John and Rita Sepenoski of Southold have visited 100 countries and all seven continents

Growing up on his family’s farm in Southold, John Sepenoski dreamed of traveling the world. So much so that, at 21, he dropped out of Harper College, known today as Binghamton University, to join the Army in 1961. He asked specifically to be stationed in Europe with the hope of visiting other countries.

“I was assigned to Heidelberg, Germany, and . . . I was lucky enough to visit the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy and Monaco — all on limited leave and limited money,” said the retired farmer, 83, who still lives in Southold. “No doubt, it was in the service where I really caught the travel bug.”

Rita Meinken, who would later become Sepenoski’s wife, had a similarly eye-opening experience.

Following her graduation from Adelphi University in Garden City, where she earned a master’s degree in business administration, she said she took her first trip abroad in the 1970s at 27 — a singles trip to Italy with a female friend from her graduating class. There, she saw the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City and was stunned by its magnificence and significance.

“Oh, I was hooked after that,” Rita Sepenoski, now 79, recalled. “Imagine the thrill of seeing the famous frescoes that decorate the interior through the eyes of a young person. The ones on the ceiling and The Last Judgment, both painted by Michelangelo, were thrilling to behold for a young girl from Central Islip with a strong Catholic upbringing.”

Those youthful experiences instilled in both a deep love of travel. But it wasn’t until later in life, when lighter work schedules and, eventually, retirement made it easier to break away, that they were able to indulge that passion seriously.

Since they married 26 years ago, the couple said they have visited at least 100 countries together and all seven continents. In the course of their travels, they said they have visited the Louvre Museum and Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris; marveled at large holes left by artillery shells that rained down during World War I in Verdun, France; and spotted Mt. Everest from the sky over Bhutan.

But what has touched them the most, they said, is the chance to meet people from other cultures and learn about their lives.

“If you really want to see the world, immerse yourself in the culture of the places you visit — and don’t just go to the famous spots, really mix it up and talk with the people there,” said Rita Sepenoski, a retired Suffolk County Legislature administrative assistant. Her husband agreed, noting their interaction with others “has truly left indelible imprints on our souls.”

FAVORITE DESTINATIONS

The Sepenoskis said their travels have taken them to places as far-flung as Tibet, Iceland, Chile and Costa Rica, plus Antarctica. They have gone on cruises, while other times they have traveled by bus or train.

One of their more memorable experiences, John Sepenoski said, was watching Hindu cremation services on the Ganges River at Varanasi, considered by Hindus as the holiest of cities. “I was especially struck by the reverence and respect displayed by devout Hindus as they cremated deceased loved ones on the river,” he said. “The remains are placed on a raft, which is then set aflame. Hindus believe this ceremony purifies the soul of the departed.”

On another trip, he recalled the couple was flying over the Himalayas when the captain of their 40-passenger plane announced Mt. Everest was in sight. “Well, all the passengers on that plane moved to that side . . . to look out the tiny windows,” he said. “We had no room to squeeze in, so we went back to the galley — and found flight attendants looking out much larger windows.”

And when a flight attendant realized they couldn’t distinguish the mountain from the others in the area, the attendant “quickly drew us a map so we could pick out the famous peak. We were thankful for that and enjoyed a good laugh with our panoramic view.”

John Sepenoski singled out Mongolia as his favorite destination, noting the hospitality of the nomadic people who live there. “You could be walking through the countryside and, if you came across someone’s yurt, you could step inside, have a seat out of the sun — even take a nap on their bed,” he said. “It’s a harsh living there so everyone helps each other, and strangers are made to feel welcomed.”

MOVED BY ISRAEL

For his wife, the sights of Israel were religiously reaffirming. “As a kid, I had a holy picture card of the Agony in the Garden, Jesus praying,” she said, referring to a moment in the Bible in which Jesus is said to have retreated to the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives to pray before his arrest and crucifixion. The garden is believed to be situated outside Jerusalem.

“To see that garden and the stump of a 2,000-year-old olive tree touched me deeply,” she recalled. “There is just so much religious significance, so many places mentioned in the Gospel in this part of the world. I felt like that land was part of me.”

Rita Sepenoski also noted Antarctica, which they visited on a cruise, as a top pick. Staff from McMurdo Station, a research facility run by the U.S. Antarctic Program, came aboard and fielded questions about their work and “how it was to live in one of the harshest environments on Earth,” she said. The couple also visited Elephant Island, where the crew of the explorer ship “Endurance” found refuge after their vessel was crushed by the sea ice, she said. The men lived off seal meat as they waited for their captain, Sir Ernest Shackleton, to return with help.

“Amazingly, he did,” she said.

‘SERIOUS TRAVELERS’

“Those two are some serious travelers,” said Richard Scheingold, of Coram, who has been friends with John Sepenoski since college.

Scheingold, who said he has visited 80 countries himself, has traveled extensively with the pair.

“My late wife, Linda, and I shared a number of trips with them,” said Scheingold, 82. “We did more than a month with them in Central America in February 2009.”

On a visit to Southeast Asia, Scheingold recalled being on a Mekong River cruise with the Sepenoskis when a small boat approached them. The crew, he said, was holding up giant live snakes and asked if they wanted to come aboard and take some photos for a fee. “We passed on that offer,” he said with a laugh.

“John and Rita are great to travel with,” he continued. “They want to see the sights, but they also try to engage the people and delve into the culture. To this day, they are filled with anticipation and excitement as they prepare to embark on a trip.”

VOLCANOES AND CELLPHONES

Of course, if you take a lot of trips abroad, they’re not all going to turn out perfectly.

During a trip to Indonesia, John Sepenoski recounted, “We were sleeping in tents when the tour guide woke us up in the early morning hours and handed out face masks. Turned out a volcano had erupted overnight, leaving several inches of ash on the ground and forcing our group to leave by boat and train, since airplanes could not fly with ash in the clouds.”

His wife recalled a trip to Italy, with a tour guide who spent much of the ride trying to fix a cell phone. As the bus drove past Montecassino, the guide was asked about its significance during World War II, she said.

The monastery there was destroyed and 230 civilians seeking shelter died during American-led air raids, but, recounted Rita Sepenoski, the tour guide simply replied, “Later.”

“After that, we drove past Mt. Vesuvius — same thing!” she said.

But she shrugged off those incidents, saying, “We haven’t experienced any real disasters, just inconveniences from time to time.”

Despite seeing so much of the world, the Sepenoskis have not strayed far from their roots. Both agreed that there is no place they would rather come home to than their farm on the east end of Long Island. “After each trip we take, I feel refreshed, enriched, and as if I’ve grown from the experiences of seeing how other people live,” said Rita Sepenoski. “I always feel so privileged to go on these adventures.”

After serving 2½ years in the Army, John Sepenoski said he returned to college and graduated with a degree in economics. Afterward, he said he interviewed to be a purchasing agent for New York State.

“The person interviewing me was an older man. He looked tired and uninspired,” Sepenoski recalled. “In that moment I saw my life behind a desk for the next 30 years. I said to myself, ‘I just can’t do this,’ so I went back to the farm, my home base.”

That, he said, remains “one of the best decisions of my life.”