Eating Around the World

During our six and a half year circumnavigation in Dolphin Spirit we visited 56 countries and ate in 50 of them. The only time we were ever sick was after eating at a McDonalds in Egypt - that exotic food will get you every time.

In fact that bit about exotic food is totally untrue. After having lived and worked in more than 100 countries over more than 30 years, I have had food poisoning just three times, the above incident being the second. The third was in France where I dined one night on fish soup followed by fish in puff pastry.

I attribute my survival to one simple rule - eat the food of the country you are in. In Sudan I ate lamb tartare (minced raw lamb) regularly, with occasional side dishes of sheep eyes and testicles, and suffered no ill effects. When in Brazil, I ate lamb tartare at an Arab restaurant, and spent the next two days unable to leave a bathroom. That was the first food poisoning, and the one from which I developed the "eat local" rule.

Dealing With Immigration and Customs Around the World

We sailed around the world in our Mason 53 Dolphin Spirit for six and a half years, visiting 56 countries, so developed a good knowledge of the requirements of checking into and out of countries, and a simple rule for dealing with officialdom:

"You are in their country; the rules are their rules; so smile, do what you are told without complaint, or leave."

Checking in and out of a country when you arrive in your own boat involves various combinations of Health, Immigration, Customs, Customs Police, Agriculture, Port Captain, Port Police and Beach Police. In some countries, e.g. Sri Lanka, add the Navy. Plane and cruise-liner arrivals have things much easier, dealing only with Immigration and Customs and occasionally Health.