• Mexico: Yucatan Peninsula
• beaches of Tulum and Playa del Carmen
• fleeing Hurricane Emily
• Peter gets sick 1 week into trip with the worst affliction of the entire trip!
• Belize:
• Gale’s Point
• Manatee research center
• Home of local Eugene musician, Bibbs
• Placencia, Southern Belize, Placencia,
• snorkeling in cayes
• San Ignacio
• Cave exploration, boa constrictor at mouth of cave!
• Xunantanich Maya ruins
• Trek stop, jungle hostel, Frisbee golf at one of the world’s most challenging courses
• River tubing
• Guatemala:
• The Maya ruins of Tikal,
• Surmounting some of the tallest ruins in the world
• Hiking through the jungles of Tikal amidst howler monkeys & other wildlife
• 1-week Spanish school and homestay in Antigua
• Guatemalan highlands:
• Chichicastenango, largest market in the region, colorful textiles and other goods line a web of streets radiating from the central church, San Tomas
• Lake Atitlan, volcanic lake surrounded by Maya villages
• Costa Rica:
• Manuel Antonio National Park
• Sloths, monkeys & other wildlife in an absolutely spectacular beach setting on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. Paul sites the first sloth, other guides follow!
• Playa Uvita: leaf cutter ants, pristine beaches, etc.
• Tortuguero National Park, east Costa Rica
• Watch giant sea turtles lay egg by night
• Take boat ride to see wildlife in coves and along shore
• Cahuita National Park and Puerto Viejo on Caribbean coast.
• Saw a record of 50-plus monkeys in one day at Cahuita
• Day hike along the trail that follows the coastline 

Japan

• Visit international students who have lived with us in Eugene:
• Hayato and family in Osaka
• Visit Kyoto and Nara
• Golden Pavilion
• Largest wooden building in Nara houses gigantic Buddha
• Kazuhiro & family in Miyazaki, on southern island of Kyushu
• Saki tasting
• Camping in the mountains, Japanese BBQ
• Ancient burial mounds at archeological site of Saito

Southeast Asia

• Thailand
• Bangkok
• Grand Palace, large complex of Buddhist temples in the middle of the city
• Emerald Buddha
• Wat Arun on the other side of the river
• Many more Buddhist wats & Buddha statues
• Khao San Road, backpackers district
• Tuk-tuks and the skyrail public transportation system
• Meet girlfriend and family of Ton, Thai student who lived with us in Eugene
• Lopburri, Ayutthaya, and Sukhothai, ancient Thai capitals
• Ancient ruins, wats and sacred temples
• Monkeys of Lopburi
• Elephant conservation center, just south of Chiang Mai
• Marketplaces of Chiang Mai
• Silk weaving & painting and other handicraft
• Sunday market/celebration
• Laos
• Wild ride along mud road through steep mountains and hillsides blanketed in rice fields from border to Luang Nam Tha, northern tip of Laos.
• 3-day trek in Nam Ha National Biodiversity Conservation Area. Stayed in two hilltribe villages. Encountered King Cobra. Ate traditional Laos fare (sticky rice, morning glory, duck) off of banana leaf. Wonderful local guides from tourism center, To and Ta.
• Day-long boat cruise along Nam Ou River to Luang Prabang
• Luang Prabang, UNESCO world heritage city
• Most Buddhist monasteries in Laos, we participate in offering food to monks making the early morning rounds.
• Waterfall with our young adult international friends who traveled with us 2 weeks in Laos
• Vang Vieng, backpackers hang out
• Bus accident on the way to the Laos/Thailand border, Steve loses passport, we reunite in Vientiane, capital of Laos
• Bangkok again and Southern Thailand
• Meet Therese’s friend from high school on Kwajalein, Marshall Islands
• 4-day trip to his house on a friend’s farm in southern Thailand: secluded beaches, waterfalls, and small farms that produce coffee, rubber, pineapple and other produce.
• Malaysia:
• Perhentian Islands: fantastic snorkeling, body surfing and beach lounging.
• Nightly fresh fish BBQ at Lily’s guest house
• Monitor lizards
• Swimming among giant sea turtles
• Taman Negara National Park, oldest rainforest in the world
• 11 km trek from waterfall back to lodge along remote trail
• Trail obstructed by large tree, use compass, trail maps to find trail
• Encounter rhinoceros hornbill flying over one stream bed
• Leeches!
• Canopy walk on highest suspension bridge in the world
• Visit Orang Asli tribe, learn how to make and throw poison darts
• One night in a remote hide to watch wildlife at salt lick: see tapirs, gaurs, wild boar, monkeys and more. Meet Australian zoologist on 3-year trek to national parks around the world documenting species.
• Night safari, caught in monsoon, cross river at midnight
• Kuala Lumpur
• Cameron Highlands, western Malaysia
• Tea plantations, BOH, Best of Highlands
• Penang, Georgetown 
• Indonesia-Sumatra:
• Mt. Leuser National Park trek
• Bukit Lawang, town at gateway to Mt. Leuser, devastated by flash flood one year before the tsunami hit.
• Orangutan rehab center
• 3-day trek
• Semi-wild and wild orangutans, monkeys, and other wildlife
• Encounter with Mina, female orangutan, who can be aggressive with humans
• Lake Toba, volcanic lake
• Bike ride to small villages to stone council ruins and traditional batak houses. Plant rice with local women.
• Thailand again
• Islands Thailand: Koh Lanta, Tham Phra Nang Beach, West Rai Le near Krabi, Koh Samet
• Tsunami volunteer work at Khao Lak
• Cape Pakarang Boat Yard
• Help build traditional long-tailed fishing boats for local fishermen who lost their boats in the tsunami
• Koh Samet, beach 3 hours outside Bangkok
• Cambodia: 4 days at temples of Angkor Wat, ancient Khmer kingdom
• Angkor wat, largest religious building in the world
• Temple of Bayon, 216 gigantic faces of King Jayavarman VII, capital projects king from 1100s
• Ta Prohm, where Tomb Raider was filmed, infiltrated by roots of strangler fig or silk-cotton trees.
• Huge contingent of international tourists, met folks from Eugene area who were working in Phenom Penh on prosthesis education and treatment

