Day 3
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| SS Stavronikita |
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| Fish I saw while scuba diving |
Monday, February 2, 2015
Barbados Day 3
Barbados Day 2
Day 2
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| Cou Cou and Flying Fish |
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| Cricket in my neighborhood |
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| Conkies |
Today I woke up to the sound of people laughing and yelling. When I ended up looking out my window, I saw they were playing cricket. Cricket is a national pastime. My house is in a Bajan village, so I assumed it was the people that lived in the village that were playing. After I got dressed, I went outside and asked if I could play. They were not super eager to have to explain how to play cricket, but they were nice and let me play. Cricket is similar to baseball in the way that you hit a ball with a bat. But in cricket after you hit the ball, you run in between the two home bases instead of running to 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and home base in baseball. Also, you can hit the ball wherever you want, including backwards. So when it was my turn to play, I ended up being horrible and only got one point for my team. I am bad at baseball, so this makes sense. At about halfway through the game, one of the Bajans invited us over for lunch. It was a delicious meal. There was mauby to drink. Mauby is local tree bark that is boiled, then sweetened, and lastly strained. To eat, there was conkies, cou cou and flying fish, and Bajan candied sweet potatoes. Conkies are stuffed banana leaves. The stuffing includes coconut, corn flour, and pumpkin. Cou Cou and Flying Fish is Barbados’s national dish. It is steamed or fried flying fish with okra and corn meal seasoned with salt and pepper and a special Bajan spicy sauce. Lastly, the Bajan candied sweet potatoes are mashed sweet potatoes covered with pineapple and a dusting of brown sugar. This was a most delicious feast and I would certainly love to eat it again.
Barbados Day 1
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| Chalky Mountain Pottery |
Day 1
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| Jug I bought |
Barbados Intr
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| Old Sugar Plantation |
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| Barbados |
Barbados
Barbados is an island located in the Caribbean, known for its sugar. Barbados was created 70 million years ago. It was colonized by Britain, resulting in the majority of the population being Anglican. Also, unlike the other countries I have visited, Barbados’s national language is English, also from being colonized by Britain. The name barbados means bearded fig trees, which used to be plentiful on the island. The average temperature is 75-90 degrees fahrenheit. Barbados has a free educational system and has a 97% literacy rate, which is incredible. One cool fact about Barbados is that they do not have daylight savings time.
Honduras Day 3
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| White Water Rafting down Rio Cangrejal |
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| Mayan Ruins |
Day 3
My final day in Honduras. My flight leaves late at night so I still had time to do some more incredible things. Before I came, I heard that the forests in Honduras are a must-see. I headed off to Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve. I picked a tour where I hiked through the forests and I got to see Mayan ruins that Christopher Columbus had stumbled upon. The tour started off by hiking through the forested hills. It is one of the best preserved ecosystems in the world. There was a huge variety of sounds ranging from birds chirping to frogs and crickets croaking. We got to look down from the top of a hill and it was a spectacular sight. We walked a little bit longer and then we came up on the Mayan ruins. They resembled pyramids, except they were not smooth and had stairs running up the sides. There were also statues of mayan gods. On the sides of tables, there were intricate designs of people talking to one another. There were moss and lichen stuck to the ruins and was lined all the way to the top. After this tour I did another one called Rio Cangrejal. It was a river that you go white water rafting down. It was extremely fun. There were rocks diffused throughout the river causing fear of being hit. Also there were unexpected drops and high-speed turns. After the fun ride, I packed my stuff and went to the airport. Honduras was fascinating with their sights and culture.
