December 8th, 2024Donna’s travel memories
“Travelling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta
This is very true of our recent trip to America and Central America. There were many moments where we were speechless but we now have many tales to tell.
Our trip started in Australia, read about almost not going thanks to a small mistake, on page 27, but then we were off. First to New Zealand and then Los Angeles where we boarded the good ship Norwegian Jewel for many amazing ports.
First up was San Diego followed by Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Columbia and the Cayman Islands. Every stop was an eye-opener and to be truthful what really stood out to me was the abject poverty of Central America and then the juxtaposition of us stepping back onto a cruise ship with hot and cold running everything.
While the residents of Central America lead their lives with below poverty line wages, lack of fundamental basics, some living in cardboard shacks, others wheeling people with disabilities hoping to be handed a few American bucks, we and other passengers had all we could want.
So much food that a lot was just thrown out, bottles of drinking water, sparkling pools for a casual dip, a river of alcohol coming out of the myriad bars, music to dance the night away and staff, also mostly from the poorer countries of the world, ready to clean our rooms and wish us Good Morning, Good Day and Good Night.
Don’t get me wrong, I love cruising, but I don’t like myself for loving it so much. Yes, you can tip people and hand over a few dollars here and there, but you won’t make a difference in anyone’s life. And that is just the truth.
So is travel a good thing. I guess it allows you to look into the real world, if you take the time, and we had some great conversations with people around the region.
We do try and take the time to find locals to chat with and support their enterprises, not just end up where the tourists are taken to be shaken down with what I imagine are some hefty kickbacks.
So, just a few of our conversations. We chatted to one female bartender in Guatemala who told us honestly, despite our tour guide saying they had the most temperate weather in Central America, with a steady 25 degrees Celsius, that “summer is hell”.
The bloke who picked us up to take us to our rental car in the Cayman Islands said global warming was destroying his country along with the overdevelopment of the region.
“We used to have lots of bush and forest and now we just have buildings. We will lose even more soon.”
A waiter on the ship said as we went through the Panama Canal it was great they had been able to retain plenty of trees and greenery despite flooding the area. It was also good to be able to provide plenty of employment opportunities, he said.
A woman employee on the ship, who greeted us most mornings at the restaurant, admired Kyle’s white summery shirt. Kyle decided to make it a gift and asked if she had a husband. Yes, she said, but her sister was free if needed. Hmmm.
She then told Kyle she would not give it to her husband but instead wear it to bed and think of us. Again, hmmm.
Another female staffer told us we were working too much, on day two of trying to get The Local uploaded from a table in her restaurant, and that we needed to “close the office”. She then gave us beer and wine to keep us fortified.
Finally, a bartender in Tampa, Florida, said if you got angry if you didn’t get a tip, then you were in the wrong game.
“I could say anything to rub a customer the wrong way, and not even know it, or they could be having a bad day, or maybe I said something to someone else they didn’t like. You just have to take the day as it comes. Tips are great but we can’t bank on them.”
It’s an interesting world out there, and great to visit, but I also do like coming home – to what I believe is the best country in the world.
Words: Donna Kelly. Images: Donna Kelly & Kyle Barnes.
