During this Globe Guide we criss-cross the globe searching out the world’s greatest experiences to be had during July, taking in Mongolia, the Maldives, Alaska, Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, Finland and America along the way.

Navarra, part of Spain’s Basque country, is home to hundreds of locals and tourists who, over a full week, attempt to drink the town dry and outrun two tonnes of raging testosterone.

With warm, clear waters and an amazing array of natural reefs and sea life, the Maldives is quite simply a divers paradise, as Megan McCormick discovers. Meanwhile, KT Comer catches up with 200 cyclists for the Tour de France and Christina Chang goes to Marseilles to celebrate the French Revolution, marked on July 14th when the storming of the Bastille took place in Paris.

July also marks the anniversary of Santiago, the patron saint of Spain. Thousands of people travel north to arrive on the 25th July; as evening approaches an Islamic façade covering the front of the cathedral is set on fire symbolising the departure of the Moors from Spain

Similarly, the southern Italian fishing port of Terracina has its own religious ceremony during the month of July – La Madonna della Carmine is a lively procession that peaks with a statue of the Virgin Mary taken by boat past all the local fishing areas to bless the waters for the coming year.

If you’re looking for something unusual, you could try watching grown men covered in olive oil and dressed in tight leather wrestle with each other. The towns of Erdine and Uluborlu in Turkey host the Wrestling Festival every June and July in honour of two soldiers, who died of exhaustion while wrestling each other in the 14th Century.

Poor Neil Gibson buckles under the pressure of the Wife Carrying Festival in Finland which started as a gimmick a few years ago and has since grown into a national institution. Run in heats, the winner who manages not to drop his wife receives a mobile phone and his wife’s weight in beer!

For something even more bizarre, why not head to Gilroy, California, for the worlds famous Garlic Festival? Justine Shapiro checks out the garlic mania and opts for one of the world’s strangest ice creams.

Meanwhile, on the Italian island of Sardinia, the town of Sedillo holds a crazy horse race called La Sardia in honour of St Constantine. From the dusty hills of Sardinia to the genteel surroundings of Sienna, Ian Wright takes in a more glamorous race in the form of ‘Il Palio’, a hectic horse race held between rival towns in the city’s main square.

Home to some of the toughest terrain known to man, Bradley Cooper ventures to the Gates of the Arctic National Park which covers eight and a half million acres of northern Alaska. Taking a floatplane from Bettles and flying 150 miles north into the park, Bradley goes in search of caribou herds as they make their annual migration south for the winter.

Finally, we join Ian Wright as he experiences the Mongolian version of the Olympic games. The Nadaam Festival at Ulaan Baatar takes place every July and is a national holiday. Highlights include archery, horseracing and wrestling where 500 people grapple at once on the pitch.

Credits

narrator
NINA SEBASTIANE

travellers
ESTELLE BINGHAM
CHRISTINA CHANG
BRADLEY COOPER
SHILPA METHA
MEGAN McCORMICK
JUSTINE SHAPIRO
IAN WRIGHT

Titles & Graphics
PAUL PLOWMAN

Title Music
IAN RITCHIE

Additional Music
MICHAEL CONN
COLIN WINSTON-FLETCHER
AMANDA KRAMER
THE INSECTS
MARK TAYLER
JON WYGENS

Musical Director
NEVILLE FARMER

Facilities
SUITE
THE VOICE & MUSIC COMPANY

On Line Editor
MATT ROBERTS

Dubbing Mixer
JOEL BALDWIN

Editors
NICK REED
STEVE ELLIS

Researcher
KATE GRIFFITHS

Production Accountants
RICHARD MILLER
HENRY BAUMER

Production Assistant
JULIAN MARSHALL

Post Production Manager
LIZ RICHARDS

Production Manager
SONIA BORGES
POLLY JONES

Sound
GETHIN ALDOUS
JULIAN CHATTERJEE
JONATHAN LEFFMAN
OLIVER MACHIN
CHRIS PICKHAVER
PAUL SHARP

Camera
STEVE GREEN
LUKE HALLAM
NEIL HARVEY
SAM KEY
NIGEL KINNINGS
LYNN MITCHELL
SCOTT WELSH

Producers
LUCY COOKE
JANE D’ARBLAC
CLAIRE HOUDRET
JENNY LEAH
DEBBIE MARROW
POLLY RENTON
SILVIA SANTAMARIA
ED VENNER

Directors
DOMINIC ALLAN
ROD EDGE
JUAN GELAS
YVONNE GORDON
SANDRA HOGGETT
STEVE LENHOFF
IAIN MACDONALD
NAVIN THAPAR

Series Producer
NEVILLE FARMER

Executive Producer
IAN CROSS

Produced by
Pilot Film and Television Productions
© MMIII