Central Asia

• India:
• Calcutta,
• Down the street from Mother Teresa’s convent
• Spent Christmas eve with the Sisters of Charity
• Participated in candlelight procession through streets of Kolkata with volunteers from Mother Teresa’s project
• Darjeeling, mountain tea station, in foothills of the Himalayas
• Tibetan self-help refugee center, monasteries & temples
• Buddhist, Nepalese & Hindu temples
• Forests in an around temples festooned with prayer flags and crawling with the sacred monkey
• Sunrise over the Himalayas
• Saw first, third, fourth and fifth highest mountains in the world!
• Himalayan Mountaineering Institute
• Basic rock climbing with a guide who has guided expeditions up Mt. Kangchendzonga, third highest mountain in the world in India and brilliantly visible throughout Darjeeling
• Varanasi
• Evening and morning on the sacred Ganges
• Everything from the holy to the mundane on the ghats, sacred stairs leading to the river
• Kanha National Park/tiger reserve
• Woodland, savannah and riparian ecosystems in this diverse park, known for containing the largest population of tigers in the world.
• Elephant expedition to see Bengal tigers, 2 male cubs and mother tiger
• Khajuraho, ancient Hindu temples in the middle of nowhere, famous for erotic sculptures of muses and nymphs
• Taj Mahal, grandest monument to love in the world
• Rajasthan, western province of India
• Keoladeo Ghana national bird sanctuary
• See black-necked stork, only 3 mating pairs in the world
• Jaisalmer
• Oldest living fort
• camel trek in desert

East Africa

• Kenya:
• Safari to Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Samburu national parks
• First afternoon, we saw lions (2 cubs and a mother), African elephants, and reticulated giraffes.
• Cheetah stalk
• Lens cover falls off Steve’s camera, toy for 2 cheetah cubs!
• volunteer work in Maasai Village of Enoosaen
• phase 2 of clean drinking water project, clearing vegetation and leveling earth to tap 5 natural springs
• Enoosaen Catholic Church
• Steve’s mother starts pre-school in honor of his grandmother
• Helping to bring Benson, bright Maasai young man to Eugene to study
• Peter and Paul working with Benson to establish a community library in Enoosaen
• Paul’s 12^th birthday, a goat is slaughtered and friends gather to honor him. He is given a Maasai name, godparents.
• Uganda:
• Kibale National Park
• Greatest diversity of primates in the world
• Chimpanzee community
• Community gardens volunteer project in Kabale, southern Uganda
• Gave week-long seminar series on land use planning, community decision making, media and community relations, volunteer management, and sustainable gardening techniques
• Worked at site with group of 11 women volunteers, building terraces and planting.
• National presidential election going on in Uganda, considerable tensions, retreated to Lake Bunyoni, backpackers hang-out, for the election and a few days following to let tensions subside
• Tanzania:
• Ngorongoro Crater, a natural wonder of the world, hundreds of thousands of animals trapped in caldera
• Saw hyena hunt and kill a sick Thomson’s gazelle
• Lions stalking wildebeest herd
• Zanzibar Island, spectacular beaches on Indian Ocean

