David Greer

How To Travel Like a Pirate! An Interview with David Greer

Some people like to plan everything down to the tiniest detail when they travel, and some prefer to be completely spontaneous. Where do you fall on the spectrum?

I love the feeling of spontaneity, but as a borderline control freak, I tend towards more detailed planning. A part of me always hopes that something doesn’t go quite as planned, though — it’s just more interesting that way!

You’ve been gifted an all-expenses-paid trip anywhere in the world–where do you go?

That depends a lot on the time frame, but I’d settle for a few weeks somewhere coastal towards the Southern part of Argentine Patagonia in November or December. Or, if allowed, I’d do an around-the-world trip with a stop in Patagonia!

What was your most memorable/unique travel experience?

Again, it’s hard to choose just one, but the 36-hour train ride that I took from Buenos Aires to Córdoba is memorable to me and definitely unique in the sense that most visitors to Argentina don’t even know the train exists. Somewhere between the haziness that comes with exhaustion, the constant mosquito ambushes from the open train windows, and the philosophical conversations that I found myself in with fellow train riders, I felt a sense of freedom that I hadn’t felt before.

What kind of trip/destination would you recommend for someone who has never traveled outside the US?

For the destination, it depends on that person’s interests, but I would recommend a place that the traveler already has a connection to — things like interest or ability in a language, historical knowledge of the place, friends with connections to the place, interest in the local cuisine, or anything like that — being a nation comprised almost entirely of immigrants, it’s not hard to find a connection via your own roots. As for the kind of trip, I would highly recommend staying away from only staying at all-inclusive resorts or taking full tours, not that I’m against that kind of thing. It’s just that, to me, the investment in planning and exploring gives you the chance to develop yourself and really enjoy life in a way that more luxury travel simply could never provide. This is especially true for someone traveling out of the US for the first time! If you go back home talking about the food at the resort, it’d be a good idea to try again.

Fill in the blank: When I travel to a new city, the first thing I like to do is ___________________

Take a (long) walk and stop somewhere for a coffee, a beer, or a meal.

Fill in the blank: When I discovered ________________ it made travel so much better

Completely sealable coffee mugs.

Fill in the blank: I know a lot of people love ______________ when traveling, but I hate it.

Getting to the airport early, regardless of how many dope lounges I have access to.

What was your longest trip?

Outside of living long-term in countries other than the US, I spent about six months slowly traveling from Uruguay to Peru.

What was your shortest trip?

I’ve taken lots of day trips, so ruling those and stopovers out, my shortest trip must have been a little under 24 hours in Dublin.

Tell us about a time when you felt like a pirate on your travels

Well, I always feel like a pirate while booking transportation for my trips. While traveling in Morocco, I’d say I felt pretty pirate-like. I traveled around using the train system and found rooftops to stay on when I got to each new city — it barely cost me anything at all, and I saw a lot!