paused on Pine Island

[amw]

Since getting to Florida, more and more of my days have been consumed with trying to find somewhere to stay. I have pretty much boycotted Airbnb for years because i think it's an engine of gentrification, but now i am checking it regularly to see if i can find an alternative or affordable spot to stay overnight. I am checking Hipcamp. I am checking

Comments

[meowmensteen]

I know Puerto Rico is going through some things right now, but it might be a cool place to check out, and it's still in the US, but you'll be able to speak Spanish.

If you want to check out some cool bird, I hear Trinidad and Tobago is a great place to go.

It sucks that Mexico and Central America are going through so much crap right now. You'd have to do a lot of research to find a safe route to travel in those parts.

South America in general could be cool. Obviously there's shit going on in some of the northern countries right now, but it could be cool to check out Chile or Argentina. In fact, I wonder if it's possible to do the whole coast line of Chile?? I have no idea, I'm just spewing out stuff from my head. I want to go look at a road map of Chile now...

[olamina]

I feel like she mentioned she doesn't speak Spanish....

[amw]

I speak un poco! I think it's a good idea to go somewhere cheaper but perhaps more safe where Spanish is spoken everywhere - then i could spend a month in "immersion" and be more prepared to tackle more challenging places. That said, i'm not sure PR is necessarily the "easy route", if they're still recovering from recent hurricanes.

[amw]

I do wonder about how sketchy Mexico and the Central American countries really are. I mean, on one hand, you hear about tourists getting kidnapped, sometimes caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting, all that awful stuff. But on the other hand i am quite sure plenty of people are still going down there and having the times of their lives, even outside of the resorts. And in those countries, local people are still living their lives, middle class people with iPhones and college degrees and white collar jobs. So it's not a total collapse of society. But... all that said i would really prefer to have better Spanish fluency before going too far afield in a country that has the potential to get dicey

[spiffikins]

It was confusing to me that you are in the "high season" for camping - with "peak" season being December to March - but I guess it makes sense when the summers in Florida are insanely hot and sticky, and people are looking for somewhere warm to be in the winter!

Are there websites where boats advertise spots for crew - something a bit more organized than walking up to people at docks and looking for a berth? Probably not what you want if you're wanting to be more spontaneous :D

Personally while I love the water, I couldn't work on a boat since I get low-key seasick on anything smaller than a drive-on ferry - and even sometimes on those :D

If you are camping in a tent over the winter, finding a dry spot is probably almost more important than warm. Cold is uncomfortable, but cold and wet is terrible.

[amw]

There are indeed several websites where boats advertise for crew, but the trouble is most of the guys are already off in whichever island, so it's hard to really vet a skipper because you can't talk in person... and even if you did, flying to some remote island you're putting a lot of trust in that person waiting around for you. Of course, this is for recreational/volunteer crew and not paid work. But paid work i don't have the youth or experience that most places are looking for.

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[newwaytowrite]

It really does point out the reality that to travel in the USA in a free spirited way is only for certain modes of transport, with certain types of budget and a limited palate. The so called rugged individualism and explorer narrative has all but died for travellers.

[amw]

I think you can still do it if you are in the west, but it definitely feels like it's harder now than it was - say - 50 years ago. Now it seems you either need to really be a full-blown bum (stealth camping, gas jugging, hitchhiking etc) or significantly more cashed up than the average person. The middle seems to have fallen out, if that makes sense.

[olamina]

It seems too soon to stop biking across the US.

Also I feel like being at sea requires more prep (physical and mental) and maybe some marketable skill (would you wash dishes? Be an apprentice? Cook?)

Are you at all considering getting over to Europe or do you want to wait until weather is better and COVID dies down?

[amw]

I don't think i would look for a paid job on a boat at this stage. I don't really have the skills, and as a tattooed 40-something i am not really desireable for charters or superyacht crew. But there are people who liveaboard on their own boats and take on recreational crew to help them sail around. Then i still have to pay my own way food-wise, but the accommodation is exchange for doing night shift and helping out with cooking, dishes and odd jobs.

Europe would be pretty great. But i do want to try to minimize my number of ocean crossings, by plane at least, just for carbon footprint reasons. I feel like if i head over there it should be for a longer period again.