🦇 Bats save a library | Bulletin #152

This week: Adventurers in the wild 🧭

April 22, 2026

Joanina Library, University of Coimbra 📍 Coimbra, Portugal 📸 Turismo da Universidade de Coimbra

Did you know there's a library in Portugal that employs bats as pest control? For the past 200 years the Joanina Library at the University of Coimbra has housed a colony of bats who devour beetles and moths that would otherwise feast on rare 18th-century books. Natural, chemical-free, and rent-free. 🦇 Learn more about these pests-turned-guards here!

$100 TOWARDS YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE

Our Community Survey takes about 2 minutes to complete - just long enough to tell us what you love, what you'd change, and where you'd like to see us explore next. As a thank you, 10 randomly selected respondents will receive $100 toward their next adventure. Think of it as funding for wherever curiosity takes you! What do you think?

THE SOUNDTRACKS OF WES ANDERSON: LIVE

The Hollywood Bowl is rolling out the red carpet for a musical celebration spanning thirty years of Wes Anderson’s work. This summer, your favorite soundtracks will take center stage in a concert series that will be as cinematic as it is symphonic. Get the details here!

THIS WEEK IN AWA AWESOMENESS

🌎 Happy Earth Day
🛶 The best view of the Taj Mahal
🥻 Our favorite museum in Jaipur
🗺️ Adventurers in the wild

Yesterday, April 22nd, was Earth Day! Here’s an ode to our pale blue dot, this big beautiful planet we call home 🌎

Taj Mahal 📍 Agra, India 📸 Marjorie Becker Photo

THE TAJ MAHAL’S ONLY BOAT

There's no ticket booth, no phone number, no schedule; just a man, his boat, and the only remaining view of the Taj Mahal as it was meant to be seen: from the water, where emperors once arrived…

Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing 📍 Jaipur, India 📸 Marjorie Becker Photo

THE LAST PRINTERS OF JAIPUR

By 1970, the ancient art of hand block printing in Jaipur had nearly vanished - until two people decided that a craft older than most nations was worth saving, and housed it inside a crumbling 16th-century haveli where it has been practiced, taught, and painstakingly kept alive ever since…

 📸 @hey.viktoria, @triangleofdisappointment, @murrminks, @lacamarademeli,

ADVENTURERS IN THE WILD

The world is a big place, but thanks to our Community, we’ve officially got every continent covered. From AWA-inspired destinations to happy accidents on the map, your photos have a way of making the rest of us wish we had packed our bags sooner. In honor of all you fearless Adventurers, we're showcasing some of our favorite snaps you’ve shared doing what you do best. Keep up the great Adventures! 😊

For this week’s secret link winner, we’re going classic: find the secret link and win an iconic (if we do say so ourselves) AWA Hat Pin. Happy searching! 🔎