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Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 400th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine. 400 issues! We’re having a staff party celebrating this milestone, and we have all of you subscribers to thank for it.

Whether you have simply enjoyed reading the magazine, chosen to travel with an advertiser or written up a trip, each of you has contributed to the continued success of this travelers’ forum.

This is the perfect issue in which to share with you some letters I received, but before I get to that I want to remind you to check out Wayne Wirtanen’s “Eye on Travel Insurance” column this month. He’s done it again!

Wayne recommends that, at a minimum, travelers have coverage for medical expenses and emergency medical evacuation when traveling overseas. These can be purchased individually, but Wayne — straining over all the fine print for YOU — has dug up a strategy for purchasing these coverages in one inexpensive bundle.

It’s referred to as a “zero dollar trip cost, post departure policy,” and it’s available from several standard travel insurance companies.

For example, two 65-year-olds on a trip for up to 30 days could purchase this coverage for as little as $80 total.

You’re not likely to find this travel tip anyplace else. See page 58.

A few months ago, Diane Matthews of Fredericksburg, Texas, wrote, “In almost every issue of your publication, which my husband and I read from cover to cover each month, frequent names appear regularly. I am just curious if these are people who travel constantly, such as travel agents, or if they are writers who constantly report on their travels. I’m speaking of Jane Holt, Stephen Addison, Claudia Reed, Nili Olay and Jennifer Eisenlau.

“There is certainly nothing wrong with this, and what they write is always interesting and informative and I am not complaining. I am just curious — in this day and age of expensive travel.”

I can think of a few more “regulars” at this travelers’ coffee shop in print, but, following up on Diane’s inquiry, I wrote to each of the above-named contributors, quoting her letter, asking specific questions and adding, “I hope I have not crossed a line by asking. I know you have always written to help other travelers or out of joy and not for gain. I would never want to discourage that.

“We are proud that ITN is written by ‘real travelers,’ but I haven’t really delved into it before. Since we are on a friendly basis of correspondence, I felt I could take a chance with you and ask.”

All five sent replies.

• Jane B. Holt wrote, “Yes, that is what my husband, Clyde, and I are: travelers. I am quite sure there are many ITN readers who travel more frequently than we do. For example, my good friend Esther Perica (whom I met ages ago via ITN’s ‘Person to Person’ section) logs many more trips and many more miles per year than we do. We are just very opinionated and love to write.

“We do not expect compensation. We pay for everything ourselves.

“Have any of our trips been taken for free or at a discount? Don’t we wish! But that’s not the case except for occasionally using frequent-flyer miles for airfare. We have never had a trip provided in exchange for writing about a travel firm.

“Have we sold any of our articles for publication? No, with the exception of being paid for a Feature Article by ITN under its old payment policy.

“The lifetime plan is to travel now while we are in good health and fit and then to write travel books when we are too old and infirm to travel. And in this economic downturn, with costs for everything rising, we are traveling less and writing more. Writing those books may happen sooner than we’d planned!

“Clyde and I love to travel, love to photograph what we see, love to write about it and love to share what we have learned. We have many, many unwritten and unsubmitted letters and features.

“We are writers. Clyde will type in his journal for about 1½ to two hours a night on the road, and then he spends four to five times that editing each entry once we are home (more than that if we interpolate photos into the journals). Then I proofread, edit and amend each document. While traveling, we send letters home describing the highlights.

“We are photographers. We return home from each trip with about 14,000 photos. (Our trips usually last four to six weeks. Once we have paid for the airfare and spent so much time on a plane, we want to get our money’s worth.)

“By the way, before I read a letter in the ‘Travelers’ Intercom’ section, I often look to see who wrote it. I enjoy it when I recognize the names of frequent contributors and, thus, old friends, and just as often I enjoy adding another name to the list in my head when a new contributor appears. We really are a large community of like-minded individuals.

“I am glad you took a chance to ask these questions and happy that you felt you could ask.”

For the record, until late 2007 ITN offered nominal payment for each Feature Article printed. Our current policy is to extend the author’s subscription one year plus provide a year for a friend.

