We’ve been back in the States for four months now. We’re still pretty unsettled, living with a friend, sleeping on an air mattress, and searching for jobs. Our travels seem almost like a dream at this point. As soon as we got back into the swing of things in the city, it seemed like we never left. It’s hard to believe we did and saw so much.

The single thing we’ve missed most about traveling is the food. We’ve made it a point to seek out some of our favorite dishes from the road here in Chicago. But, it just isn’t the same. Here are some foods that we’ve been pining for lately.

Thai Street Noodles

My favorite thing about Thailand was the street food. Little old ladies at each corner dish out the best soups I’ve ever had from a huge bubbling pot. The soups usually had chicken bits (I don’t want to know which parts…), noodles, and lots of vegetables. The broth was so flavorful and satisfying that we’d have it for almost every meal. Plus, you can’t beat the price. You can get a huge bowl of soup for under $2.

Spanish Tapas and Pan Con Tomate

I love, love, love Spanish food. My favorite tapas were the boquerones (fried white anchovies), fried calamari, and olives. I’m also a huge fan of the Catalan appetizer of pan con tomate. Crunchy toasted sourdough bread is topped with a little olive oil and then a fresh juicy tomato is squeezed over the top. The quality of produce in Spain blew me away. I’ve never had tomatoes that tasted so good!

Indian Thali

Indian is always high on our list of favorite foods. One of our favorite items to order in India was Thali. It’s almost like a lunch combo special. You get a big plate with lots of little curries and sauces with bread and rice. It was always very filling, full of flavor, and super cheap.

Middle Eastern Hummus & Falafel

There are a lot of great Mediterranean restaurants in Chicago, but we have not been able to find any that serve up hummus and falafel as good as we had in Egypt and Jordan. Our meal of choice in Jordan usually consisted of a cucumbers, carrots, tomato, and pita along with a big bowl of hummus and a side of freshly fried falafel. This usually cost us just under $2 including a couple of Cokes! I still haven’t quite broken myself of this food habit and head over to our local Middle Eastern joint and get the vegetarian platter at least once a week fro my falafel fix.

Turkish Kebabs & Tea

Another of our all time favorite street foods is the Turkish Kebab. Chunks of meat are rubbed with lots of yummy spices and grilled before your eyes with peppers and onions. I love the way the Turkish kebab is served wrapped in tortilla-like pita and then a tube of paper that is peeled away as you eat. After you stuff yourself with a kebab you must have the obligatory glass of Turkish tea. Don’t forget the sugar cube!

What foods do you miss?

I just got to the airport! I’m on my way! I’ve got pretty much the same gear packed with a few different shirts. I’m bringing jeans this time around since I’m going to be staying put for a few weeks at a time and sitting in class all day. And yes, the travel hair dryer and straightener are also coming along! Go ahead and judge, but I’ll be the one with dry, uncurled hair.

I’m excited to test out my new backpack despite the nasty letter from my old pack. I switched from a 70L REI Venus to a 65L REI Ridgeline. The Venus was just too big for my small frame. I’ve been wearing the Ridgeline around a bit, and I really like it. I wish I had chosen it in the first place.

I’m also armed with a new Acer Aspire. The MacBook Pro was just too big and heavy to fit in the backpack with all the camera gear. Plus, Clark needs a computer for his job search and/or travels. This Acer is a real piece of crap, but this blog isn’t going to write itself. Clark’s one post per month won’t satisfy our dozens of readers.

Just made it through security at O’Hare. I’m on Continental Flight 463 leaving at 5:23 this morning. We’ll see how I feel at noon when I finally arrive in Guatemala City and haven’t slept in 24 hours. Maybe I can find a nice comfy bench or piece of carpet to nap on.

I have a few butterflies in my stomach, but I think solo travel will be really good for me. I have to keep reminding myself that I just traveled the world. This should be a piece of cake…o tarta en español.

I’ve smoked hookah in Istanbul, been mobbed by kids in Cairo and Jodhpur, been busted for riding the metro for free in Vienna, driven my scooter into a wall in Cappadocia, CouchSurfed and ridden on local buses in India, attended a Red Shirt rally in Bangkok, and navigated my way through countless train stations and airports. I can handle this.

Wish me luck!

Check out our latest video covering our adventures to date! It includes a new packing time lapse and deleted scenes from our world travels!

