John and Justice

A week in Rio... From Bujumbura, Burundi we flew to Nairobi for an overnight stay to finalize John´s Brazilian visa. After all our travels, countries visited and visas we have obtained, getting a Brazilian visa for a U.S. citizen proved to be the most challenging of them all. The usual visa requirements, for those of us privileged to be from westernized countries where we have easy access to travel permits include: passport, standard photo, visa application properly completed, visa fee, and of course the allotted amount of processing time. For Brazil, (if you are a U.S. citizen) in addition to previously mentioned requirements, we also needed to supply a letter of introduction from our embassy or sponsor, original current copy of our bank statements proving that we had the financial means to spend a week ... read more

Aegean Dreams in Greece Catching up with our travelers as their plane descends into Athens, Greece shortly after midnight. Arriving in the middle of the night presents its own set of difficulties, such as, transportation and finding a reasonable place to stay. Thinking ahead, we had booked a room on-line before we departed to eliminate at least one of the issues. However, the transportation issue was looking like a daunting task. We had two choices, take a taxi from the airport which was going to cost more than a place to stay, or, try to navigate our way there on the unfamiliar public transportation system. Budget minded as we have to be doing this kind of long term travel we opted for the bus… Receiving directions from the night reception at the hotel, we quickly realized ... read more

A Long Romance with France Once again we catch up our dynamic duo on a ferry across the English Channel on route to Cherbourg. A calm sea greeted us as we sailed from Portsmouth and watched as land slipped from view. We were on our way to France for a much anticipated portion of our journey. We were going to get the opportunity to see a lot more of the countryside than on our previous visit in January where we remained in Paris for New Years. As the research progressed, we recognized that renting a car seemed to be the best way to accomplish our goals. The coastal hills slowly came into view as we neared our destination and our excitement grew. Our ship slowly cruised into the harbor past battered old fortifications and docked smoothly ... read more

Off we go toward the most important day of our lives together. Onward to Mexico, feeling a bit melancholy to be leaving home again, but off we go. We all made plans where and when to meet, who will ride in which van, what flights come in to Puerto Vaillarta when... wow, what a load of information to keep straight. One of Johns' groomsmen Kelley, was unable to get his passport for the trip out of the country and was thinking he would not be able to make it, simply not an acceptable situation. Kelley has to be there or things just would not be complete. Well, he figured out that he could cross the border on foot with his drivers license. That seems to be a great idea... so he re-books new tickets from ... read more

We rejoin the weary travelers as they disembark the long train ride from Goa to Kochi (Cochin). With Goa still fresh in their hearts the new sights of the Portuguese influenced port of Kochi begin to dazzle the eyes. 16th century Chinese style canti-levered fishing nets, a legacy of Genghis Khan, Portuguese seafront fort and churches, and the most amazing seafood markets with fish so fresh they need use no ice, all combine to thrust you into a magical space that begs to be savored. And savor it we did! We strolled the waterfront taking in the sights, bought tiger prawns the size of a small lobster, calamari, tuna and more. There were people delighted to take you and your fresh purchase directly to a restaurant and prepare and serve them to you at a ... read more