscapes, faces, and fleeting moments that echo Kerouac 's metaphorical vision. From Denver, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Los Angeles to a cross-country drive with his son from Santa Fe to New England, Moore, with his Nikon in hand, retraces Sal Paradise 's footsteps. The result is a vivid, contemporary counterpart to Kerouac 's masterpiece—where the photographs themselves feel restless, alive, and haunted by the same hunger for the open road.
Travel Tips: Monthly Discussion	Thu Mar 19	SPECIAL	Ken Collins	Have you traveled to far off, exciting places? Or are you getting ready to embark on a new adventure? Are you interested in issues relating to travel in general, such as budget ideas or personal security? Join us in our new monthly travel discussion group where you can share some of your favorite travel experiences, practical advice, and general travel topics at our monthly meetings. This discussion group is for people who have visited a particular destination and want to share their experiences or advice and for those seeking tips, advice, and stories relating to international travel. Everyone welcome! First meeting will focus on Rome, Italy on Thursday, March 19th from 4:30pm-6pm. Ken Collins and Rochelle Gerratt will facilitate the meetings. Ken is a frequent presenter at The Travel Bug and a global traveler with a Web site containing practical advice on various destinations. Rochelle has led over 60 domestic and international trips for the Sierra Club and other groups, including her own adventure travel company.
Cuzco Machu Picchu and beyond	Sat Mar 21	Slide Show	Michael Matousek	Cusco & Machu Picchu: More Than a Ruin—A Living World Machu Picchu is one of the most famous places on Earth, yet few travelers truly understand what they are seeing—or why it continues to move people so deeply. In this illustrated talk, veteran guide and Peru specialist Michael Matousek takes you beyond the postcard views to explore Cusco and Machu Picchu as living, connected places shaped by history, engineering, culture, and landscape. This talk is ideal for curious travelers who want deeper context, not just bucket-list photos—and who believe great travel begins with understanding.
Nigeria	Sat Mar 28	Slide Show	Phoenix Savage	Having lived in Ile Ife, Nigeria for a year as a Fulbright Scholar, the most difficult experience I encountered was purchasing one tomato. The Yoruba people of Southwestern Nigeria consider the city of Ile Ife, an ancient sacred city with over 200 shrines, to be ground zero for the creation of humanity. It is the location where Olodumare instructs a host of deities to form the world and live among humans. It is also the most difficult place on earth to purchase just one tomato. Join me as I share the wonders of Yoruba culture, mythologies and my experiences from tomato buying in the market to walks in the rainforest, home to one of the world 's largest colonies of fruit bats. I will also share the most important tip for becoming a Fulbright Fellow.