Honduras Day 2
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| Our Doll Exploding |
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| Año Viejo Doll |
Day 2
New Year’s Eve. Año Viejo. I got up and walked down to the market area and I noticed everyone was in a rush. I asked one of the stall managers and he told me that everyone was having a huge celebration tonight for New Year’s. He was extremely nice and he introduced me to his friend Juan, and he took me down to his community. He let me help with preparing the meal consisting of mainly tamales, fried bananas, beans, and rice. He said he has a surprise for me so I followed him. I noticed everyone had fireworks so I assumed they were doing fireworks for New Years and I was partially correct. Hondurans put a slight spin on it and stuff all their fireworks in a lifesize doll. It looked like an old man and Juan explained that the teens who created him made him an old man because it represented the year about to end. It also represents all the bad memories of the year and they were going to blow them up. Around 10 PM, we began to eat. One of the Hondurans said a prayer in Spanish before we ate, then we began. The food was extremely tasty. The food smelled of allspice and chili powder. It had a wonderful aroma. After eating for about an hour, we began to gather everyone outside. Finally it was 11:58. The community surprised me and gave me the honor of lighting the doll on fire. I was so thankful for the honor and was shocked they would give such a high honor to someone they just met. When 12 struck, I lit it and sprinted back to the crowd because there were probably as many fireworks in that doll as there is in a whole fireworks stand. The sounds and lights were amazing. Ours went for about two minutes of constant light and sounds. We also heard other communities’ doll being blown up. After ours was done, I went back to my hotel and went to sleep.
Honduras Day 1
Day 1
Once again, as I walked out the airport in Tegucigalpa, I hear Spanish. But to backtrack for a second, the landing in Tegucigalpa gave me a bit of shock. As we neared the airport we had to weave in and out of the mountains and had to make a huge last-second turn right before landing. But to get back on track, first, I converted some US dollars into Honduran Lempiras. Today is December 30. I stayed at La Delphina Bed and Breakfast. The drive from the airport was lined with bright green trees. Also, while I was in the taxi, I saw a group of kids playing soccer in the streets. Soccer is the national sport of Honduras, as it is with many Spanish speaking countries. On the way to my hotel, the taxi driver mentioned to me a life-changing attraction where you can swim with whale sharks. I kept this in mind for later. My hotel is right on the beach. Once I got to my room, I have a beautiful view of the ocean from my balcony. As I mentioned earlier, my taxi driver mentioned that I could swim with whale sharks. So, I became extremely excited and got another taxi to drive me over. The place is actually a resort built on the beach. So I strolled
into the front door and ask the concierge about it. She lead me to the worker that does the tours. He introduces himself as Hernando. On the boat ride out, Hernando explained to me about how whale sharks are actually friendly and they are stereotyped as mean because of their size. When we got to the spot, we both dove in and he lead me underwater. I followed him and I saw the most phenomenal thing ever. I saw a shark the size of a whale, hence the name, whale shark. I swam beside it and observed it eat and it was truly amazing. After a little bit, Hernando told me that my time was up and we needed to go back, so reluctantly I swam back up to the boat. When we got back to the resort, I thanked Hernando for all he taught me and for taking me, and I go back to my hotel. I was so exhausted from swimming that as soon as I got into bed I was fast asleep.
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| Swimming with Whale Sharks |
Honduras Intro
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| Honduran Banana Farm |
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| Honduras |
Honduras
Honduras is a Spanish speaking country located in Central America. The majority of the 8.4 million Hondurans are Roman Catholic. 90% of the population is mestizo, a mix of Spanish and native. Honduras has 4 regions. The northern coastal region, the mountain slopes, the central highlands, and the Pacific lowlands. The northern coastal region is known for its sandy loam creating plentiful bananas, rice, and corn. The mountain slopes have a scattered population running on logging the forested slopes. The central highlands are rugged mountains interspersed with fertile valleys. Lastly, the Pacific lowlands are used for cattle farming. The average temperature in Honduras is about 61-67 degrees fahrenheit. Lastly, if you are Honduran, family and religion come first.
