Search query: america jamie gray
Product: Penguins & Panamas: a cruise around South America
Description: Life is crammed to the brim with decisions, some are important, most are not.
Penguins and Panamas invites the reader to take part in the personal journey that the author hopes will answer the most important question he’s ever had to consider...
“Now that I’ve retired what the hell am I going to do with all this spare time?”
He imagines that he might end up in some mundane domestic routine laid out for him, so acting on an impulse he books a bargain priced vacation, a luxury cruise around South America, seeing it as an opportunity to think things through for himself.
Not knowing what to expect he sets off with his ‘dear lady’ on this holiday of a lifetime, twelve glorious weeks of sun, sea, sand and some strange fellow passengers.
As the journey progresses so does his love of writing, and he fills his journal with anecdotes derived from his entertaining fellow travelers, along with the many unusual adventures the two of them have with new friends Jeff and Pru.
Along the way really important issues are addressed, like...
‘Why it’s almost impossible to get a vegetarian meal in Montevideo’,
‘What are the consequences of slating Maggie Thatcher in the Falklands’, and
‘Why the beer in Valparaiso is so addictive’.
The truth is finally revealed on how to haggle for the ultimate taxi fare, and why wearing a hard hat should be just as important as bug repellent when cruising the Amazon.
The story also introduces the reader to the delights of thirty seven different locations around South America and the Caribbean, relaying details of some of the more interesting places, events and things to do, both on and off the ship.
By the end the author has unwittingly discovered that, unlike the earlier phases of his life, retirement doesn’t always need a lot of planning, it should just be enjoyed.

Penguins and Panamas is based on an actual cruise the author took in 2013, and dispenses his humorous observations on how the many diverse personalities behave when confined to a tin box, in the middle of a vast ocean for days at a time...including himself.
Although a work of fiction, the ports and attractions are described accurately. Some of the proceedings are influenced by actual events, and although he believes certain individuals don’t deserve to remain anonymous, the characters themselves are purely derived from the author’s imagination.
ESCI relevance label: I