Living Aboard in Spain

I like living aboard in Spain. In Port d’Andratx, I’m two minutes away from the friendly fruit and vegetable market whose owners greet me with a ‘Hola’ and a smile each day. They correct my bad attempt at Spanish pronunciation of words such as ‘tomate’, ‘pimiento’, ‘pepino’ and ‘lechuga’ for my 'ensalada' and teach me new words that I forget before the day is over. Yet, some of it sticks and together with hand signals and the odd sketch on a paper napkin, I’m now able to make myself understood in my daily life. I try not to speak English if possible, even though most of the shop owners and restaurant waiters are multilingual. They have to be, to run a business and I often hear them switch from German to English, then to Spanish and also their native Mallorquin within the span of a couple of minutes according to the nationality or preference of each customer. As for me, learning a new language is one of the thrills of cruising.