Savouring My Final Day of Travel in Latin America

My last day in Peru was spent with the Ramirez family down in a small town near Lake Titicaca. We were once again getting to experience the culture of the Quechuan people. The community located at Lake Titicca was especially unique because they had constructed floating islands on the lake’s surface. Once again, the architecture wasn’t overly pleasant, but the way the people adapted to the terrain was incredible. While we were at Lake Titicaca, the Ramrez family, a group of missionaries, and myself began to clean up the waste that had accumalated around the borders of the lake. This service helped encourage the Quechuan Indians to talk with us, and my interactions during my service with some of the Indians was quite a challenge because we could not communicate overly well. I did witness an interesting Peruvian art style as several Quechuans played traditional Peruvian folk music. The use of panpipe, flute, and charangos (guitar made from armadillos shells) all contributed to this little ensemble. After our service session, we had a quick meal of fresh fish, and we left for Lima on a private plane ride. While flying, we saw the famous Nazca lines on the desert’s surface which once again gave ancient historical evidence of a past and intellegent civilization. In total, a lot of Peru’s culture has been derived from their incredible history both in an ancient perspective and in a more modern perspective. I also want to thank National Geographic, the Baptiste family, the Perez family, and the Ramirez family for allowing me to experience the rich culture of Latin America.

An Overhead View of One Nazca Line Images

My Encounter with an Incredible People Group

The Ramirez family, as stated in yesterday’s blog, works with a service team that aids impoverished Quechuans in the mountainous, rural areas of Peru. As part of my cultural experience, I took a trip into a Quechuan community in the Andes mountains. This community was fascinating to me in many ways including because it almost denoted its own microculture. The architectre of the Quechuans wasn’t all too spectacular looking, but it was incredible to see how these people had to adapt to the mountainous conditions of the Andes. This Quechuan community was also quite unique because their way of life in a minor sense revolved around a single animal, the alpaca. The Quechuans used the alpaca to transport agricultural goods from their terrace farms and cleared out fields, and they also used the alpaca wool as a source of income for the greater community. For the most part, the Quechuans have actually been neglected by the Peruvian government so their trust with me was fairly limited. The Ramirez family described to me that their goal was to help build relationships with these people, and they enjoyed having me on board to help out. Lastly, the historical cultural aspect revolving around the Quechua Indians is quite remarkable. The Ancient Incan civilization, the supposeble ancestors of the Quechua Indians, had created a vast empire in this region of the world, regardless of the difficult terrain. I was blown away after visiting Machu Pichu, a famous Incan historical landmark, because it was incredible evidence of such an advanced society in our past that was simply wiped-out by reckless invaders. Overall, I was really quite fascinated by the historical aspect of Peru’s culture, but more specifically the Quechuan Indians.

A Native Quechua Indian

An Alpaca

Living the "Lima Life" for a Day

Greetings once again, and welcome to Peru! I am staying with a host family once again, in a similar fashion to my stay in Trinidad & Tobago. The Ramirez family, a mestizo upper class family, is housing me during my stay. Mr. Ramirez is the CEO of a mining company that is located just outside of Peru’s capital city, Lima. Mr. Ramirez also works for one of the few service groups that goes out into rural Peru and works with native Quechuans. Mr. Ramirez began my Peruvian experience by taking me to the national bank of Peru. I exchanged my U.S. dollars for Peruvian Nuevo Sol, and one Peruvian Nuevo Sol approximetly is equivelant to 35 cents in American currency. The rest of the day was spent exploring the massive capital city of Lima. The city is home to over 7 million citizens, most of which are of mestizo heritage. Following my stop at the bank, Mr. Ramirez took me too a construction site on the beach front, and he told me about the major impact that El Nino, one of the Pacific Ocean’s largest currents, had on Peru. The El Nino hits Peru in no specific pattern, but when is hits, Peru’s coasts are ravaged severely by the tropical storm, causing millions of dollars of damage. El Nino also influences the agriculture of Peru specifically around the coastal region. Mr. Ramirez and I explored this construction site, and the Peruvian government apparently was paying construction buisnesses to rectify seawalls in preparation for the next El Nino strike. I ended the day by experimenting with a famous Peruvian dish called cuy. This dish is beloved by many Peruvians, and it is fried guinea pig. I am beginning to notice an increasing rate of exotic dishes as my travels continue!

