Conclusion of Trinidad and Tobago

Overall, my trip to Trinidad and Tobago was a tremendous success. I learned all that I came to learn, and I saw all I needed to see. My favorite part was the variety of food that I got to eat. But, mostly I liked the subdued island feel that all the tourists desire. But, the culture was not too subdued in order to not be exciting. I liked my whole trip. There were not any travel disasters neither were there any sicknesses. I got to see all the countries that I was assigned and I got to spend adequate time in each one. Lastly I would gladly go back to each one of them.

The Pitch Lake

Trinidad and Tobago day 2

A steel band

Today, I woke up feeling relaxed and well rested. I decided to go get some breakfast. For breakfast, I had some sliced fruit with coffee. After breakfast, I decided to go back to the same park as the day before in order to see some more good music. The band at the park was playing some delightful african folk music with some parang songs too. Parang is a mix between african and spanish music. The next band up was playing soca music. Soca is a mix between calypso and indian melodies. They also played a rapso song. Rapso is calypso influenced by reggae. Then, they played some chutney. Chutney is based off of traditional Indian wedding music. Lastly, they played a finale song that was soca-chutney. The indian music in Trinidad and Tobago has surged in popularity ever since Bollywood movies have gone global. Also, more Christian/Hindu music has started creeping in since Canadian missionaries came to the islands and converted many Hindus. Bollywood has also played a part in the popularity surge for indian dancing. But, waltzes and ballets are still favored by the higher classes. The higher classes usually are in the oil business or asphalt. Trinidad is home to the largest asphalt bog in the world. Also, the islands are the United States’s largest importer of liquefied natural gas as well as being home to the largest methanol plant in the world. After sitting in the park, I ate some curried chicken, potatoes, chickpeas, and flatbread for lunch. After lunch, I went and grabbed a nice, cold, refreshing ginger beer. Then, I went down to a theater and watched a long play in which the african dance, the bele was performed. In the mid-afternoon, I had to check out of my hotel and drive to the airport. But I went and got a goodbye meal of chow mein before I boarded my flight back to America.

Trinidad and Tobago day 1

Port-of-Spain

Today, I woke up in my hotel in Port-of Spain. I went for a small walk down the road to a school and listened in on what was being taught. To my astonishment, the children were learning about african folk stories. I sat and listened to the teacher talk about the stories and what lessons they hold for all of us. Then, I decided to go hunting for breakfast. On my way to breakfast, I was surprised by how religiously diverse the country is. I saw a Mosque, a Hindu temple, and a Church on the road I was taking. For breakfast, I had coffee and a banana. I noticed that it was past eight A.M. and yet most of the stores were closed. One local explained to me that it is a phenomenon called “Trinidad Time.” I deduced that the event is just habitual lateness. Also, I noticed that “jus’ now” means “in a little while.” After breakfast, I went to a small park and watched some students act out In A Free State to go take a long rest at my hotel., by V.S. Naipaul. The story is about Trinidadian settlers in Great Britain. Naipaul won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2001. After the park, I went to another park where a steel band was playing. The musicians can make different notes by pounding steel pans. Since the 1940s, the bands have used steel oil drums to make their instruments. Later, there was another band who played some calypso music. Calypso was created at first to make fun of slavers. Calypso music is highly rhythmic in nature and are led by a vocalist called a calypsonian. Next, I went and ate lunch. I had stewed chicken, white rice, red beans, fried plantains, and some refreshing ginger beer that cleansed my jumbled up mind. After lunch, I was dog tired and decided

Intro to Trinidad and Tobago

Piarco International Airport

I am on the approach into Piarco international airport on Trinidad. This entry will be the intro for the last of the three countries that I have been assigned to investigate by National Geographic. Here is what I know. The island Nation is the largest and most populated in the Southern Caribbean. Trinidad was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1498. Tobago was in the hands of France, Spain, The Netherlands, Britain, and Courland (modern Latvia). The island changed hands 22 times. Great Britain gained Trinidad in 1797 and Tobago in 1814. Trinidad is separated from Venezuela by the two ten mile wide straits of the Dragon’s Tongue and the Serpent’s Tongue. In modern times, the British abolished slavery and brought in workers from India to replace the slaves. Now, the country has a diverse population of Spaniards, Brits, Afros, and Indians. There are no surviving members of the indigenous population. Oil was discovered off the coasts of both islands in 1910 and since has become a major part of the economy. I hope to learn more about the music and dancing.