I love when I run across a great blog that was recommended to me by another blogger. Some incredibly “with-it” writers do this weekly or monthly, I’m definitely not organized and dedicated enough to do that. But, I do like the idea, so I thought I’d pass a few along. Maybe I’ll do it again in a few weeks when I make some new discoveries. ENJOY!

Disclaimer: I read a ton of blogs, but these are five blogs that I’ve been really enjoying lately. I definitely don’t want to diss (yes, I used that word) any of my other blog friends! Also, these bloggers paid me the biggest bribes.

Johnny Vagabond

JohnnyVagabond.com – Twitter: @JohnnyVagabond

Not only is Wes a great photographer, but he is an amazing story teller. His photos make me seriously jealous! With each new post I loath love him even more. His recent stuff on India is amazing!

Unbrave Girl

www.unbravegirl.com – Twitter: @unbravegirl

Sally is anything but cowardly. She’s not afraid to make fun of herself or the travel-blog world. She’s truthful, witty, and just plain funny. Her writing style is so natural and readable that you don’t even notice she’s a little long-winded. (I’m not hating, it’s self-proclaimed!)

Adventurous Kate

www.AdventurousKate.com – Twitter: @adventurouskate

Here’s another super-funny, snarky, and bold solo travel girl. Kate’s fun experiences and easygoing style make me smile and even laugh out loud sometimes. She quit her job to travel, write, and show the world that solo female travel is safe and fun.

Bacon is Magic

www.BaconisMagic.ca – Twitter: @Ayngelina

This girl is a risk taker! Her blog is fun, interesting, and truly straight from the heart. She just decided to take a leap of faith and try to travel indefinitely! Check out her photo stream on Flickr too!

One Giant Step

One-Giant-Step.com – Twitter:@OneGiantStep

When we first began planning our RTW trip, we started following this blog. Gillian and Jason did the same thing as us and we used some of their knowledge and tips to help us along our way. One year and fourteen countries later, she’s still blogging and trying to pursue her dreams. Her site is full of great travel info!

Dearest Kim,

It’s been nearly a week since I last saw you. I should have known something was wrong between us. We used to carry everything together. You used to never take your eyes off me, but these past few weeks have been different. You left me completely empty in a cold, dark corner with nothing but my hydration port.

I was so excited when you put me on last Tuesday. “Yay! We are finally together again!”, I thought. As it turns out, it was all a lie.

I had such high hopes when we got to REI. I thought you might buy me some accessories or wanted to brag to the clerk how pretty I look after all these months. But nooooo, you abandoned me! You tossed me aside to be thrown in the storage room with the Christmas rejects.

You didn’t even say goodbye.

When the cashier asked you what was wrong, you said, “It just isn’t right for me.” I still can barely write the words.  Just isn’t right for you?! You hurt me to the zippers, sweet Kim.

How could you after all we’ve been through? Why did you leave me, when we fit so well together? Sure, I might get a little pudgy when fully stuffed. I’m a little heavy sometimes, I admit, but no pack is perfect!

On your way out, I saw you from the returns bin. I nearly broke my internal bladder when I saw the bitter truth. You exchanged me for a newer model! And, what’s worse, you exchanged me for a Ridgeline 65?! A Gregory Baltoro 75, I could understand at least, but a puny, little Ridgeline?

Does that blue floozy have the capacity that I have? Does it have the convenient and spacious outer pocket? Is it fully front-loading? Can it snap around you as tight as I can?  I don’t think so.  What does it have that I don’t, huh?!

To think of all those times I unzipped for you. All those times you reached deep in my compartment.  The thought makes me sick now.

Just so you know, I am done crying for you. My Coating Finish™ shell with individual fibers resulting in reduced water absorption and stronger durability was nearly soaked to the internal frame. The REI Garage Sale is on the 23rd, and I am looking forward to meeting someone who will truly appreciate this sexy, green machine.

I wish you and your J-zipper, strap-deprived sack all the best.  You deserve each other.

Sincerely,

REI Venus 70

P.S. You left a pair of socks in my main compartment. I’m keeping them.

So, I’m heading down to Guatemala in about a week all by myself.  I’ve always wanted to be a Spanish speaker and in Spain my love for the language grew even more. I’m a teacher and just got my Master’s degree in Urban Ed. Leadership. My goal is to be a leader of some sort in a large urban school setting. This means that Spanish will most likely come up every so often and I should probably be able to say more to a parent than “Su hijo es muy malo.” or “¿Dónde está el baño?”

