Traveling

Cruising Impressions

Traveling is one of the great joys of cruising. I believe that the ability to see the world without really leaving home is much of what draws people to cruising. For a cruiser, things like an up-to-date passport are taken for granted, and visiting customs and immigration is a matter of course. There are cruisers who spend months, even years in one place (we spent a few months in Venezuela, for example) but most have plans to move on. I've never met a cruiser who didn't enjoy traveling to new countries.

This does not necessarily mean circumnavigating. We are crossing many thousands of miles, but aren't even making it halfway around the globe. Some cruisers plan to circumnavigate, but spend so long in each area it will take many years. A few do try to circumnavigate quickly, possibly several times, but not as many as one might think. Many cruisers never even leave one area, such as the eastern Caribbean.

There are many different reasons to travel, and some people enjoy different aspects of travel. For example, I prefer to visit places of natural beauty, such as Bonaire for its spectacular diving or Martinique for its lush forest. Some people travel to meet people from different cultures or learn about their history. It seems that any cruiser, if asked what they like about cruising, will mention something to do with travel.

Cruising also brings together people from around the world. Other cruisers can be from nearly anywhere (though we meet surprisingly few Asians.) While meeting a group of Kiwis might not be the same as traveling to NZ, it is refreshing to be with people of a different background. Different people also expand one's point of view. For example, it is interesting to know what other people think of the recent actions of the US government, and what they hear from their press that we don't hear from ours.

Click here to go to our Landfalls section, with maps and descriptions of our travels.

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