Venezuela Day 3
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| José and I with the Marlin |
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| Fishing Of La Guaria |
Day 3
I am so sad today is my last day in beautiful Caracas. But I shall not fret because today, I am going fishing off the coast of La Guaria with the Venezuelan natives. La Guaria is known for it’s amazing fishing. Marlin is famously caught here. The drive from Caracas to La Guaria is about 40 min. Once I got there I saw tons of tours to go fishing. I chose one of them with a man called José. José was extremely friendly, similar to most Venezuelans. We began our journey by going pretty far out to a place that has been in the family for generations. The ship is pretty wide and is two decks. We had huge fishing poles. I cast my line out and waited. I waited for about 30-45 min before I had a bite. While I was waiting, José was talking to me about the history of Venezuela and his favorite places to eat. As soon as I got the bite, José rushed over and guided me on what to do. He told me to let the fish swim out a little bit, then draw him back in slowly. He also constantly reminded me to watch the tension on the pole so it does not break. After about 30 min of doing this the marlin began to tire and I was able to get it close enough to the boat for José to trap it in his net and pull it up. It began to flop around until José and I got a good grip on him. We took a picture and sailed back to shore. When we got back to shore, José scaled and gutted the fish. He made Marlin sushi and offered me some. It tasted a bit chewy but overall, great. He also had smoked marlin which tasted even better. After this, I bade José farewell, I got a taxi to my hotel and then to the airport. Venezuela was a fun and exciting country.
Venezuela Day 2
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| Diablos Danzantes De Yare |
Day 2
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| Jésus |
I woke up to the sounds of honking and people speaking Spanish. Today is a very important day for Venezuelans. Today is Corpus Christi. Corpus Christi is a celebration of the belief of Jesus. It also is a representation of good vs evil. I was so excited to be able to take part in the Diablos Danzantes, the devil dances. This celebration is once a year and is commemorated by the city of San Francisco de Yare dressing up as devils and having a humongous feast. After about a 1 hour drive from Caracas, I finally arrive. The natives have been working on these costumes all year. While I walked around and admired the preparation for the festival, I met a man named Jésus. He spoke enough English to be able to explain to me about their festival. He took me to his area. He showed me his costume and lets me try it on. It was basically a red shirt and pants with an elaborately painted devil-like mask( it looks similar to a dragon). The procession started at the edge of the village and works it’s way through towards the church. Once we got to the church the devils danced and we ate bread and drank wine. This is a life-changing experience for any Catholic out there. After today, I am once again tired and can’t wait for my next life-changing experience tomorrow. Buenas Noches.
Venezuela Day 1
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| La Estancia |
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| Venezuela Soccer Stadium |
As I strolled out the airport on June 3, I was greeted by Spanish and taxis. The first thing I did is convert some American dollars into Venezuelan Bolivares. After this, I rented a taxi to go to my hotel to drop my things off. I stayed at Mini Apartamentos El Paraiso Caracas. It is only 1.4km from downtown Caracas. On the way there I saw vibrant and colorful favelas, built on the sides of mountains. As I near the city, I saw towering skyscrapers and people walking up and down the sidewalks. Once I finally arrived, I was amazed at the view from my apartment. I could see the lush mountains towering over the city and buildings. I have heard that steak dominates Venezuelan cuisine so I headed over to La Estancia as they are well known for their authenticity. It is located in a hacienda with a wood interior. After I finished the juicy steak, I headed over to the soccer stadium to watch Honduras vs. Venezuela. The outside of the stadium was bright and lively. The inside was even brighter, filled with Venezuelans excited for the match. I got to hear and participate in Venezuelan chants and soccer traditions. I left the match disappointed for the score was Honduras 2 Venezuela 1. Exhausted from my 7 hour flight and watching a great game of soccer, I am ready to go to sleep and recharge for tomorrow’s day of adventures, so
Hasta Mañana.
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| View from my apartment |
Venezuela Intro
Venezuela
Venezuela is located in South America’s Northern region. It’s capital is Caracas. Venezuela is about the size of France and Germany combined. Tall mountains, including the world’s tallest waterfall, Angel Falls, extensive jungles, and rivers all create a diverse and interesting Venezuelan ecosystem. Venezuela is made up of four regions, encompassing highlands, lowlands, plains, and the Guyana region. The West is dominated by highlands, the East consists of lowlands, and the south is made up of plains and the Guyana region. Venezuelans are mainly Roman Catholic, a religion practiced widely throughout Southern and Central America. Even though Venezuela has widespread poverty and a $12,200 per capita GDP, Venezuelans are friendly, cordial, and live in an amazing country full of exotic animals and sights to see.
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| Angel Falls |
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