So, I started looking into immersion programs in Central and South America. I found that Antigua, Guatemala is the perfect place to go.  There are over 70 schools there. They set up a home-stay for you (including meals) and give you 5 hours of lessons a day for under $250 a week! How could I not jump at that? I chose the Sevilla Academia de Español. The best part? You pay by the week! If my brain feels fried after three weeks, I’ll stop, if not, keep going! There’s no financial commitment or pressure.

Street market in Bangkok's Chinatown

The only thing is, I’m not sure if I’m the solo traveler type. Sure, I can hold my own on “the streets” and not get ripped off by tuk-tuk drivers. I know the ropes of avoiding scams and don’t feel nervous about staying in a hostel or home-stay on my own. It isn’t the “travel” part of the trip I’m nervous about.

There are two things I’m worried about: not enjoying it and being safe.

For me, a lot of the fun of traveling is sharing it with someone. And, I don’t just mean with a spouse.  When I think about my past travels, the memories I have are about the people, not just the places. The moments I remember are heading out with Jesse in London in search of a Harley Davidson shop on a college choir tour, gazing at the Jefferson Memorial from a paddle boat with three high school friends, or stopping in Janesville, Wisconsin to take our pictures with the giant cow with Heather and Allie. I enjoy traveling with people.

Lonely street in Dubrovnik

I was a solo-traveler two times on our RTW trip for just a couple of days when the computer broke. I walked around Dubrovnik for a whole afternoon and pretty much got nothing out of it. I only made mental notes of where to bring Clark when he arrived and which ice cream shops to avoid. I didn’t even take photos. I spent another day reading and relaxing on the beach alone. I didn’t even get in the water. What’s the point when I’m by myself?

Will I even enjoy doing this next leg of my journey alone? More importantly, how will I take pictures of myself with a big SLR camera and short stubby arms?

The other source of anxiety is my safety. Solo women travelers sometimes have a hard time in Latin American countries.  I’ve been reading up and talking to friends who’ve been to these countries. The general idea is to stay in crowded areas and not go out at night, especially alone. Don’t take overnight buses or encourage any cat calls. Don’t respond at all, as that could be considered encouragement.

I experienced some of this in Egypt, Jordan, and India, but I have a feeling it’ll be kicked up a notch in Guatemala, especially without Clark by my side. By the end of our RTW trip, I began to feel pretty safe almost anywhere. I definitely have encountered more violence and theft on the train in Chicago than anywhere we went on our trip.

It doesn’t help that Clark even mentioned being a little worried for my safety. He never had qualms with me riding the El in Chicago late at night or wandering the streets of India alone. Will it really be that bad? Maybe I should re-read our Travel Trepidation post on fear and remind myself that if I don’t jump in and do it, I’ll regret it.

At least during my time at the language school in Antigua, I’ll be able to stay in safe areas. The place is overrun with tourists and I’m sure the school has lots of great advice and tips.  But, I don’t want to just stay in Antigua. After I’m done with classes, I’d like to head out and see more of Guatemala and practice my newly acquired Spanish expertise.

Can I do it alone? Should I try to find another solo traveler to join up with? Can I just tag along with a small group of people? Should I join one of those packaged tour groups I’ve spoken out against so strongly?

So, with all these thoughts running through my  head, I’m getting my gear ready and packed up again. I downgraded to the smaller Ridgeline backpack and am very happy with that decision. (Yes, REI took my old one back after 9 months! The new one was on sale so I got a RTW trip’s use out of the Venus, traded it in for a brand new pack, and got $65 back. This is why I love REI.)

Even with my hesitations, I will be very happy to leave the bitter cold of Chicago behind. It has been a slap in the face after coming straight from months in hot, humid climates. I’m ready to get out of here!

Wish me luck and please comment if you have any advice about solo-female travel!

I’m always eager to try new drinks when I get to a new country or region. We’ve had cold, gritty Turkish coffee to super-sweet milk tea in Thailand. Here are a few of our favorites!

Chai Guy by Shabbir Sira

1.Masala Chai – India

Masala chai is one of my favorite things in India. Basically, it is black tea, usually Assam, mixed with milk, sweetener (sugar or honey), and lots of spices.  The spices used will vary from place to place, but the basics are cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, fennel seeds, peppercorn, and cloves. It is available on the streets from Chai Wallahs, on trains, in hotels, and pretty much everywhere you go.

