Virtual Tripping » Central America

Lets learn about the incredible country of Costa Rica in Central America on Virtualltripping.com.

Mark — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 11:50:53 +0000

A Little Piece of Paradise
San Jose, Costa Rica
National Anthem of Costa Rica

This is a post about the country of Costa Rica this is a special country, because it is known for being a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, Costa Rica neighbours are, Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The name Cost Rica, actually means “Rich Coast”, also, the country, constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949. This is the only Latin American country which is included in the list of the world’s 22 older democracies and has consistently been among the top Latin American countries in the Human Development Index (HDI), and in 2011, it was ranked 69th in the world.

Photo by Kirk Bravender

I am amazed when i read about Costa Rica, how established this country has become, i have learn’t that it was cited by the UNDP in 2010, it is one of the countries in the world that have attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels, which is extraordinary, but on top of that Cosat Rica, in 2011 was highlighted by UNDP that this country was doing much better than other countries within the region as being a good performer on environmental sustainability, and doing very well on human development and inequality than the median of their region. This country, has some how managed to be the only country to meet all five criteria established to measure environmental sustainability. It was also ranked in 2010 in third place around the world and first place among the Americas, in terms of the 2010 Environmental Performance Index. Finally this amazing country in 2007, the government of Costa Rica, decided they wanted to make plans to become the first carbon-neutral country by 2021. And i have learn’t that this country according to the New Economics Foundation, Costa Rica ranks first in the Happy Planet Index and is the “greenest” country in the world. There really is very little to say, other than well done, because alot of people associate the central ameica countries has more poorer and less economic, compared to North and South America, but other the time i have been writing about the central america’s, it has amazed me how well some of the countries are really doing, Wow. There is so much to do and see in this amazing country, shops, hotels, bars and pubs, swimming, adventure walks, forests, animals and so on and so on, if you really want a holiday experience and you can afford it, then this is the country to visit.

Photo by Doctress Neutopia

Photo by Kirk Bravender

This is Honduras in Central America on Virtualtripping.com

Mark — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:16:27 +0000

Honduras: The Hidden Side
Roatan, Honduras – A Travel Destination Guide
Travel Tips on Tegucigalpa
Comayagua
So what do i know about the Honduras, well this country is a republic in Central America. In the past Honduras used to be known as Spanish Honduras, this was so that people did not get confused between the Spanish country and British Honduras, which today is known as Belize.

Photo by Adalberto.H.Vega

This is a picture taken from flickr of Cine Hispano – Santa Rosa de Copan.

Photo by J. Stephen Conn

This is a picture taken from flickr of Statue to Jose Santo Guardiola.

Photo by David d’O

This is a picture taken from flickr of a macaw at the entrance – Youssouf at the Copán Maya site.
Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, also to the souththere is the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea. In the past Honduras used to be the home to several important indigenous cultures, the ones most notably are the Maya’s. Like alot of the central and south america’s, much of Honduras was conquered by Spain, they then brought the Spanish language to the country and also many Spanish customs were also brought to Honduras during the sixteenth century.

Photo by tik_tok

This is a picture taken from flickr of Golfo de Fonseca from Volcan Conchagua.

Photo by David d’O

This is a picture taken from flickr of Another court – Youssouf at the Copán Maya site – Maya site Copán.
This country finally got her independance in 1821 and has been a republic since the end of Spanish rule. This is not a very big country, it is in size just over 112,492 km² and there is an estimated population of almost eight million. Now what is special about Honduras is that it has two capital cities, one is known as Tegucigalpa and the other is known as Comayagüela. Its northern portions are part of the Western Caribbean Zone. Honduras has become today in marketing terms as a country which supplies and deals in production of minerals, tropical fruit, and more recently for exportation of clothing for the international market.

Photo by StarrGazr

Photo by Michael McDonough

The Republic of Panama a Central American country on Virtualtripping.com.

Mark — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:19:45 +0000

Panama – wonderful country
Carnavales de Panama 2010 – Panama Carnivals 2010
Panama Anthem

Photo by Sarah and Jason

This is a picture taken from flickr of Panama City.

Photo by Sarah and Jason

Welcome to my post on the Republic of Panama, this is a Spanish speaking country which can be found in the southernmost part of Central America. Panama is situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, and her bordering neighbours are Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. You will be very unlucky if you cannot find the capital as it is the same name as the country and is known as Panama City. Panama was found and then taken over by the Spanish who went onto explore and then settle in the 16th century, but the country broke away from the Spanish in 1821 when they joined a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela, and they named the union the Republic of Gran Colombia. But sadly, it did not last very long and in 1830 the Republic of Gran Colombia was broken up and dissolved, this lead Panama and Nueva Granada to remain joined. But within time Nueva Granada later became the Republic of Colombia. Then with the backing of the United States, Panama was able to move way from Colombia in 1903, and this was when the Panama Canal was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. And then in 1977, with an agreement which was signed, a transfer took place between the United States to Panama, letting them take full control of the Panama Canal, as this transfer took place towards the end of the 20th century.