Page1 of 2 16 items/page

Subject	Date	Description
Solo Traveling While Old	Sat Jan 24	Linda Durham, writer and storyteller. At 83, she has traveled alone to scores of countries for more than sixty years. Recent solo journeys include Bulgaria, Poland/Ukraine, and Russia, including a month long journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway. At 70, she traveled around the world in 70 days. Drawing on decades of experience, Durham shares stories of continued adventure, the kindness of strangers, and the thrill of discovery that comes with traveling alone at any age. She is the author of Still Moving, The Trans-Siberian Railway Journey, and the forthcoming Naked Women.recent solo travels to Bulgaria, Turkey, Ukraine
Guatemala During the High Holidays	Sat Jan 31	It 's Mayan, Not Yours! Leading Congregation Adat Israel, in Guatemala City for the Jewish High Holidays Rabbi Jack Shlachter is a physicist and ordained rabbi whose long career at Los Alamos National Laboratory provided him with the luxury of galavanting around the world to lead small congregations for the Jewish High Holidays. His travels have taken him to Vienna, Beijing, Warsaw, Bangkok, and most recently, Guatemala City. When home in New Mexico, Rabbi Jack serves as rabbi for the Los Alamos Jewish Center as well as congregation HaMakom in Santa Fe. The Jewish community of Guatemala is small by world standards; Jewish population for the entire country of 18 million people is estimated to be under 1000 or a mere 0.006%. Rabbi Jack will describe his experiences leading a small, non-Orthodox congregation in Guatemala City for the Jewish High Holidays in 2025 as well as a first-time traveler 's impressions of Guatemala.
Travel Bug Book Discussion	Tue Feb 03	Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan 6:00-7:30pm Jaffna, 1981. Sixteen-year-old Sashi wants to become a doctor. But over the next decade, a vicious civil war tears through her home, and her dream spins off course as she sees her four beloved brothers and their friend K swept up in the mounting violence. Desperate to act, Sashi accepts K 's invitation to work as a medic at a field hospital for the militant Tamil Tigers, who, following years of state discrimination and violence, are fighting for a separate homeland for Sri Lanka 's Tamil minority. But after the Tigers murder one of her teachers and Indian peacekeepers arrive only to commit further atrocities, Sashi begins to question where she stands. When one of her medical school professors, a Tamil feminist and dissident, invites her to join a secret project documenting human rights violations, she embarks on a dangerous path that will change her forever. Set during the early years of Sri Lanka 's three-decade civil war, Brotherless Night is a heartrending portrait of one woman 's moral journey and a testament to both the enduring impact of war and the bonds of home.
Financial Fridays!	Fri Feb 06	Join us and Emily Estes (Financial Advisor, Edward Jones) the first Friday of every month for an informal, but informative way to enjoy your evening! From 5:15-5:45pm Emily will cover various financial topics to help you live a life worth living. Stay after the talk until 6:30pm for the Q&A, casual discussion, and a beer! Remember Happy Hour is 5-6pm! Everyone welcome!
Bali	Sat Feb 07	"Around Bali " - Volunteering, sightseeing, and swimming around Bali. Six weeks and twelve accommodations later, Ellen Kemper traveled the island of Bali enjoying its culture, landscape, and seas.
Mi Corazón: Stories for Valentine's Day	Fri Feb 13	In tennis, "love " is nothing, but in life, love is everything! It appears in many guises and often comes from unexpected places. Love reaches across time and space, its power undiminished. Stories about love, too, come in many forms and from many places. And like love, the stories can be a healing force for the heart and soul. This Valentine 's eve, four fabulous storytellers, Dusty Deen, Lucinda deLorimier, Liz Mangual and Regina Ress will share tales traditional and personal, ancient and hot off the presses. We cannot guarantee that Cupid, with his flowery arrows, will show up, though his predecessor Kama might! Join us at the Travel Bug and we will take a delightful trip into the territory of love. This program is in conjunction with the statewide organization, Storytellers of New Mexico. Visit our website at storytellersofnewmexico.org Many thanks to The Travel Bug for hosting our offering of Love. 4:30-6:00 Free!
Cruising the Bottom of South America	Sat Feb 14	For our honeymoon we decided to see a part of the world we had never been to before. South America had the right combination of romance and remoteness so we chose a cruise that spans the bottom of South America from Valparaiso Chile to the Magellan Strait and ends in Buenos Aires with many stops in between.
Gen X Millennial book club	Wed Feb 18	The Millennial Gen-X Book Club is a once-a-month fiction book club for anyone in those generations. We skew towards the queer, the tender, and the strange. If you are interested in joining us, drop by on the night of, or direct your interest to Jeff through themillennialgenxbookclub@gmail.com February: Big Swiss By Jen Beagin March and April: East of Edem by John Steinbeck
Algeria	Sat Feb 21	Algeria, a seldom visited country by westerners remains authentic and raw and is the largest of the 54 countries in Africa with much of the country dissolving in the vastness of the Sahara. This presentation takes you into the interior of this mysterious land to explore the ancient rock art of the remote Tassili-n-Ajjer, the expansive dunes of the Algerian Sahara bordering Libya, Niger and Mali and sheds light on Algiers, its kasbah 's and the wonders of the Roman Empire along its Mediterranean coast.
