NEWS FACTORY

 

His wife died. Then he unexpectedly found a second chance at love on vacation

Judy Curtis and John Nears were both widowed and retired when they crossed paths on train traveling through Peru in 2004. Their fortuitous meeting led them both to unexpected happiness. 

John Nears and Judy Curtis

John Nears looked forward to the trip to South America for years.

The vacation was planned by John’s wife Pam, in anticipation of John’s upcoming retirement. Pam mapped out the route, researched the trains and almost – but not quite – booked the flights.

Then everything got derailed. Pam fell ill with cancer. In 2000, at the age of 63, she died.

“I thought life was over for me,” John, who lives in the New Forest, in southwest England, tells CNN Travel today.

John had been married to Pam for over 40 years. When retirement rolled around, he felt none of the jubilation or excitement he’d once anticipated.

But as days turned into months and months turned into years, John found his thoughts returning to the long-awaited South America trip.

After thinking it over, John decided following Pam’s itinerary would be what she’d have wanted – and going on the vacation in her absence would be a tribute to her. He persuaded his recently divorced friend Chris to join him on the adventure and in March 2004, four years after Pam’s death, the two men embarked on the trip.

The six week vacation included marveling at Peru’s Nazca Lines and the salt flats of Bolivia. But the unexpected highlight was a 10-hour train journey across Peru – from Cusco to Puno.

“This was no normal train,” John recalls. “It was Orient Express-style with bow tie waiters, cabaret and an observation carriage at the rear.”

John and Chris boarded the carriage, searched for their seats, and realized they were booked on a table for four. Already seated at the table were two smartly dressed, smiling American women.

John and Chris greeted their seatmates, who introduced themselves as Judy Curtis and Judy Malody. They were two friends from the US who shared not only a first name, but a love of travel.

They were both friendly and welcoming, but John was drawn to Judy Curtis right away. He liked the manner in which she spoke – direct yet warm – and her smile.

“I thought she was attractive,” John says today. “I also thought we would be ships that passed in the night, as the saying goes.”

As the train meandered through the Andes, Chris, John, Judy and Judy enjoyed each other’s company. They talked about their lives and travels, and admired the spectacular views.

It was Chris who, at the end of the journey, suggested they all swap email addresses. Then the group said their goodbyes, assuming they’d never see each other again.

A few hours later, at the Puno hotel, John was waiting for the elevator when he spotted the two Judys walking through the lobby. It turned out the women were staying at the same hotel as John and Chris.

John surprised himself by how happy he was to see Judy Curtis again. He suggested they all dine together that evening, which they did, before once again going their separate ways.

Back home in the UK, John thought about Judy fondly from time to time. But he didn’t reach out. He was quickly absorbed back into his life in the UK, and the day spent riding the train in Peru felt an increasingly distant memory.

But little did he know that Judy, back home in San Diego, California, was thinking fondly of him too.

Reaching out

In 2004, Judy was – like John – a retiree in her 60s. Her husband had passed away several years previously and since then, Judy had tried to make her own luck. She didn’t believe in waiting around for things to happen, for people to call, for life to go your way.

So when Judy found herself wondering about the English man from the train, she decided to go ahead and get in touch with him.

“He was kind of interesting to me,” she tells CNN Travel. “So I contacted him.”

In June 2006, around three months after returning from South America, Judy dropped John a friendly email.

“If you’re ever in the US, let me know,” she wrote.

When John spotted the email in his inbox, he was delighted. But then he realized it wasn’t clear from the email address or sign off which Judy had contacted him – he had met two, after all.

“Which Judy is this?” John wrote in response.

Judy replied with an email with a photo of herself, smiling. And so began a back and forth that lasted for the next few months. The emails were fun and light, filled with stories of travels and family, comparing life in the UK to life in the US.

Judy and John enjoyed their correspondence, but “it was nothing romantic,” says John.

“I thought he might become my buddy,” says Judy.

Then, in one of his emails, John mentioned he planned to visit New York that fall to visit his cousin, who lived there. Judy suggested John should tack on a visit to California.

“I’d never been to the West Coast of the United States, only the East Coast,” recalls John. But I thought it would be a wonderful adventure to go to the West Coast. And so there I went, off to the West Coast – left my cousin in New York for a week – and met up with Judy, in San Diego.”