Thirty-eight travelers waited in the first-floor reception room for our Best of Portugal Tour reception/dinner to start. In walked our Travel Director, Roberto. He greeted us with a “Hello everyone, go bananas to you.” This expression turned out to be his signature salutation. He repeated the word “banana” in one form or another three or four times per day using a Portuguese/Spanish accent. He told us that he kept himself energized by drinking 5-12 shots of expresso coffee throughout the day.
I looked around at the rest of the travelers. I thought it extremely humorous that Roberto used the idiom to welcome us. Was Roberto missing a few bananas short of a bunch? Paul, another traveler, jokingly asked Roberto if he was our “top banana for the tour.” Roberto replied, “absolutely.”
We had a very pleasant reception/dinner getting to know each other and talking about the countries that we came from, including, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong/China.
The next day we all boarded the bus and Roberto said, “Good Morning, let us go bananas.” Today we will tour our beautiful capital, Lisbon. You will get a view of Lisbon’s centuries old seafaring tradition and visit the UNESCO listed Hieronymite Monastery. This evening, we will have dinner amongst the soulful music sounds of Fado.
I sat next to Roberto and slipped into a conversation with him like a smooth banana peel. I said, “I am curious about your use of the word ‘bananas’.” Roberto said that he uses the word because it raises eyebrows and is “Muy Simpatico” to his travelers.
“I know my use of the word sounds silly, but it captures everyone’s fun spirit. I am fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and English. You will not find a universal word-for-word direct translation for the idiom “going bananas” that keeps the same meaning in the other languages that I speak. Americans and Canadians have an immediate affinity to slang phrases. Other foreign speakers also catch on quickly and enthusiastically.
Roberto was right. We fell in line with his expressions. We became accustomed to his use of slang like ridiculous “wakey, wakey” to wake us up on the bus and telling us that we needed to be ready for a totally banana kind of day.
As we drove toward Algarve, the southwestern part of Portugal Roberto said, “you have to be ripe and ready for adventure.” No kidding, as we reached Cape St. Vincent, the waves at Baleeira Beach were so high that not even experienced surfers were braving the water.
My fellow travelers, though, did not miss a beat. Particularly, one 85-year old woman, Marie, pushing herself around in a walker. She laughed and said, “when life gets challenging, go bananas.” We were a tough bunch of bananas that fell from the same tree. Marie had financed her Portugal tour with monies that she won from a Canadian lottery. She was not going to miss the captivating views of the coastal town rain or shine. We helped her get around the difficult spots on the beach.
By the end of the tour, we had become fully bananas and peeled. We were ready for another adventure. Christina from Washington DC texted everyone on What’s App and said, “bananas to everyone, let me know if you want to do a tour together next year.”
When I arrived home, I thought about my trip. Slang was obviously a terrific way to level up the conversation and make everything instantly more lighthearted while on the go. I will remember my Portugal trip fondly.