2. Michelada – Mexico

As our friend Bill would say, “Oh. My. God.” This is undoubtedly one of our favorite drink discoveries. We visited Mexico City in 2008 and have been making this tasty beverage for ourselves at home ever since. There are a few variations on the drink, but the traditional Michelada is beer, lime juice, and clamato. It is served in a glass, or big paper cup, with the rim salted and caked with pepper and chili powder. Doesn’t sound good? Just try it! I think you’d be surprised. Another variation leaves out the clamato and chili powder to make a sort of “beergarita”: beer, lime, salted rim. They go over well at a summer BBQ!

3. Augustiner Edelstoff – Munich, Germany

Day after day we found ourselves at the Augustiner beer hall during our week in Munich. The loud, rowdy atmosphere, good food, and great beer were irresistible. You’ve gotta love the waitress carrying three liters of beer in each hand. Our favorite brew is Edelstoff, and a liter will put you back about six euros. Clark was also a fan of the weissbiers.

Photo by Linkwize

4. Singapore Sling

This mixed drink is a staple in Singapore. It was invented at the Raffles hotel and can now be found served all over SE Asia. The original recipe uses gin, Cherry Heering, Bénédictine, and fresh pineapple juice. The hotel now serves up a pre-mixed version because of the high volume of orders to be filled. You’ll pay almost $30 at the Raffles, but you can get a cheaper version at almost any bar in Singapore. We also found them all over Southeast Asia, of course. It’s the perfect tropical treat, and I enjoyed a few during our two weeks in Bangkok.

5. Super Bock – Portugal

This is the national beer of Portugal and you’ll find it absolutely everywhere. It’s especially good along side the ever-popular bar snack of Lupini beans. This was our beer of choice at only one euro per liter in Lisbon’s Barrio Alto. You can’t beat that and to top it off– you can drink in the street! (Americans get very excited about that kind of thing…)

6. Pomegranate/Orange Juice – Turkey

You can’t beat sipping on a fresh-squeezed juice while wandering through the markets in Istanbul or Izmir.  There are juicing stands every few feet in most major Turkish cities. You can also get the pomegranate straight-up, but we preferred to tone it down with the orange. Plus, the antioxidants in pomegranate supposedly offer a million health benefits from lowering cholesterol to slowing cancer. Just don’t buy it from the stands outside the Blue Mosque (five lira!). Head over to the Grand Bazaar for one-lira cups.

Photo by Luca Zappa

7. Chang – Thailand

The beer to drink on the beach in Thailand is Chang. Probably because it’s cheap. We enjoyed quite a few relaxing drinks while sitting at the edge of the lapping waves. After going through some tough travel days to get to the Thai islands, you’ll need a cold one! We also really enjoyed Tiger and Singha, but Chang was the cheapest, so usually our drink of choice! Someone wrote “Donot wory be hppy” on the bottle koozie pictured below, and we just had to have it as a souvenir. If you ever visit the reggae bar on Koh Lipe, please tell them we’re sorry for swiping their foam thingys.

8. Bosnian Coffee

I’m not a big coffee drinker, but Clark really enjoyed this strong drink. Bosnian Coffee is prepared by  by boiling finely powdered roast coffee beans in a small copper pot.  Before pouring the coffee into your little ceramic cup, skim the film and grounds from the top with your spoon.  You can pour your coffee over lumps of sugar or dip your sugar into the coffee and alternate nibbling the sugar and sipping the coffee.  It will mostly likely be served with a little square of Turkish Delight. I like mine with LOTS of sugar.

9. Port wine – Porto, Portugal

Going for a port-tasting is a must when visiting Porto. If you think you’ve had Port before, think again. The real stuff is incredible! There are countless little wineries along the Douro River that offer free tours and tastings. We went for a hostel outing to the Croft winery and got to taste a few varieties.  The older the port, the sweeter and nuttier the flavor. We’re still waiting for a special occasion to break open the 40-year vintage we bought!

On a side note, the tour guide pouring the wine in the photo had the strangest accent. Even months after leaving Porto, I thought the port’s color came from the “hood”. What’s hood? Beats me. Clark later told me that she was in fact saying “wood”– as in wood from the casks. Oops.