Conclusion of Peru

I really liked Peru. The country was so captivating, even the name sounds exotic. I wish that I could have stayed longer, but I have a job to do that limits my stay in each country. In all honesty, I liked touring all the old buildings and eating the good food. At many points in Peru, I just wanted to sit down and soak in the entire country. But, I had to keep moving because I only had two days to eat, see, and hear everything I wanted. Lastly, I enjoyed being along the coast of the country and then moving up into the Andes Range where I could experience the mountain culture.

Machu Pichu

Peru day 2

Cuzco is a World Heritage Site too

Today, I landed in Cuzco and went to the hotel. After a long rest, I ambled through town. Cuzco was once a great cultural center and capital of the Inca empire. The city is said to have originally be built in the shape of a Puma. For breakfast I was not hungry so I grabbed some coffee and headed off on my excursion to Machu Picchu. The sprawling mountain-top city provided a great vista to look down from. Not surprisingly, there were lots of llamas there. There were also a plethora of natives playing pan flutes and dancing. There were less armed guards around the site despite the problem of shining path militants. For awhile I sat and watched the flute players dance around . I also watched the llamas. Then, I ate the lunch I had packed. I ate a Peruvian-Japanese dish of tiraditos, thin fish with sauces. I also had causa, filled potato puree rolls. After lunch, I drove back to Cuzco in time to go see some of the ancient buildings. The most impressive detail of the buildings was how the boulders used to build the buildings fit together and stuck without cement or mortar. These buildings were likely used to perform religious ceremonies. The Koricancha was a temple with pure gold painted on the walls which the Spaniards plundered and took to Spain. Many of the Incas were killed just prior to Pizarro’s arrival due to a civil war. The estimated population of Cuzco at his arrival is roughly 200,000. Plus, a lot of the population died off after smallpox was introduced. Finally I ate dinner. For dinner I had anticuchos, marinated and grilled beef heart on sticks. The meal was actually quite delicious. For dessert I had sliced fruit. Finally, I drove to the airport to catch my flight to Trinidad and Tobago.

Peru day 1

Lima's coastline

I woke up in my hotel in Lima and decided to go out for breakfast. At breakfast, I had the national dish of Peru, ceviche, Seabass marinated in lime juice served with chilies, boiled potato, and boiled corn. As a drink, I had a Peruvian soda called “Inca Kola.” Then, I went for a walk. On my walk, I saw a couple of American tourists complaining about how they could not go to the Andes slopes because they were scared of the paramilitary group “Shining Path.” Shining Path is a militant group who started fighting the Peruvian government in the 1980s. The insurgency of Shining Path has cost over 30,000 lives. The conversation made me notice armed soldiers appearing every once in  awhile as I walked. After an hour or so, I ended back up at my hotel where I checked out and made my way toward somewhere to eat lunch. I eventually found a small restaurant on a quiet corner of old town. The lunch was a delight to all the senses. My lunch was a modest meal of cod fish and chicha morada, a non-alcoholic drink made from purple corn cobs. Next to me was a local drinking maize beer. After lunch, I kept walking through town on my way to the airport.  On my way, I spotted a family of serranos, poor Amerindians who live with their families. The Amerindians moved into Lima in the 1950s. Many of the poorer families work in the fish processing plants or the factories that surround downtown. Even now you can see how encomienda is still around. The lower castes are still poor, mestizos are still the bulk of the middle of the middle class, and the higher classes are made up of unmixed europeans. In Callao, I stopped and ate dinner. For the first course, I ate arroz chaufa, rice with fried egg and swordfish along with some fried calamari. From the restaurant, I hopped on my flight to Cuzco.

Intro to Peru

I am writing this entry on my approach into Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru. I am on my excursion into three South American countries that I will study. Here is a run-down of what I know and most look forward to. Francisco Pizarro arrived in Peru in the 1500s and discovered the Incas. The Incas were established in the 1200s and were one of the most advanced ancient civilizations in the Western Hemisphere. Pizarro had heard about the Incas from a native tribe in Panama. In the 1530s, Pizarro conquered the Incas in the name of Spain. He also founded Peru’s national capital, Lima. Peru has been governed by the military at numerous times. Currently, the military has unlimited power but is not in charge on paper. On my trip, I hope to learn more about the Andes Mountains; and to learn more about Peruvian culture. I anticipate that I will part with Peru as a more cultured person with more knowledge about life outside the United States.

