As we enjoy winter in the Keys, holiday greetings from friends and suppliers around the world fill our office. We join them in looking forward to 2004 with hopes for prosperity, good health, and exciting new experiences. Many of the people who make our tours so successful have been our friends and partners for years. It is their hospitality, generosity and warmth that have sustained us through tougher times and which we celebrate when times are good.

In Peru, our partners at Lima Tours have added value and insight for nearly 20 years to our Machu Picchu tour, as well as assisting us in a wonderful Galapagos trip. Rick Williams, our Asia liaison and Hanns Ebensten Tour Leader, has helped us discover new worlds of culture and beauty in Thailand, his home, as well as in the neighboring countries of Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. How many years have we taken our groups on the long flight to Easter Island, so far from any other city or country, only to be greeted graciously by our dear friends, dispelling time and space with a simple hug? These same friends began opening their homes to us long before there were hotels on Easter Island

As we celebrate our long-term friendships, we are also continually establishing new relationships. I just returned from a trip to Rome, Florence, Siena and Assisi, where I met with guides, hotels and restaurants whom some of you will be able to meet on an art and culture tour of Italy that we plan to announce early in 2004. I am also excited about our new trip to the Silk Road desert region of western China, scheduled for next September.

So as we present our 2004 schedule of tours, I wish to extend warm holiday wishes and invite you to join us as we visit our friends around the globe. The enclosed postcard has the dates of our tours. If you would like more detailed information about a particular trip please call us at 866-294-8174 for our newsletter and itinerary. We also invite you to check our partner company Alyson Adventures: www.AlysonAdventures.com.

Most of all, dream with us, travel, meet friends, exchange ideas and learn about a new culture—it’s the best path to Peace on Earth I know.

Sincerely,
Philip Sheldon, President