10. Lassi – India

We enjoyed quite a variety of Lassis in India.  My favorite flavors were banana and Makhani. A Lassi is a creamy yogurt drink sweetened with honey and fruits.  The Makhani lassi is a special variety found in Jodhpur.  This lassi is seasoned with saffron and blended with a tart cheese-like substance. The best one can be found at a little hole-in-the wall cafe/guest house in the main square.

Makhani Lassi by by Daniel Bachhuber on Flickr

What’s your favorite drink? Leave your comments below!

All too often, we’ve meet travelers that look like they are straight from the set of 28 Days Later– dirty, stinky, sleep-deprived, emaciated, and hung over.  They drag their feet from castle to cathedral groaning and drooling all the way. How can anyone travel like that and actually get something out of it (besides psoriasis of the liver)?

You travel to see the destination, then you can’t expect to have a productive day in Istanbul if you ignore basic hygiene. It may sound like common sense, but you would be surprised.

Here are a few tips to keep you on the path of humanity as you travel:

1. Keep It Clean

If you live in a major city, you know what it’s like to be sitting on the metro next to a backpacker that looks like he and his bag have been thrown from a moving car. Come on. Unless you are camping or hiking, there really is no excuse to skip bathing. There are people around you that have nostrils!

I am aware that people travel on a very tight budget. However, even the most basic hostel has a shower. You can find free soap and shampoo most of the time. We went for several weeks just using leftovers in hostel bathrooms. Do yourself and everyone around you a favor and take 10 minutes to bathe each day. Even if the water is lukewarm and you are afraid to touch the slimy walls, it is still better than nothing.

2. Don’t Over Do It

Another typical state of backpackers is the perpetual hangover. It’s fun to party all night with your new hostel pals, but is it worth missing an entire day of sights in Paris? Maybe I’m just getting too old, but I don’t want to be squinting through sunglasses and popping aspirin all day at the Louvre.

Go out and have fun, but remember to take it easy.

3. Get Your Beauty Rest

This goes right along with the above tip. You need sleep to stay healthy. How can you expect to have a productive day in Salzburg if you were out all night? If you had a fun night, just sleep in. It’s okay! Don’t drag yourself out of bed at eight in the morning for the Sound of Music tour. It’s lame, anyway.

4. Just Eat It!

We once ran into a guy who only ate a piece of bread each morning and then a small snack in the evening. We called him Skelator. He was often dizzy and seeing spots by dinner time. Is the cost savings really worth starving yourself? Also, food is one of the best parts of travel, so just eat something!

You don’t have to eat out for every meal. Go to the grocery store or market and buy some bread, fruit, and cheese. That’s always pretty cheap, or you can usually make some kind of meal out of the free food section in the hostel kitchen. Eat a couple of times a day and you’ll feel much better. We usually eat a moderate sized lunch around 1:00 and a light snack for dinner (with an ice cream stop in there somewhere). Avoid the tourist traps. The places where the locals eat are usually affordable– plus, you will learn a few things about local cuisine.

5. Take Your Meds

Another habit of backpackers that pushes them closer to Zombieland is refusing to buy medicine. If you’re sick, you need to take the time and effort to get well.

I’m not talking about aspirin or Pepto-Bismol. We’ve run into travelers who have infected cuts, rashes, or horrible tooth pain who are simply putting up with it. European pharmacies are happy to help you diagnose your problem and find a medication to ease your pain. A trip to the pharmacy won’t bust your budget. Even when I burned my leg on an island in Southeast Asia, I was able to find the necessary bandages to keep myself healthy.

I decided to "Think Different" last Halloween.

We do love our Apple products, but they have performed poorly on this trip.  Our trouble began in Granada with a busted iPod Touch.  Luckily, it was under warranty, and we had a replacement a few days later.

We were not so lucky in Croatia.  In recent posts, we alluded to a problem with our MacBook Pro. I’m currently killing time on the train to Selçuk, so I might as well get this story out of the way.

To make a long story short, our laptop broke, but it works now.

To make a long story long, keep reading.  Just know beforehand…I don’t recommend it.

The Long Story

For a change of pace, we went out for a fancy dinner on Hvar. You can’t pinch pennies all the time. Over dinner–with wine even–we discussed how smooth everything was going.  No incidents of theft, lost luggage, damaged electronics, etc.  Of course, life went to hell as soon as we said this.  The next morning, I awoke to a grey computer screen and a flashing question mark.  I worked on the Mac for hours with no results. It appeared our hard drive was kaput.