Photo by pasujoba

This is a picture taken from flickr of the Panama canal.

Photo by vademecum

Now thanks to the United States for giving up the canal, this has lead to a significant portion of Panama’s GDP, which comes from toll charges. The country has been doing well and i think it is still doing ok, it is the third- or fourth-largest economy in Central America andand the economy has grown fast in recent years aswell as they have become the largest per capita consumer in Central America. Now this country has been doing very well, it has become the ranked 4th in the Latin American countries in terms of the Human Development Index, and 54th in the world both happening in 2010. But not only that, but this small country as of 2010, become the second most competitive economy in Latin America as well according to the Global Competitiveness Index from the World Economic Forum (WEF). But i think you do have to take into account that Panama has the largest rainforest in the Western Hemisphere outside the Amazon Basin. This is what i would feel is boosting it’s economy, has the countries jungle, happens to have an abundance of tropical plants, animals and birds – some of them to be found nowhere else in the world. So you will get many a tourist, wanting to visit Panama, to see this wonderful plants and creatures. Which of course is brilliant for the country. So what an amazing place to visit, WOW!.

Photo by vademecum

Welcome to the Saona Island, best known for the Bounty Chocolate bar advert in the Dominican Republic, Carribean, Central America.

Mark — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 07:57:51 +0000

Photo by Space Ritual

This post is about Saona Island, it is a tropical island, not to far away from the mainland on the south-east tip of the Dominican Republic, near La Altagracia Province. This island is a government protected nature reserve and is part of East National Park . This island has become a very important and popular destination for tourists, mainly from the Dominican Republic. They usually come to the island in their catamarans and small motorboats on organized excursions every day. The reason why it is so popular is because it has become famous for the natural beauty of its beaches. This island has become popular with the film industry and advertisers looking for a stereotypical “desert island” setting for their film or product. It is promoted amongst European visitors as the setting for the famous Bounty chocolate bar adverts. So if you are looking for a luxurious holiday, then this has got to be the island to visit, as you see in the video, there are tours around the the island and on the island. This is a stunning place with golden sandy sands, palm trees, blue skies and sea. This has got to be the island of dreams and it is best to sit on the sand and eat a bounty chocolate bar.

Photo by ** Lucky Cavey **

Photo by xena’s pics

Saint Barthélemy Island, is an overseas collectivity of France in the Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean.

Mark — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 09:58:18 +0000

Photo by Earflip

Welcome to the beautiful island of Saint Barthélemy, this is known as an official Territorial collectivity of Saint Barthélemy in the overseas collectivity of France.It is often known as Saint-Barth in French, or St. Barts in English, the indigenous people called the island Ouanalao. It is one of four territories among the Leeward Islands in the northeastern Caribbean that comprise’s of French West Indies, along with Guadeloupe, Martinique and Saint Martin. St. Barts lies close to Sint Maarten/Saint Martin, as well as St Kitts. There is also the island of Puerto Rico is in the Lesser Antilles.

Photo by didierbeck

Photo by Earflip

As it is a caribbean island, you will find that this is a volcanic island, which is completely encircled by shallow reefs, it has an area of 21 km² and a population of 8,823, which was is said in the 2008 census. The capital or major town on the island is Gustavia, this is where you will find the main harbour to the island. Now for all you quiz fans out there this island is the only one in Caribbean, which used to be a Swedish colony for any significant length of time; Guadeloupe was under Swedish rule only briefly, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. You will notice that on the island’s coat of arms there are Three Crowns, which is a Symbolism from the Swedish national arms. But the island is still distinctly French. Especially when it comes to the language and cuisine, and this makes Saint Barthélemy Island a popular tourist destination during the winter holiday season.

Photo by MikeSchinkel

Photo by didierbeck

Come and visit Belmopan City, the capital city of Belize, central America.

