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 agent had great response to questions and coordinated well to create an itinerary that met our expectations.
Bob Sunshine
1 day ago
Very responsive to all questions
Teresa Cardoso
2 days ago
Kelly and Rhenee were excellent to work with on planning our trip. The logistics all worked smoothly and everyone was friendly and on time. Our accommodations were very good, particularly the incredible Patagonia Camp in Torres del Paine! Our guides on every excursion were outstanding and made the hikes memorable! Overall we had a wonderful trip with incredible memories!
Scott Gibson
2 days ago
Adventure Life is definitely a first-class safari tour company, and our representative was Franny Friesz. First of all, she responded immediately after we contacted Adventure Life. We told Franny that we had never been on a safari, and she was more than eager to offer a mountain of information about the trip. She informed us fully about all the ups, downs, and all arounds! She even prepared a number of packages for us to review -- even after we made changes to the areas we wanted to explore. Friendly, helpful, professional, and extremely knowledgeable -- these words describe Franny, and what a wonderful trip she prepared! We couldn't have asked for better service than Franny of Adventure Life. We HIGHLY recommend her and her outstanding company! Bon Voyage!
Prima Burke
3 days ago
The staff at Adventure Life made planning my family's trip to the Galapagos Islands as easy as possible. They listened to what we were hoping to experience and made thoughtful suggestions about how to accomplish our vacation goals while meeting the needs of travelers ages 17-76! They patiently answered questions and follow up questions in the months leading up to the trip. They helped us trouble shoot and customize the trip in every way possible. The logistics involved in traveling from Boston to the Galapagos are innumerable. The Adventure Life staff helped us arrange every detail and the team they assembled in the Galapagos was tremendous. I have never done a trip this big before and after working with Adventure Life this time--would not hesitate one second in working with them again.