Palestinian Olive Harvest	Sat Feb 28	The annual olive harvest is one of the most important economic and cultural events for Palestinians in the Israeli occupied West Bank. However, it is frequently impeded by the efforts of violent settlers and soldiers. Dustin Weinreb spent a month with the organization the Center for Jewish Non-Violence working alongside farmers in the village of Burin to harvest olives and support Palestinian efforts to remain on their land. He will present his experience and detail the salient issues people in the West Bank are facing. Dustin Weinreb has a B.A. in religious studies from Reed College where he studied modern Islamic intellectual history and Arabic. He has extensive experience in the Middle East having spent months-long stints in Morocco, Lebanon, and Israel-Palestine. Prior to this visit to the West Bank, he spent three months with CJNV in Masafer Yatta, a collection of West Bank villages chronicled in the Oscar winning film, "No Other Land. " He works as a wildland firefighter across the American West, most recently as a member of the Geronimo Interagency Hotshot Crew.
Travel Bug Book Discussion	Tue Mar 03	Tuesday, March 3rd, 6:00-7:30 p.m. Playworld by Adam Ross NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORKER and a THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS ' CHOICE - A big and big-hearted novel--one enthralling, transformative year in the life of a child actor coming of age in a bygone Manhattan
Origins of Florence	Sat Mar 07	The Origins of Florence The Etruscans to the Romans Florence, the glorious Renaissance City. Everywhere you look you see the evidence of her beautiful artistic masterpieces that reflect this extraordinary era. But as you walk the cobble stone streets there is a history of her origins directly beneath your feet. A past that goes back thousands of years to the Mysterious Etruscans whose town Fiesole overlooks Florence and whose marketplace was located on the banks of the River Arno in Florence. A history that tells how the Romans established their city of Florentia in 59 BC to reward the Roman soldiers who fought with Julius Caesar. A Roman city with a forum for the religious and government functions, an amphitheater for “sports”, a theater for music and plays and, of course, baths and aqueducts to bring clean water from the surrounding countryside. Together we will explore the very foundations on which this Beautiful City of Art was built.
On the Road with On the Road	Sat Mar 14	Robert Frank 's The Americans redefined photography in 1959 and inspired Carl Moore to hit the road with Jack Kerouac 's On the Road. Like Frank, Moore sought to reveal America to Americans—capturing the landscapes, faces, and fleeting moments that echo Kerouac 's metaphorical vision. From Denver, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Los Angeles to a cross-country drive with his son from Santa Fe to New England, Moore, with his Nikon in hand, retraces Sal Paradise 's footsteps. The result is a vivid, contemporary counterpart to Kerouac 's masterpiece—where the photographs themselves feel restless, alive, and haunted by the same hunger for the open road.
Travel Tips: Monthly Discussion	Thu Mar 19	Have you traveled to far off, exciting places? Or are you getting ready to embark on a new adventure? Are you interested in issues relating to travel in general, such as budget ideas or personal security? Join us in our new monthly travel discussion group where you can share some of your favorite travel experiences, practical advice, and general travel topics at our monthly meetings. This discussion group is for people who have visited a particular destination and want to share their experiences or advice and for those seeking tips, advice, and stories relating to international travel. Everyone welcome! First meeting will focus on Rome, Italy on Thursday, March 19th from 4:30pm-6pm. Ken Collins and Rochelle Gerratt will facilitate the meetings. Ken is a frequent presenter at The Travel Bug and a global traveler with a Web site containing practical advice on various destinations. Rochelle has led over 60 domestic and international trips for the Sierra Club and other groups, including her own adventure travel company.
Cuzco Machu Picchu and beyond	Sat Mar 21	Cusco & Machu Picchu: More Than a Ruin—A Living World Machu Picchu is one of the most famous places on Earth, yet few travelers truly understand what they are seeing—or why it continues to move people so deeply. In this illustrated talk, veteran guide and Peru specialist Michael Matousek takes you beyond the postcard views to explore Cusco and Machu Picchu as living, connected places shaped by history, engineering, culture, and landscape. This talk is ideal for curious travelers who want deeper context, not just bucket-list photos—and who believe great travel begins with understanding.
Nigeria	Sat Mar 28	Having lived in Ile Ife, Nigeria for a year as a Fulbright Scholar, the most difficult experience I encountered was purchasing one tomato. The Yoruba people of Southwestern Nigeria consider the city of Ile Ife, an ancient sacred city with over 200 shrines, to be ground zero for the creation of humanity. It is the location where Olodumare instructs a host of deities to form the world and live among humans. It is also the most difficult place on earth to purchase just one tomato. Join me as I share the wonders of Yoruba culture, mythologies and my experiences from tomato buying in the market to walks in the rainforest, home to one of the world 's largest colonies of fruit bats. I will also share the most important tip for becoming a Fulbright Fellow.

Page1 of 2 16 items/page

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Solo Traveling While Old
with Linda Durham
Saturday January 24, 2026 at 5pm

Linda Durham, writer and storyteller. At 83, she has traveled alone to scores of countries for more than sixty years. Recent solo journeys include Bulgaria, Poland/Ukraine, and Russia, including a month long journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway. At 70, she traveled around the world in 70 days. Drawing on decades of experience, Durham shares stories of continued adventure, the kindness of strangers, and the thrill of discovery that comes with traveling alone at any age. She is the author of Still Moving, The Trans-Siberian Railway Journey, and the forthcoming Naked Women.recent solo travels to Bulgaria, Turkey, Ukraine

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