It’s 1:30am, and I have a few hours before our Uber arrives to take us to the airport. And that will begin a trip we’ve been planning for a year now. In about 24 hours we’ll land in Tokyo, where we’ll explore for three days before flying onward to Manila on Friday.

Between Dec. 19 and March 13 we’ll travel around the Philippines, with lots and lots of diving and eye-opening experiences.

It is, as we’ve been saying, our trip of a lifetime. This comes as a big sigh of relief following my retirement 18 months ago, marks our 20th wedding anniversary, and my 65th birthday.

This is also a period which brings the passing of a number of friends. And cancer bringing a number of other friends to their knees...

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