Antigua and Barbuda

Country Information:

Christopher Columbus came to Antigua in 1493 and the Spanish settlers grew sugarcane and tobacco there. It was colonized by the British in 1632 and remained a British possession until 1981.

Jim’s Perspectives:

In 1993, my wife (who I was then dating) and I took a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas and we had a wonderful time. Went snorkeling and toured through the market in Martinique, and then went to a beach party in Antigua. The island of Antigua has the nickname “The island of 365 beaches” because they have so many beautiful beaches. And I can verify that we saw a few really pretty ones while there!

Our next stop was in St. Maarten and hung out on the beautiful beaches on the French side (in St. Martin). Note: I was so impressed by the beautiful beaches in St. Martin in 1993, that 4 years later I booked St. Martin for one of our stops on our honeymoon! Afterwards, our next stop was Barbados where we walked down their unspoiled white-sand beaches and checked out the caves.

Egypt

Sphinx in Egypt, 1995 on a father and son tripJim & Kenan 2021, on a father and son trip Abu Simbel near the Sudan border Country Background: The capital of Egypt is Cairo, though there are currently existing plans to build a new capital. About 100 million people...

Samoa

In tropical Samoa (known as Western Samoa until 1997), founded on New Year’s Day in 1962. About 191,000 people live here (2013), and the official languages are English and Samoan. Most Samoans are Christian, Catholic, or some other Christian denomination. Its main...

Luxembourg

In front of Patton's tomb (2022) Country Information: In Luxembourg about 650,000 people live here (2022). The country was founded in 963 and its capital is Luxembourg City. The official languages are French, German, and Luxembourgish and the dominant religion Roman...