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.
” When the two said their goodbyes at the end of the week, John found himself thinking that they “had a nice relationship possibly developing.” “We both thought we’d like to meet again.” Growing closer John invited Judy to visit the UK, and she did – a few months later, in January 2005. The trip coincided with Judy’s birthday. “I thought, ‘It’s no good being in the UK in the winter,’” recalls John. “So I booked a trip to Madeira. And we had a wonderful holiday.