Peru: Breathtaking...literally

The first stop on our South American adventure was Peru! Peru is a very bio-diverse country, comprising of coasta (arid coast), sierra (mountain ranges, the Andes), and selva (the amazon and jungle) environments. We got a chance to visit two of them; the seirra during our stay in Cusco and visit to Machu Picchu and the selva during our cruise along the Amazon rainforest.

The second I caught sight of the Amazon, I fell in love: its sheer beauty, the fact that it seems like it goes on forever, the cute villagers and Amazonian women, the sounds of the jungle, and the beautiful crisp blue cloudy skies. We started our trip in Iquitos, meaning surrounded by water, where were boarded our Amazonian cruise ship for the next three days. It was modern and organic, the most perfect oasis from the hot city, busy with the hustle and bustle of motor taxis, much like the ones in Thailand called tuctucs. Most of our time in the Amazon was spent exploring the vast river and spotting wildlife. We got a chance to go on four excursions, twice a day, where we did a variety of activities. 

The first day we went on a general boat ride through a few of the Amazon's many tributaries, sighting many types of birds, sloths, and even pink dolphins. Next we went on a village tour where we got to meet the people of an Amazonian village. It was such a cute village. The houses were built on stilts because the water level rose by up to 21 feet in the rainy months. You could see the water mark on the houses, some lines went higher than windows and doors, making it nearly impossible to live in the villages when the water level was high. There were around 40 families living in the village we visited, some more hard working than others, managing to build houses with walls while others settled for a more open house look. The families had a lot of children, sometimes even up to 14 kids in one household. The population was rapidly rising due to lack of birth control and education but recently organizations have started educating and providing birth control methods for the families in Peru. The families would drink water from the lake: they got a bucket of water from it and then would wait for the sediment to settle at the top and then drink the other part. As one would assume, this is not the healthiest method for getting water but that is all they had. Young children often would get sick due to the unsanitary water but they would get used to it in the first couple years of their lives. At the village I met a really cute girl that wanted to hold my hand. She was adorable and even remembered my name. It reminded me of the little girls I know from The Taft Elementary School back home where I tutor. We then gave them school supplies and they gave us a mini Spanish lesson, I really enjoyed it. We also got a chance to have a canoe ride across the lake and see the breathtaking sunset. The next day we went on a jungle walk, and really the main thing I took away from this certain experience were mosquito bites! I enjoyed the afternoon much more when we caught (at least attempted to catch) pirañas and caymans. I even got to carry one!! I absolutely LOVED my time on the Amazon. 

Our second stop in Peru was Cusco where we visited Machu Picchu. Not only was Machu Picchu spectacular, but so was Cusco. This beautiful city at 15,000 ft served as the capital of the Incan empire until the Spanish took over. The streets made of cobblestone and decorated with native bright colors were so beautiful. I really enjoyed the little shops with llama sweaters and alpaca wool since I got to pick a couple to take home:) Taking little time to get accustom to the altitude, which ended up not being such a problem, we went to Machu Picchu our first full day in Cusco. Built in 50 years, Machu Pichu was one of 82 Incan cities. In order to build so many cities of great size, the empire utilized a system called the Mita system. According to our guide, it was almost a type of slavery due to its heavy labor demand. Connected by 8 Inca trails to other large cities  Machu Picchu was home to around 300-500 people. Sadly, the Incans only stayed in this beautiful city for a few decades due to the fear of the Europeans, and due to lack of food and the ability to efficiently farm. Even though the conquistadors never found the city in the clouds, Incans left the city quickly, also due to lack of food and the ability to efficiently farm. The Incans left behind an archeological wonder, which was discovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham found to have many deep celestial, deeper meanings. Almost everything in the city was thought out according to the stars and other Incan myths. For example, the Incans believed in three worlds: the underworld, represented by the snake, life, represented by the puma, and the celestial world, represented by the condor  Everywhere around Machu Picchu, you can see windows, doors, etc in threes representing the three worlds. In addition, the entires structure of Machu Picchu forms the shape of a condor and the city of Cusco forms the shape of a puma. I also really really loved Machu Picchu, it was honestly breathtaking (and by that I not only mean the beauty but also due to the high altitude. A couple steps up caused major panting and shortness of breath!) I also got a chance to see a couple Llamas which were one of the highlights of the whole trip. I LOVE LLAMAS!!!

