Fellow Travelers

When I first encountered Robert and Annie Cohen on the Lindblad cruise ship, their French accents and jump-to-the-head-of-the-line manners stood out among the other 43 Caucasian Americans. I saw them from time to time on the trip, but had no occasion to chat with them. I was surprised to see them come along on the sea kayaking trip - they did not look like the type to enjoy such - but they were very adept and clearly had a good time.

The next time I interacted with them was at the airport in the Galapagos, when they were the first to learn that Lindblad had screwed up our flights. We shared a frantic couple of hours dealing with the crisis along with a third couple who were supposed to fly to Quito (though not as part of the Lindblad organized “Quito Extension”). During the next 12 hours, we were together waiting, flying, and motoring to our hotel together and found them to be easy to get along with.

So, the next day (Monday), Anne and I spent the whole day with them on our organized tours and meals. We had lunch and diner together as well as spending hours together in the van. Naturally over this time we learned a lot about them and their lives - and thus this extended narrative!

Robert and Annie own an apartment in New York (where they spend half the year), an apartment in Paris (Annie was born in Paris), and a country home in the Adirondacks in New York. They have two adult children and four grand children, and travel a lot. Robert attended a top level college for the French elite in Paris based on his test scores and has a PHD in international finance. He was CEO of a major French bank for many years and is now the CEO of a South Korean bank. They are wealthy. And they are interesting as individuals and as a married couple who have successfully raised two children (they met when she was 19 and he was 20). He also turned 70 recently.

I felt as if we connected on a personal level, just as people. Though on a material level we are not equals (by what measure I can only imagine), there are many touch points in the arc of our lives, so perhaps we will stay in touch and share stories again - this time in Manhattan!