A Devastated Favela after El Nino

Cuy: A National Delicacy

An Introduction to Peru

Peru is located in Western South America, and it borders the nations of Ecuador, Columbia, Brazil, Bolivia, and Chile. Peru also shares a border with the Pacific Ocean to the West. Peru has a very dynamic landscape that is divided into three longitudinal-based regions: The Costa, The Sierra, and Amazonia. The Costa (Peru’s coastline) contains all the nation’s beaches which gradually get smaller as you go further down South. The Sierra, the Andes, dominates the central zone of Peru, and the rugged turain has essentially become the division between the East and West parts of the nation. The Amazonia compensates for three-fifths of Peru’s landmass, and it is part of the greater Amazon Basin that covers much of South America. Peru’s climate varies between the regions: The Costa is dry, The Sierra is cool and wet, and Amazonia is troical and humid. Economically, Peru is still in the modernization process, and their economy is heavily influenced by mining and agriculture. Peru for the most part partakes in primary activities, and the extent of the nation’s manufacturing industry is solely located in the greater Lima area. The three major population groups of Peru are Europeans, mestizos, and Quechuan Indians. The Europeans and mestizos make-up the upper and middle classes, and the Quechuan Indians live in poverty and are relatively segregated by the the other two groups. The national population of Peru is around 29,550,000 citizens, and the national per capita GDP is $10,600. 43% of Peruvians live under the poverty line, and 7.5% are unemployed.

The Peruvian National Flag

Looking into Nicaraguan Traditions

My last day in Nicaragua was spent once again with natives. The medical team joined-up again in the city of Bluefields which is located in the region of the Caribbean lowlnds. We began the day by working with an impovershed mestizo popuation outside the city limits. I was assigned to work with the youth of the shante town, so I organized a game of baseball for baseball is the nation’s most beloved sport. We also handed-out the remaining supply of the purified, freshwater that we collected back at Lake Managua. The ladder part of the day, however, was spent in they city of Bluefields, itself. Bluefields was specifically exciting today because the annual Maypole festival was going on. The festival had similar parades to that of Trinidad & Tobago’s Carnival, but the music styles displayed at this Nicaraguan festival were quite different. One popular form of music that was exhibited was reggae music. This music form had originated in Jamaica, but it had grown fairly popular throughout Latin America. Reggae music was perceived as thos voice of oppression throughout this poverty-ridden region, and a lot of the Nicaraguan people felt that it expressed the hardships of a slum life. The reggae bands that I heard used drums, guitar, and the bass, and they played in a smooth rythmic fashion. Overall, my experience with the locals of Nicaragua and the traditions that they hold dear gave me a great impression about their unique culture.  

Nicaraguan Teens Playing Baseball in a Poor Neighbourhood

Venturing into the Realm of Nicaraguan Agriculture and Clothing

For my second day in Nicaragua, the medical team and I dispered throughout the central highlands region. I, myself, stayed with a middle-class, mestizo family named the Perezs. The Perez family lived in a somewhat rural area outside of the town Juigalpa. The family’s primary source of income came from agriculture. Today, I experienced agriculture first hand. Mr. Carlos Perez took me to one of his many agricultural properties. He had a variety of goods including avacados, plantains, bananas, and beans. He also made minor usage of the terrace farming agricultural method which uses rough terrain to its advantage for irrigation purposes. It was truely incredible how labor intensive this work was, and making a hearty meal out of the crops that I collected was quite satisfying. Mr. Perez helped walk me through the preparation of Nicaragua’s national dish, gallo pinto. This dish was a jambalaya of fried rice, corn, and various beans that were slathered in an local herb coating. After that spectacular meal, Mrs. Perez gave me some insight into the clothing of Nicaragua. She was hand-making a guayabera which was a traditional cotton made shirt. She made valiant attempts to teach me, but I am not one of such crafts! My efforts were rewarded, however, with a nice gift, a sombrero.

