1967

Most thankfully we left Egypt the first of the year, not really knowing then how lucky we were. Two months in rome were pleasant, and Bernice still thinks Rome is the best of Europe. Then by train to Florence, Pisa, and Venice, and on to London where we got our caravan. We were so busy there getting all the necessary papers, insurance, licenses, that it was the end of March before we were really off.

From April in Portugal to autumn in Afghanistan, and winter in India, we have had many wonderful experiences, seen new places, met interesting people. Altogether we have traveled over 21,000 miles-from London through France, Spain, Portugal, back through Spain, across the high Pyrenees of Andorra, through the neat countryside of France, then quickly through Belgium, Holland, and Germany. Next Denmark, Sweden, and Norway from Oslo to Hammerfest, Finland from Lappland to Helsinki. In Russia we traveled south from Leningrad to Moscow, Kharkov, Kiev, and into Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and finally India.

...This is really the life-every day new scenery, new experiences. Whenever we stop beside the road for lunch, though it is only bread, cheese, coffee, and fresh fruit, we enjoy it more than a gourmet meal, for often the view is suberb. It has been on a hill across the strait from Gibralter, beside the blue French Mediterranean, beside a lush green pasture in Holland, below a wild waterfall in Norway, beside a placid lake in Finland, in an old olive grove beside the Aegean in Turkey, or on a desolate but fascinating desert in Afghanistan. At night we camp in designated camp grounds when possible. We remember with pleasure the lovely city park in Lisbon, the park in Odense, Denmark where every camp space was surrounded with lilacs in full bloom, their fragrance filling the air; the magnificent grove of tall stately pines in Kiev; a camp in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, and even a dusty parking lot just steps away from a busy street in dazzling Tehran with its millions of colored lights during Coronation Week. We had grandstand seats within 50 feet of the Royal Coach bearing the Shahanshah and his Queen to their coronation, and again on their return wearing their crowns.

We recall with pleasure our fellow English speaking tourists, and local people we have been privileged to meet. We are grateful to the very capable Russian guides who had a remarkable command of English; to a Bulgarian peasant-his own description of himself-who spoke almost poetic English; to a Dane who lent us local currency in Afghanistan when the banks were closed for the day, and we needed a new tire; and happy to have found an old school mate of Burt's in Tehran. We are thankful, too, to the many Americans we have met who either temporarily or for a lifetime are working overseas. They have given us insights into the very useful work being done.

We plan to spend several months in India, then ship out, but to where we don't know yet. In another year we hope to be home, we want time with our grandchildren who are growing up fast.

...your wandering friends. Burt & Bernice Johnson.