With maps, guide-books, time-tables and notebooks before us, we look up
the steamer lines and routes and decide when, where, and how to go.
(Good maps will be found in the railroad guide-books).
City newspapers publish once a week the lines of steamboats and their
times of sailing. The steamboat agents also furnish advertising matter
giving other necessary and interesting information.
When we have decided upon our route, we telegraph ahead for our
staterooms. Now let us plan for our baggage. What kind of a trunk must
we take? Why a steamer trunk? How large must this be? What will we do
with this trunk when we leave the boat? (We are advised to leave it and
part of its contents at the ship company's office. They will store it
until we are ready to take the return trip). How many pounds of baggage
are we allowed on the steamer?
What other baggage shall we take (hand bags)? Why not small trunks?
(Because every pound of baggage must be paid for in some countries.)
Many countries have not our convenient system of checking baggage. What
else will we need? (Traveling rugs.)
What clothes must we take? First, we must take warm clothes for steamer
wear, which may be packed away when we arrive. Then we must take
traveling suits for train wear, and thin clothing to use after arriving
at our destination.
We have promised friends at home that we will inform them of our safe
arrival immediately. How can we do this? By mail? Is there not a quicker
way? How many know of the cable? How many have ever sent a cablegram?
Can we cable from Puerto Rico? How much will it cost? Our guide-books
give us all this information.
We must have guide-books, phrase books, toilet articles and writing
materials. These should be packed in linen or canvas bags, because more
easily carried about than heavy leather satchels.
Our guide must be able to speak Spanish, for that is the language of the
Puerto Rican people.
If one of our party acts as guide, we must be careful to select a
polite, tactful, and, above all, a patient and good-natured person.
Why?--Because his patience will be severely taxed many times during this
trip.
Arriving at the city from which we are to sail, we visit points of
interest, the docks especially, and compare our steamer with others,
learning what we can about all the ships in the harbor.
If our lesson is well planned, we can accomplish a great deal the day we
sail.