SandStory Travel Tips

By Joe Castillo

You are planning for a trip. Or perhaps you have taken a job that is going to require many miles of travel. Maybe you are just going to run away for a weekend, a week or … for life. Modern travel is complicated. Some modern inventions have made travel a little easier but the fact that you can be in three countries, flying through ten airports, thirteen time zones, doing fifteen SandStory performances in seven cities all in the space of eighteen days, trust me, it is complicated. Even exhausting! My wife Cindy and I just did it! We are still married and never once spoke to each other through clenched teeth. I did get a bit terse in the Riyadh airport with a pushy passenger that tried to cut in front of me in a long line we had been waiting in for over an hour. I did not speak Arabic, he did not understand English but he got my message quite clearly. I am very glad I didn’t wind up on a youtube video getting my head chopped off.

Do not fear. It can be done. Here are a few basic cardinal rules that can make your travel much easier, perhaps even enjoyable.

       1. Don’t pack anything that is not absolutely essential! (That lap top that you really plan to do some work on is a dead weight when the battery is dead, and buying that souvenir chess set for your uncle Tino just put your suitcase overweight costing you an extra fifty bucks.

       2. All luggage must have wheels. The Atlanta airport, (everybody eventually flies through Atlanta) has 450 billion miles of concourses. That little backpack you figured would be a cinch to carry, will cut painful grooves in your shoulders long before you get to your gate.

       3. Always put your boarding pass, passport/ID in the SAME POCKET. Passengers behind you will give you exactly seven seconds of fumbling to find you’re your documents before they trample you into mush.

       4. Get extra sleep every chance you get. You cannot sleep on a plane. Trust me. Medication can induce a temporary coma, your head will flop around like a bobble head doll and you will drool all over yourself. You cannot sleep in an airport. The seats are designed so that even if you are the only one on the row, they put metal armrests between each chair so stretching out is impossible. If you have a real bed with real pillows go to sleep.

Have a great time traveling!

Joe & Cindy Castillo

The Artistry of Joe Castillo is…. Magical!

Absolutely unique, powerful, awesome, are just a few of the words that have been used in attempting to explain what artist Joe Castillo does. He tells great stories and illustrates them with drawings, drama and Sand. It is almost impossible to describe a performance by Joe to one who has never seen it live. Weaving a powerful image with words he then visually bringing it to life with paints, markers or fine grains of sand. The sand animation performed to music, is projected on large screens for churches, conventions and any large audience. WordStory®, ArtStory® and SandStory® presentations are awe inspiring, captivating, inspirational, standing-ovation experience. Joe Castillo is unquestionably a powerful storyteller, illustrator and the top Sand Artist in the world today.