Gallo Pinto

A Hired Work-Hand for Mr. Perez

A Dynamic Day in Managua

This trip was my second cultural undertaking in the region of Latin America. Unlike my stay in Trinidad & Tobago, I was part of a medical team that was working with the native peoples of Nicaragua. I began my work in the capital city of Managua, which is located in the Pacific coastal plain. I began my day by paying a visit to the Nicaraguan national bank, and I exchanged my U.S. dollars in for Nicaraguan Cordobas. One Nicaraguan Cordoba is the equivelant to roughly 4 cents in American currency. After my usual bank visit, I began my local service by going to a freshwater resource facility that was situated on Lake Managua, a large freshwater source. I spent most of the morning loading purified water onto a truck that would distribute the supply throughout nearby slum. After the morning and afternoon’s hard work, the medical team and I spent the evening in a theater at downtown Managua, and we watched the satirical drama, El Gueguense. This drama depicted the story of Nicaragua’s independence and resistence to colonial power, and it was accompanied by local folk music. The production itself was well made, and I thoroughly found it to be a unique experience. Overall, this production gave me a feel for the Nicaraguan arts and their history. I ended my first day in Nicaragua by taste-testing some rondon (sea-turtle meat) at a local restaraunt, and it was unlike anything I had ever tasted before!

El Gueguense

An Introduction to Nicaragua

Nicaragua is located in Central America, and it borders Honduras to the North and Costa Rica to the South. Nicaragua also borders the Caribbean Sea to the East and the Pacific Ocean to the West. Nicaragua is divided into three geographical zones: the Pacific coastal plain, the central highlands, and the Caribbean lowlands. The Pacific coastal plain is a fertile region that is massively influenced by agriculture, and this zone accounts for most of the nation’s population and economic activity. The central highlands is a fairly mountainous region that is dominated by rainforests. This zone has significant cultivation of figs, bananas, and avacados; this zone also is the main producer of coffee for the entire nation. The Caribbean lowlands is not a good area for agriculture due to its dry climatic conditions, however, there is a significant Hispanic cultural influence on this region, making this zone unique from the others. Economically, the nation partakes in primary activities, and it ranks as the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Nicaragua’s population is around 5,890,000 citizens, and the national per capita GDP is $4,400. Around two-thirds of the nation’s population are mestizos. Lastly, 45% of Nicaraguans live below the poverty line, and 8% are unemployed.

The National Flag of Nicaragua

Exploring Trinidad & Tobago's Carnival

Today’s date was March 3, in other words, it was the spectacular annual festival called Carnival. This grand event displayed a terrific venue of local music and art styles including calypso, steel-band, and masquerades. Calyspo bands were playing ballad-like, folk music with various instruments including the shak-shak, guitar, cuatro (string instrument), and the tamboo-bamboo (a bamboo reed instrument). These calyspo songs were often satirical and quite humorous. The steel-bands were ensembles comprised of musicians playing steel idiophones. These instruments were crafter originally by the poor population of the nation because they wanted to participate in the festivities of Carnival as well. The instruments were crafted from the steel bottoms of barrels, and I was given the oppurtunity to play one of these instruments. It denoted a smooth, bell-like sound. Lastly, the masquerades of Trinidad & Tobago’s Carnival are fairly unique as they display different themes or stories. Trinidadian masquerades vary from images of mockery or irony to the devil. Another common type of Trinidadian masquerade at these festivals displayed the story of the slaves liberation back in the 1800s. The Baptistes proudly wore their masquerades that echoed this theme, so in honor of them, I did too! Overall, my Carnival experience was quite exotic, and I learned a lot about this nation’s culture solely through one event.