Mediterranean Europe

• Turkey:
• Istanbul, splendid very large city, friendly people
• Blue Mosque
• Aya Sophia, a mosque-cathedral
• Public ferry over Bosporus strait
• Cappadocia region in central Turkey
• total eclipse of the sun
• landscape of volcanic tuffs, pinnacles of soft tuff formed from differential erosion
• Antalya
• Stayed a week with friend of a friend from Eugene in a traditional all Turkish neighborhood,
• Myra, home of St. Nicholas
• Fethiye, along the Aegean coast, mountain day hike to pristine beach of Oludeniz
• Selcuk, ancient Roman ruins of Ephesus.
• Greece:
• Naxos and Santorini in the Cyclades Islands,
• Greek orthodox Easter festivities
• Hiking interior of island in the spring, wildflowers, citrus fruit, and ancient monasteries and churches abound
• Athens, the Acropolis
• Delphi, Oracle of Apollo
• Italy:
• Amalfi coast,
• Hiked cobblestone paths to villages and ruins throughout these dramatic cliffs.
• Ruins of Pompeii, active Mt. Vesuvius looms in the background.
• Rome and Vatican City,
• Piazza Navonna, di Spagna, St. Peter’s, etc.
• Fountains of Rome
• 500 year anniversary of the Vatican Swiss Guards: Watched festivities at Castelo San Angelo
• Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum, La Pieta, St. Peter’s Basilica
• Roman Forum, Coliseum
• Florence
• Uffizi museum, incredible collection of the Renaissance and more
• Ponte Vecchio over the Arno River
• Walk through old neighborhood of San Niccolo, home of Galileo, DaVinci, etc. and surrounding Tuscany-like countryside
• Municipal rose gardens at the base of Piazzale Michelangelo, bronze David overlooks the city
• Students from around the world flock to Florence to study Italian and art and history of the Renaissance.
• Buttrio, visit friends we met in Nairobi at their country estate/vineyard north of Venice
• Living with Lina and Paolo Petrucco at Petrucco vineyard
• Futebol games at Paolo’s construction engineering firm
• Traditional Italian food with their extended family
• Day-trip to Trieste, Slovenia and the Alps
• Snowball fight in the Alps
• Crocus in bloom
• Limestone rivers and dramatic landscape of region
• Day trip to Venice
• Public ferry through Grand Canal
• Walking and discovering Venice
• Spain:
• Barcelona:
• Las Ramblas, famous pedestrian walkway, street mime performers
• Gaudi’s creations: Casa Batllo, La Pedrera, and La Sagrada Familia
• Camp Nou, home of FC Barcelona, Paul’s favorite futebol club and UEFA champions this year
• Salamanca, old world churches, monasteries and one of the oldest universities in Europe
• Portugal:
• Visit Therese's mother, father and many family in Ilhavo in northern Portugal, village where both of my parent’s families originate
• World Cup: Portugal places 4^th in the world.
• Festa do Sao Joao do Porto, the festival of St. John the Baptist, large annual metropolitan wide celebration at the end of June. Entertainment stages, fireworks at midnight and the main activity, bopping passersby with a plastic mallet or garlic stalk.
• Sightseeing with cousin Fernandinha to:
• Lisbon, grand monuments

·         Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, monastery built in honor of Vasco da Gama when he successfully navigated all the way to India and established a maritime trade route. Vasco da Gama is buried here.

•  The monument of discoveries, built in 1970s, overlooks the River Tejo
• St. George castle overlooks city of Lisbon
• Torre de Belem, enchanting small castle in the water, where king and queen and entourage blessed the outgoing fleets
• Monastery of Alcobaca, walled city of Evora (both UNESCO World Heritage sites) and Monsaraz, tiny Medieval walled city in scrubland near Spanish border
• Obidos, another village enclosed in a castle wall, Peter, Paul and Steve circumnavigated the castle wall
• Coimbra, university town in central Portugal
• Church of Santa Cruz, where the first king of Portugal is buried
• University of Coimbra, one of the oldest universities in Europe, second to Bologna in Italy
• Douro River valley, UNESCO world heritage site,
• Premiere Port wine producing region
• Stay in family country home of my cousin’s friend, 100-plus years old
• Visit site of prehistoric art
• Fatima, Catholic-Christian pilgrimage site
• Site where Mother Mary appeared to three shepherd children in 1917
• Convent of Christ in Tomar, home of Knights Templar in Portugal
• Spent the last month of the trip at the Costa Nova, beach resort near Ilhavo, where my family congregates for the months of July and August.
• Peter and Paul play on Iliabum basketball team with cousins, Tiago and Bernardo
• Peter celebrates 14^th birthday, Beija o bollo, “Kiss the cake.”
• Beach basketball, futebol, and volleyball and time with large Portuguese family