Spanish a bit rusty? You and me both. In general, Spanish is used throughout Latin America - but you'll definitely encounter dozens of other languages too. On a Belize trip or Guyana tour you'll find English as the official language, with other languages spoken in varying regions. For example, along the coast you're most likely to hear Creole spoken. Spanish is the main language in Belize towns that border Guatemala to the west and Mexico to the north and it's possible to run into several other languages such as Mayan, German, Chinese, Lebanese, and Arabic. While on a Peru tour you'll discover that most highland Indians are bilingual. Quechua is the preferred language and Spanish is their second tongue. You'll come across varying dialects in Argentina (think European Spanish). And in Brazil you'll need to brush up on your Portuguese.
You'd be surprised how much you can get by with just a few Spanish basics. So, to those who took German in high school while everyone else was taking Spanish (yours-truly included) ... I give you Useful Spanish Phrases To Make You Sound Like You Know What You're Talking About.
hello·················· hola (ola)
See you soon········hasta luego (ahs-ta lu-way-go)
good morning········ buenos días (buay-nos dee-as)
good afternoon·······buenas tardes (buay-nos tar-days)
good evening/night·· buenas noches (buay-nahs no-chays)
How are you?·········¿Cómo está? (co-mo ehs-tah)
Thank you·············gracias (grah-see-ahs)
You're welcome·······de nada (day nah-dah)
please··················por favor (por fah-vor)
excuse me·············permiso (pear-mee-so)
What?··················¿Que? (kay)
("Que" side story: My first time in Peru, I was speaking with an airport official and in response to his comments I kept saying "K" as in "O-K" and every time I did so, he repeated what he just told me. It took me at least four "Ks" to realize we were having a little lost-in-translation moment.)
sir·······················Señor (see-nior)
madam·················Señora married /Señorita not (see-nior-ah or see-nior-ee-tah)
My name is...········· Me llamo... (may yah-mo)
today·················· hoy (oye)
tomorrow···············mañana (mah-nia-na)
yesterday··············ayer (ahy-yehr)
vegetable··············vegetal (vegh-hay-tahl)
with ice/without ice···con hielo/sin hielo (cahn ee-ay-lo/seen ee-ay-lo)
fish····················· pescado (pay-scah-do)
meat····················carne (car-nay)
How much is it?········¿Cuán-to cues-ta? (cuahn-to cues-ta)
What time is it?········¿Qué hora es? (kay or-ah es)
water··················· agua (ah-guah)
a bottle of water······ una botella de agua (una bo-teya day ah-guah)
I am cold················ Tengo frío. (Tayng-go free-oh)
I am hot················· Tengo calor. (Tayng-go ka lor)
I am hungry············ Tengo hambre. (Tang-go ahm-bray)
I am thirsty············· Tengo sed. (Tayng-go sed)
I am a vegetarian····· Soy vegetariano/a. (soy veh-ghe-tar-ee-ah-no)
An “a” follows if you are female, on all feminine nouns or whenever you are describing a female.
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.