• Stephen O. Addison, Jr., wrote, “I’ve never resold any of my articles. I’ve always paid the full cost of my trips. If anyone did pay some of the cost, it would be great. Travel is probably my largest annual expense.

“I am not and have never been a travel professional or a professional writer, although I aspire to expand my travel writing upon retirement. I’ve worked in the nuclear industry for over 30 years and currently work at a nuclear power plant.”

• Nili Olay wrote, “I am a finance person who fell in love with travel when I retired nearly 10 years ago. A fellow traveler turned me on to ITN and it was love from there on. As I have written, and I mean it, each trip-planning cycle starts with ITN.

“I am not and never have been a travel agent. I have never received a penny from any organization to pay for a trip or to review a trip, though I would love to have someone pay my way.

“With the exception of a recent submission to the Iquitos Times, the only articles I have ever submitted for publication were those to ITN. I was tickled pink to have my articles chosen as features and to earn the little bit that was paid. It made me feel like a real writer.

“Knowing that I will probably write up a trip helps me focus on what I am seeing and learning. Years ago, I began to write a daily e-mail to my kids (who were not thrilled that I was traveling to third-world countries) to let them know that I was fine. Eventually, the e-mails became an electronic log.

“There are now 61 people who receive my travel posts during each trip. They egg me on to give them better descriptions and cheer me on to continue to travel. The logs are the basis for my ITN articles.

“I am glad you felt comfortable to ask me this question.”

• Jennifer Eisenlau wrote, “I pay my own way. I am paid by some sources but fewer and fewer these days. In fact, last year I sold nothing. I had several articles published but was not compensated.

“A few years ago, when I wrote much more often and assiduously, I was sponsored by a few tourism boards. This sort of assistance, however, has dried up in recent years. On occasion, I do write to a city card visitor company and ask for a free or discounted card, but that’s about it.

“I have written for newspapers and magazines, and I sold quite a bit for a few years, but, with budget cuts, the newspapers now use wire service travel essays. And, sadly, the papers are shrinking each year, so the travel section is shrinking too! There are so many freelancers out there now that someone like me, a teacher who likes to travel and write, has a tough time placing a travel piece.”

“I do travel on my nickel everywhere I go, or I sing for my supper, so to speak. I am a study abroad tour leader for my college, so I do travel quite a bit.”

• Claudia Reed wrote, “You may tell ‘those who want to know’ that my husband is in his 50s and I am in my 60s. He is a commercial photographer in Las Vegas and I am retired from retail management.

“Previously, because of my work schedule, we were able to take only one 3- to 4-week vacation a year, but now we can take as many as time and money will allow.

“My husband does all our trip planning on the computer. Much time and research goes into it to get the best prices. We have never been so lucky as to get paid to take a trip, although my husband’s ability as a photographer would qualify us to do so. He has sold stock footage of our trips from his website.

“I have never written to anyone else nor received money for any articles. I’m not that good at writing. We belong to the ITN Travel Club of Las Vegas, and we all share our experiences and tips as well as videos and CDs of our trips. They all tease me about appearing in ITN, but the truth is most people just don’t take the time to write and I do.”

Publisher Armond Noble conceived of ITN more than 33 years ago: a travel magazine candidly written by typical travelers rather than freelancers and paid writers. Before ITN came along, you would not find magazine or newspaper articles critical of travel firms nor pieces that told what was less than wonderful about particular destinations.

People who contribute feature articles and letters to ITN are not doing so for profit, and if they are they will be sorely disappointed. ITN prints letters and articles from subscribers only, and they are people writing from the heart to inform other travelers.

On your next trip anyplace overseas, make a note of something you discover or experience that the next person traveling there might appreciate knowing about. That’s your assignment. And you don’t have to be an expert on a country to write in; it’s enough to share one single tip. Just speak as you would to a neighbor who loves travel. Your stories will be appreciated here.

And if you take pictures, send some of those too! For where to write or e-mail, see page 52. For more guidance, request a copy of our publication guidelines or read them on our website. Happy 400th issue!