Jorge Chavez International Airport

Conclusion of Nicaragua

All in all, I liked every part of my first two days of the trip. After I arrived back in Managua, I boarded my plane to Peru. I liked the volcano especially because I could see for miles upon miles. I was disappointed upon leaving because I could not stay for an important holiday. I would have liked to see the parades and floats. But, all good things must end eventually. The country was quite nice despite being one of the poorest in South America. I liked seeing the sparkling water of the Caribbean and Lakes Managua and Nicaragua.

One of the fishing boats in Bluefields

Nicaragua day 2

Bluefields is home to some extremely poor neighborhoods

Day 2: Today, I arrived in Bluefields. Bluefields is located on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua. The atlantic coast was once a British protectorate. So, it is no wonder how the music there was influenced by the slaves brought in from other parts of the expansive British Empire. I ate some yucca (roots of a desert plant) and corn-on-the-cob for my late breakfast and decided to go see some indigenous culture. In the autonomous region of the coast, there has lately been political unrest. While a British protectorate, the (aptly named) mosquito coast’s indigenous population (miskitos) were given weapons in order to fight the Spanish in the region. Even now, the Miskitos seek independence. A group of Miskito elders recently declared the independence of a new nation called the “Community Nation of Moskitia.” The political unrest expands when one mentions how most of the Miskitos were eager to join the Contra rebels in order to bring down the Sandinista government in 1979. The newest conflict is the prices of local lobsters. The area I went to is one of the poorest areas in one of the poorest countries in South America. Pretty much every house was a lean-to under a tree of some sort. Plus, the unemployment rate is over 75%. I decided to stop in on a local group of unemployed fishermen gathered together for an afternoon break from idling. They were drinking tiste and coffee. They were arguing about what to do about being unemployed. One of them mentioned what another fisherman said about the lobsters: “Those lobsters should be ours anyway.” To investigate, I headed down to the docks. I was astonished by what I saw. Almost every fishing boat was in port. A major sign of an economic slump. On my way back, I saw a group of locals celebrating independence by singing the new Moskitia national anthem.

Nicaragua day 1

The Cathedral in Leon is an official UNESCO World Heritage Site

Day 1: Today, I left my hotel and headed west to Leon. Leon was the home of the liberals. The liberals fought the conservatives of Granada until a filibuster named William Walker of Nashville, Tennessee, invaded and took power in a flash after being invited by the liberals of Leon. But, the atlantic coast was in British hands until 1890. William Walker was later executed in Honduras. During the drive, I drank “tiste”, a blend of corn, cinnamon, and cacao. Tiste is a good example of how the country relies so heavily on agriculture. On the drive, there were many fields of peas and rice. The spanish introduced rice to icaragua after they settled the country. One of the favorite national dishes is rice and peas. The city of Leon is home to 139,000 people. The city is the second largest in terms of residents. Leon is the capital of the region also called Leon. The region is home to highlands that reach heights exceeding four thousand feet. Running through the town is a small creek that starts in the volcanoes that loom in the distance. The locals celebrate their patron saint once per year. The town is centered on agriculture. Leon is one of the many large towns in the west. After Leon, I travelled to the nearby volcano of Montomobo. From 4,199 ft., one could catch a good glimpse of Lake Managua and The city of Managua. Back in town, there was a baptism. I decided to go since it would likely be a good example of local culture. At the baptism, the child’s parents were there. Also attending were the child’s godparents; who serve as mentors throughout their god-children’s childhood. Godparents are a part of the Nicaraguan society based on family and fictional kinship. For lunch, I ate Nacatamales, which are tomales which are steamed and wrapped in leaves. In the late afternoon, I started flying to my next stop, Bluefields. The trip would have taken over twenty hours in a car. But we made it to the hotel safe and sound in a helicopter.

Intro to Nicaragua

           I am writing this blog on my approach into Sandino International Airport in Managua, Nicaragua. I am on a grant from National Geographic to do research in three South American countries: Nicaragua, Peru, and Trinidad & Tobago. My first stop is Nicaragua. What I know: Nicaragua is the largest central American country besides Mexico. There are two large lakes in the country: Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua, they are connected by the Tipitapa river. In one of the lakes, there is an island which is a volcano. The Atlantic coast is called the “Mosquito Coast” and was colonized by Great Britain. The country is predominantly Roman Catholic and poverty is not uncommon. I am excited to explore the geography of the country. I have heard that there are many volcanoes in the country worth seeing. I also hope that I will be able to sample some of the fine cuisine there.

Sandino International Airport