June 2005

A misty sky hovered over a pastoral patchwork of emerald and lime. White-capped waterfalls cascaded in glistening sheaths along the green hillsides and weaved through the wild heather and forested terrain. In the distance, a glimmer of sunlight struggled to lighten the lavish landscape drenched by days of rain.

“Looks like a bit of sunshine. Not very typical for Ireland, love,” said our bus driver, John, with a cheery lilt that belied the inclement weather.

Great Britain

Here are some of the novels whose images and ideas motivated my wife and me to travel.

by Arline Wills, Lynnfield, MA

Buenos Aires stole my heart and my necklace — and gave it all back with interest.

All Hindu temples in India seem to be places where devotees and their families can congregate — take a nap on the stone floor, have a picnic, sell flowers or trinkets and visit with friends. Children’s heads are shaved on their first visit to the temple and an antiseptic paste is rubbed on. The orange color is a bit startling!

I really enjoyed reading Rick Steves’ article on Santiago de Compostela in the August ’04 issue. It brought back memories of a voyage my wife and I made in May ’04.

Our 16-day trip to Iran in September-October ’04 was absolutely marvelous in all respects, and our concerns about what it might be like, based on “information” published in the States, were totally baseless.

My wife, Carol, and I wanted a custom tour of Vietnam so we could include five days on our own in the Mekong Delta city of Vinh Long where I had taught English a couple of years ago. We also wanted a tour that would emphasize contact with people rather than visits to temples and monuments. Although it was already mid-November ’04, we insisted that our visit had to conclude before the Tet holiday on Feb. 9, ’05.

To celebrate our 60th Anniversary, my wife, June, and I decided to “live it up” by taking a cruise on the 6-star Silversea ship Silver Shadow, Oct. 7-19, ’04. We left from Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica, and sailed to Ecuador and Peru and back.

Our plans called for us to fly on United Airlines from Boston to San José, Costa Rica, with a change in Washington. All went well until our arrival in San José, where we discovered that our two pieces of luggage did not arrive with us.