Q – Questoria

Q – Questoria

I like to travel to exotic places whenever I can. The more unique a place is the more likely, I’ll want to visit it. Early in 1992, my wife, Christina, set out on a 40-day research cruise to the Arctic for work she does for the State University of New York’s Marine Sciences department. That left me with some time on my hands, so I decided to take a trip. 

My travel agent found a hidden gem. It was a small unknown island kingdom in the mid-Pacific called Questoria. You won’t find it on any map. I was surprised that my travel agent could find it. Needless to say, I booked the trip. I left 3 days after Christina took off for Iceland. 

Here’s some information about the kingdom of Questoria. It is ruled by Queen Quix. She had been queen for at least 30 years at the time and came from a long line Quixes going back to the 15th century. Their last name befitted the queen’s rule as she was quite quixotic. 

The queen believed in quests, which she constantly sent visitors on, some real and some totally farfetched. I was okay with being sent to the mines to unearth the rare golden quartz gems. That was actually fun. But to be sent on a quest for the mythical Quetzalcoatl, which the queen was certain was to be found somewhere in the jungles of Questoria was a bit too much and almost cost me my life. But that’s a story for another time that someday I might tell. 

The kingdom’s official sport was Quoits. Now I’m pretty good at horseshoes and thought that I would do pretty well at quoits. Not even close. I was knocked out of the first round of the tournament I entered. I’m sure those quoits were rigged. 

The queen’s favorite food was quinoa. She mixed it in everything she made, except for the desserts. Questoria’s desserts all contain quinces: quince meringue pie, quince butterscotch pudding, quince mousse, you get the idea. While I don’t mind having Quinoa and quince on occasion, after 3 days one gets rather tired of that diet. 

Most of the inhabitants of the island are quadrilingual. In addition to their own language, Quixian, they speak Japanese, English, and for some odd reason Klingon. For the most part, we could understand each other. It was quite interesting when I went to one of their marketplaces and witnessed a customer and the seller in quite a quandary. Their dispute revolved around the quantity of items purchased and the amount paid. It was quite a quagmire. Each claiming different numbers. What made it interesting was their quarrel took place using all four languages interspersed with each other. 

There is so much more I could tell you about my trip to Questoria, however, I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement  (NDA). 

I got home after a week there. And because of the NDA, I was not allowed to tell Christina or anyone else about it on her return. 

Unfortunately for the residents and island of Questoria, they all came down with COVID last year. The numbers were pretty devastating but not as devastating as when Mount Quenora erupted and sank the entire kingdom, which is why it no longer shows up on maps. No one survived the eruption. The destruction of the island, of course, released me from my NDA which is why I can write all that I’m sharing with you now. 

I’ve been asked on numerous occasions when talking about Questoria, whether or not what I’ve shared is true. My answer is always the same, “Would I lie to you?”