Besides its natural beauty, Peru is also a developing country with a high human development index. Unfortunately, 31.3% of population is poor and 9.8% of the population lives in poverty. The country is on an upward spiral that is really encouraging democracy. For example, according to law, if you are a citizen, between 18 and 70 years old you have to vote, otherwise you get fined! While many think that the country is very impoverished  I would argue that it is one of the richest in beauty. It is also, by far one of my favorite countries I have visited thus far! 

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The Smallest Nation in the Americas: The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis

By guest contributor: mom

The federal thing is a bit unusual since Nevis and Saint Kitts together form one country.  They became independent of United Kingdom in 1983 and in 1998, Nevis tried to break off from the federation through a referendum but failed to achieve the two thirds vote needed.  The federation has been a source of great contention between the two islands because the common governing body for the two is also the governing body for Saint Kitts island, creating the perception and accusation that the umbrella administration favors Saint Kitts´ affairs and needs above those of Nevis (Nevis once went without a hospital for ten years).  Most of the arguments are about distribution of funds like who should get corporate taxes for Nevis businesses headquartered in Saint Kitts (Nevis is a big off-shore banking/accounting haven), departure taxes for Nevis tourists departing from Saint Kitts airport, custom duties of Nevis cargo entering Saint Kitts, education and health expenditures, police/defense/coast guard allocations, foreign aid and so on.

In the late 17^th century, Nevis was a major producer of sugar, even larger than Jamaica.  Its cane juice was much more potent than that of Saint Kitts´producing 24 ounces of sugar per gallon vs 16.  At the time of the American Revolution, exports from West Indian colonies like Nevis were larger than all the exports from mainland North American colonies.  The large sugar business required a large labor force and African slaves were brought in to complement the white indentured servants from Europe.  In 1706, the founder of French colony of Louisiana, Pierre d´Iberville attacked Nevis again, as he done many times before, this time causing irrecoverable damage to the sugar industry.  Many of the British land and slave owners were driven out , thousands of slaves were shipped to Martinique and hundreds starved to death.  To sustain remaining enslaved families, small plots of land were distributed to them.  When emancipation came in 1834, a big number of Nevisians owned or controlled land. The high proportion of farmers and entrepreneurs created a solid middle class in Nevis, a social development that did not form in Saint Kitts.  There, fifteen rich planter families controlled the fertile land, and while the sugar industry died off in 2005, Saint Kitts has a large landless population. 

It was fun to learn that our founding father and first secretary of the treasury was born in Nevis.  Hamilton´s economic philosophy was thought to be protectionist and against free trade so that new industries in the U.S. could take hold.  He died in a duel!

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Dominican Republic: Christopher's First Stop

The first stop on our Thanksgiving Caribbean trip was the Dominican Republic. While we visited the north of the island, I learned about San Domingo, the first place Christopher Columbus landed in the New World, and thus its first European capital. The colony was then converted to Catholicism and today the a full image of a bible remains on the national flag. While the majority of the nation is catholic, there is still freedom of religion. As a matter a fact, it has long been this way. But some national laws do constrict the freedom of the citizens. For example, abortion is illegal regardless of the circumstances, thus pushing people into unsafe situations.

The country shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Like with most neighbors, there are some conflicts. Back in colonial times, the citizens were locked in a harsh cast system, Haitians on the bottom, Dominicans, then the mixed population in the middle (Europeans mixed with natives or blacks), and the European colonizers at the very top. This gradient racial classification meant that the whiter a mixed or native person was, the higher he or she was on the social, economic, and political hierarchy. In 1937, during dictator Trujillo's tenure, himself a mulatto who suppressed his black identity, the Parsley Massacre took place. People were forced to say the word "parsley" and if they were unable to pronounce the "r", thus having a french accent, they were determined to be Haitian and thousands were killed for this reason. Today, the Dominican Republic's GDP is around $9,000 and  Haiti's is $1,300 causing a lot of immigration from Haiti to DR. This immigration is a great point of contention and discrimination. Pregnant women come to the DR to give birth (22% of all births are to Haitian mothers) but unless at least one parent is Dominican, the child is denied citizenship. In addition, Haiti might deny citizenship to the same stateless kids due to lack of documentation or witnesses. 

While Dominican Republic struggled with colonization and dictatorships, today it is a more or less democratic state and the most visited tourist destination in the Caribbean with spectacular beaches, golf courses, merengue music, and delicious cuisine. 

Fried plantains, steamed fish, and freshly made pina colada

Playa Grande's public beach is pristine.

Masks used in merengue festivals