Carnival Atmosphere

A Trinidad & Tobago Steel-Band

Experiencing Trinidad & Tobago's Sports and Food

Greetings! Today was day two of my extrordinary cultural experience in Trinidad & Tobago, and I was excited to explore the athletic and gastronomical aspects of this nation. The two major sports in Trinidad & Tobago are Cricket and futbol (soccer). The Baptistes personally are huge fans of the Trinidad & Tobago Football Club, so they decided to give me a hands on experience. The crowd-life in the stadium was exceedingly crazy and hectic, for the fans boasted of national pride as their country faced off against Honduras in a friendly match. Trinidad & Tobago ended up winning on a last second goal by their star striker Kenwyne Jones. After I had returned home, Mrs. Baptiste proposed that she and I should make Tobago Flying Fish, a national delicacy, for dinner that evening. Instead of getting the fish needed from the local market, the Baptiste family gave buisness to a local fishery with daily fresh catches. Back at the apartment, I washed the fillets in mixture of lime juice, salt, pepper, curry powder, and local herbs. I then proceeded to cover the fillets with flour, and I let the fish refrigerate for half-an-hour. Lastly, I fried the fillets to a golden-brown crisp, and my how they tasted great! Just as a side note, Trinidadian food is spicy!

Tobago Flying Fish

Trinidad & Tobago's Racial Diversity and Economy

Welcome to Trinidad & Tobago! I am staying with the Baptiste family, and they are a middle-class, Afro-Trinidadian, French speaking family. They live in the capital city, Port-of-Spain, and the father of the family, Anthony Baptiste, works on a petroleum drilling vessel 12 hours a day. The Baptiste family traces their roots back to Africa, for their forefathers were originally brought over to the Caribbean and enslaved by the French. Growing-up, Mr. Anthony lived in a historically Afro-Trinidadian shante town outside of Scarborough, Tobago, but he quickly found success in the petroleum industry. That’s enough background information on my host family for now!

Today, Mr. Baptiste took me first to the Trinidad & Tobago national bank that is located in downtown Port-of-Spain. I exchanged my U.S. dollars at the bank for Trinidad dollars (the currency is literally called the “Trinidad dollar”). A Trinidad dollar converts roughly into 16 cents in American currency. Afterwards, Mr. Baptiste and I walked through the downtown area, and he showed me how truely diverse Trinidad & Tobago really is. He told me that Trinidad & Tobago’s population consists of African, Indian, Spanish, French, and Chinese communities. The nation’s diversity was also displayed in the many languages that I heard including English, Spanish, French, Hindi, and Chinese. My relaxful first day in this tropical national ended with tour of Mr. Baptiste’s petroleum drilling vessel. He told me about the process of petroleum drilling which involves the careful extraction of the crude oil from rock beds in resevoirs right of the coast of Trinidad. He also showed me a major mineral desposit that he occasionally works at which was rich in coal, gypsum, and iron ore. Mr. Baptiste’s work in the petroleum drilling and the mineral extraction industries are just two examples of the influence that fossil fuels and mineral ore have on the economy of Trinidad & Tobago. What a fascinating first day!

The Trinidad Dollar

A Typical Petroleum Drilling Vessel

An Introduction to Trinidad & Tobago

Trinidad & Tobago is a nation consisting of several islands that are located in the West Indies of the Caribbean Sea. Trinidad & Tobago are the two largest islands in the nation, and Trinidad has an area of 1,850 squared miles. This nation is situated at 7 miles off the coast of Venezuela. Trinidad & Tobago’s physical geography ranges from low-lying plateaus to swampy marshes along the coastline. Trinidad & Tobago’s local climate is tropical with high humidity. The nation itself lies outside of the hurricane zone, so the nation has been relatively unscathed by the major natural disasters of the region. Economically, Trinidad & Tobago has been dominated by the petroleum and tourism industries. The national population is around 1,230,000 citizens, and the national per capita GDP is $19,800. Around 15% of Trinidad & Tobago’s citizens live under the poverty line, and 5% are unemployed. Due to the recent urbanization and lack of land mass, the demand for housing nationally has significantly increased. Crowding of the nation’s most urban locations has become an issue in recent years.

The National Flag of Trinidad & Tobago