FAQ - How do you deal with all the different languages?

 

When in Rome … speak Italian! In our experience, there's nothing as pleasing to the locals as someone who at least attempts to speak their language and wants to learn more. Contrary to some urban myths, speaking loudly and slowly in English does not make non-English speakers understand you.

Though we don't learn a new language for every place we visit, we do, in fact, make an effort to learn at least some words.

Part of our enjoyment of a place is communicating as effectively as possible with our hosts. Since we planned to be in South America for awhile and since I have a fascination with languages, I took Spanish lessons every chance I got … especially in Colombia. I bought a Spanish dictionary and really studied hard. It's a beautiful language and once you make it through the verb conjugations and learn some vocabulary words, it's not that difficult. In Ecuador, I taught English to Spanish-speaking marineros (dock workers) which enhanced my own Spanish vocabulary considerably, especially the more “colorful” words and local sayings.

Kathy Parson's Spanish for Cruisers was a godsend when it came to talking about everything from boat parts and repairs to getting medical help or buying groceries. We highly recommend it, if you're heading to Spanish-speaking countries. It offers not only bi-lingual translations, it also has pictures. Pictures, by the way, are a great way to communicate if you're stuck for a foreign translation of any part. As long you can draw it somewhat credibly, you'll find what you need if it's available. Unlike many English-speakers, we found the Latin and South Americans to be especially helpful and patient with our poor Spanish skills.

When we headed to French Polynesia, my high school French came in handy. I spoke Sp-rench for awhile and Fr-anish on occasion … that odd combination of Spanish and French that no one understands: “Oui, Senor” and “Si, Monsieur”. I finally converted over to actual French about the time we were ready to leave. Many people spoke English in the cities, but in the outlying islands and smaller towns where French and only French was spoken, we were certainly able to make ourselves understood with gestures, a few French words and patience. Kathy Parson's French for Cruisers was very helpful this time. I was one of the editors, so we were pretty proud of the finished product.

Though the romance languages work well in the eastern South Pacific, places like Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu as we moved further west were definitely a challenge at times. I tried learning at least a few words in each language: Hello, goodbye, please, thank you, sailboat and my name is ... are a good start. Sometimes we played the pointing game and asked for the local word. We'd repeat it in the language of the land and then say it in English. It was usually a good icebreaker and led to further conversation.

Whenever we could, we'd buy a local newspaper, try to read traffic signs, check out local ads for identifiable products and/or concentrate on figuring out what the words on grocery market signs were pointing to. We picked up lots of vocabulary words that way … something new each day. Of course, remembering what we'd learned was a challenge in itself, but hey, c'est la vie.

FAQ - How much inland travel do you do?

 

Some folks think that because we do so much sailing, the only places we see are seaports, but quite honestly, whenever we get a chance to do some inland travel, we do. One of the good things about being at sea is that you don't spend any money. So when we arrive in port, I always figure we have “credits” towards some fun inland travel. I also feel it's my duty to make sure we make the best of these credits and use them to our advantage.

There's so much more to a country than just the seacoast. South America was particularly good for inland travel because riding buses was so inexpensive, convenient and pervasive. The rule of thumb there was $1 / hour of travel. What a bargain. We traveled extensively inland in Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. Rarely do we fly anywhere unless the place is inaccessible otherwise … like Iquitos, Peru on the Amazon River, for instance.

If you've followed some of our recent “Reminiscing” blog posts, you'll know that we tend to travel where ever we stop. Where bus transport is not available, we rent a car or take a ferry or a train or borrow bicycles. We've even been known to thumb a ride when nothing else was available. South Africa and Namibia were great for touring in a rental car. Small islands can be hiked, but renting a car on King Island and Easter Island, for instance, allowed us to tour the whole island in just over a day. As an aside, I sold a King Island photo which covered the cost of the car rental … plus a bit more “credit” towards future travel.

David enjoys the “sailing” part of our adventure the most. Though I like the sailing, I enjoy the planning, the “getting there” and the subsequent travel adventures most of all. The world may be 70% water, but that other 30% is definitely worth investigating.

What about all you cruisers out there? Do you tend to park the boat and do lots of inland travel or do you tend to stay in your arrival port and get to know your local surroundings?

Days and Ways to Celebrate

A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.

International Pot Smoker's Day aka International Medical Marijuana Day

Doesn't seem like they'd need a holiday for this one, does it? No suggestions on how to celebrate...figure this one out yourself.

FAQ - Why off the beaten path?

New Island Suwarrow Atoll

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.”

— The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost

We've blogged about how we choose our next sailing destination and why, in particular, we're so keen to cross the Great Australian Bight (GAB). But probably the more frequently asked question is why we choose to go “off the beaten path” in the first place.

Aneitym Vanuatu

First, let's define what we think of as “off the beaten path”. It's the path less chosen. Quite honestly, just living on a sailboat and sailing off into the sunset is off the beaten path enough, don't you think? However, even within the cruising community, we tend to be a bit “off”.

Easter Island

For instance, the most traveled route from North America across the South Pacific is called the Coconut Milk Run. It has the most predictable weather and there's lots of company en route. There are sometimes flotillas of boats that travel together from Central America or Ecuador to the Galapagos, then French Polynesia (the Marquesas, the Tuomotus, Tahiti, Bora Bora, etc). The route continues through the Cook Islands to Samoa or Niue, Tonga and then to New Zealand or sometimes points further west.

kuna yala panama

We chose to sail off the beaten path to avoid all the traffic. Don't get me wrong. We like other cruisers and enjoy their company, but we enjoy meeting the local people and seeing sights others have missed more than we enjoy cruiser camaraderie. Not to mention we dislike crowded anchorages. So our trip across the Pacific began in southern Chile and included Juan Fernandez Island (Robinson Crusoe), Easter Island, Pitcairn Island and Isles Gambier before meeting up with the the rest of the crowd.

Bienvenidos

We've found, without exception, that the further off the path you travel, the more warmly you are welcomed. The locals realize how hard it is to get to an island that's not mainstream and they seem to appreciate the effort. If you're the only boat anchored in the harbor, you provide “flash”, as one Vanuatu chief told us. For sure, if you're the only sailboat there, you really stand out and it seems an open invitation for interaction with the locals. They're always as curious about us as we are about them.

Pitcairn Island

Off the beaten path opens up all sorts of opportunities for out of the ordinary experiences. This is usually the time the 90-day rule kicks in and something extraordinary happens. Whether it be an invitation to someone's home for a local meal or a chance to visit some remote sight that most people never get the chance to see, much less know about.

I guess it comes down to why we cruise, doesn't it? Perhaps, a topic for another day.

Days and Ways to Celebrate

A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.

White Walls Day

In 1934, Ford Motor Company offered white wall tires as an option for the first time at the exorbitant rate of $11.25/set. The price has probably gone up by now. If you got'em, give them a wash. Otherwise, you could just celebrate "walls", white or otherwise.