I wasn’t horribly upset at first because we backup on an external drive and upload our photos to Flickr. Our most important souvenirs were fine.  As I thought about it longer, I grew more concerned.  What about our other stuff?  Lightroom, Photoshop, Photomatix, movies, music, the expense workbook, our blog files…I hadn’t backed up any of it.  I didn’t even have the Mac OS X installation DVD. I really should have packed that.

Our hotel had a computer, so I searched for an Apple authorized repair guy in Split.  No dice. The only place I could find was in the capital.  Zagreb was 6-hour train ride away, and we were looking forward to island hopping our way to Dubrovnik.  Also, I upgraded the hard drive myself in Chicago, so I was pretty sure our warranty was void.

Many people travel the world without a computer, so what’s the big deal?  If we used a point-and-shoot camera, we could probably get by without this five pound aluminum brick.  The problem is we like our SLR and High Dynamic Range photography. Not to mention, how could we keep up on our wildly successful travel blog? We would hate to disappoint our tens of readers.

We had to get this fixed. We made it back to the mainland the next afternoon and headed right for a computer shop. It was closed. As we debated our next move, we realized a new hard drive wouldn’t help us anyway.  How are we going to install it?  We have no tools.  Even if we found a drive and got the case open, we don’t have any damn software!

On our walk back to the city center, we ran into another store. Unlike our first stop, this one was open for business.  Inside, we met Nikola.

“Do you have a 2.5″ hard drive for Macintosh?”

“Yes,” he replied. At last! Success!

“But we don’t have Apple software or install hard drives.”

No! Still screwed! We proceeded to buy the drive anyway, but we weren’t any closer to our goal. We told Nikola our tale of woe, and he offered to help us off the clock.  “Give computer to me.  I take home. I fix. I download software. I call you when ready,” he promised.

We talked for another 15 minutes or so before happily handing over our expensive MacBook Pro, power cable, and brand new hard drive. After leaving, we contemplated our actions. Without an ounce of force or coercion, Nikola had acquired our expensive electronics…and we gave them to him willingly.  I told Kim that if we never see the Mac again, we could at least be comforted it was lost to such a smooth con artist.  Even Sawyer would have been impressed.

We walked home reassured, and sure enough, Nikola skyped us the next day.

The hard drive was fine! Our programs, photos, movies, blog shit…it was all fine!  “Your problem is motherboard or cable,” Nikola informed us, “Motherboard will cost 9,000 kuna.”

That’s $1,700.

We had three options:

1. Go to Zagreb and try to get the computer fixed under warranty.
2. Buy a new MacBook in Croatia.
3. Buy a new MaBook in the U.S. and have it shipped.

We decided on Plan 1 but proceeded with Plan 3 as a fall back.  Plan 2 was no good because MacBooks are very expensive in Europe, and our keyboard would be in the freaking Croatian alphabet. There was no sense ruining our plans entirely, so we decided to split up.  I caught the next train to Zagreb, and Kim went on to Dubrovnik.

I made it to iStyle, the repair shop, first thing the next morning.  They told me they only order parts on Fridays, and they usually arrive the following Thursday.  Today was Monday.  That makes two weeks, and we had a flight to Istanbul already booked.  Yep, we were going to be stuck with a change fee too.  I offered the technician $200 to take parts from a display model, but he wouldn’t budge. He had to order the parts.

With little choice, I left the computer at iStyle and caught the night bus to Dubrovnik (an 11-hour ride) to meet back up with Kim.  I sure as hell wasn’t going to hang out in Zagreb the whole time.  We enjoyed Dubrovnik and Bosnia, and the weeks past quickly.  It is a 9-hour train ride from Sarajevo to Zagreb, so I caught a 50-minute flight on Croatia Air instead.

I once again found myself at iStyle at the crack of dawn.  This was my third trip to Zagreb, and I was starting to feel at home. Like Cheers, everyone knew my name at iStyle. The guy at the desk exclaimed, “Clark!” when I walked in the door.  He had our computer in hand.

It worked!  Everything was perfectly fine, and the repair was free of charge. Apparently I hadn’t voided our AppleCare after all.

So what was the problem?  It was the damn cable, not the motherboard.  Since when does anything go wrong with a cable?  We called off the contingency plans, and I flew back to Sarajevo victorious.  After change fees, flights, trains, night buses, and a spare hard drive, the fiasco cost us about $600.  Expensive, but it could have been much worse.

Told you it was a long story.  You should have stuck with the short version.