Mark — Fri, 06 May 2011 16:08:56 +0000

With an estimated population of 20,000, this is the capital city of Belize, it is Belmopan City is located at an altitude of 76 metres or 250 ft above sea level, so it is quite high up within the country. The city was established and created just to the east of Belize River, which is 80 km or 50 miles inland from the former capital, the port of Belize City, after that city’s near destruction by Hurricane Hattie in 1961.The Belize government had to be moved to higher ground and so they decide to move to Belmopan City in 1970 andthey built a National Assembly Building, but with a difference as it was made to look like a Pre-Columbian Maya temple. One of the good ideas about moving to this city, was that it reminds me alittle bit about london in England, why do i say this, well, the has a mixture of ethnicities including Kriols, Garifuna, Mestizo, Maya and more historically recent immigrants from Asian countries such as the People’s Republic of China and Republic of China(Taiwan).
You will find that there are five zones around the city of Belmopan proper Salvapan has a population 3,000 – mostly of Central American origin. San Martin has a population 1,694 – mixed origins which are Kriol & Central American Mayan. There is also Las Flores, Belmopan, Belize has a population 453 – mostly Central American origin. Maya Mopan – population 241 – mostly Ketchi/Mopan Maya. Riviera – population unknown – mix of Central American immigrants and locals, alot of this information i have picked up from wikipedia. There are plenty of places to eat out in Belmopan and places to stay, it is a wonderful and warm country, with welcoming people. So if you fancy alittle bit of central america, then this is the place and the country to vist. There is plenty of greenary, with forests alongside the rivers. But also beaches in other parts of the country. A may not be as pretty as Belize City, but it is the capital of the country of Belize and is an interesting place to visit and remember they speak English there to which is handy if you know the language. The reason i say that is because when you head towards the central and soutern america’s you find that alot of the languages are Spanish or Portuguese.

Good or Bad news, The Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean.

Mark — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 18:37:28 +0000

This is a Youtube video of the National Anthem of the Netherlands Antilles.
On the 10th October, 2010 Caribbean islands the Netherland Antilles will no longer exisit, this is due to the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. This a group of constitutional changes that will take effect on the date above. The Netherlands Antilles are a group of that form an autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. There will then become new constituent countries, like the islands of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, the other three main islands from the Netherland Antilles are in the BES islands, they are also to become part of the Kingdom of Netherlands they are Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba , now these island are going to become special municipalities of the Netherlands proper after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles.

Curaçao island is found in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the coast of Venezuelan. It is an Island Territory of Curaçao which includes the main island and other smaller, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao (“Little Curaçao”), and it is one of five island territories of the Netherlands Antilles, but not for much longer, it will soon become a new constituent country and as such, but will still have alot of connections with the Netherlands. Its capital is Willemstad. Curaçao island is the largest and and the most inhabited of the three ABC islands (for Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao) which are from the of Lesser Antilles, specifically the Leeward Antilles. It has a land area of 444 square kilometers (171 square miles). As of 1 January 2009, it had a population of 141,766.
These two pictures have been taken fromflickr they are of the capital city of Curaçao island and the Netherlands Antilles it is Willemstad, day and night.

Photo by Jefferson Martina

Now the other new constituent country will be the Island Territory of Sint Maarten it happens to be one of five island territories of the Netherlands Antilles, encompassing the southern half of the island of Saint Martin. The 2001 Netherlands Antilles census, said that the population of the island area was 30,594. But official estimates that were taken on the 1 Jan 2009 was 40,917, and this was for a population density of 1,942 inhabitants per km². The official languages are Dutch and English; the local dialect is a form of Virgin Islands Creole. Sint Maarten in the south of the island borders the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Martin, which occupies the northern half of the island.

Photo by ConanTheLibrarian

This is a picture taken from flickr of Sint Maarten in the Netherland Antilles.
The BES islands are often used in the Netherlands to indicate the three Caribbean islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba that are due to become special municipalities of the Netherlands proper after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on October 10, 2010. They belong as as special municipalities that have been outlined in article 134 of the Dutch Constitution, this is specified in the Law on the public bodies of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius. They mainly resemble alot of the dutch ways of life, but there are a few differences for example, the security of these islands are alot lesser that in Holland and also on the 1st January 2011, the US dollar will come into action, there was some concerns about the Netherlands carrying the risk of exchange rate fluctuations regarding cash flows between the state and the islands. But the peoples of these island can vote for Dutch rule and law as well as European Union elections.

Photo by Rylan S L

Photo by laszlo-photo

So will much change well yes on the polictical sides, and some travel sides, but most will continue as the same especially in the Curaçao island and in Sint Maarten ans I suppose not to much will change in the BES Islands.

Welome to the West Indian country of Barbados in the Caribbean.

Mark — Fri, 07 May 2010 17:10:50 +0000

This is a post about Barbados which is situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, it is known as a West Indian continental island-nation in the western Atlantic Ocean. In it’s past history this island once was had a brief claim by Spainish in 1492 and later Portugese, but in the end it became a colony and protectorate of the United Kingdom for over three centuries, finally in 1966 it achieved independence. The British monarch Queen Elizabeth II, is also the Queen of Barbados and this makes her the country’s head of state. Barbados is also considered as a part of the Lesser Antilles. This island country has alot of different neighbours close to them and here are just a few of them Martinique, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines to the west and if you head southwards your have Trinidad and Tobago, these two nations actually share a fixed official maritime boundary and are close to the South American mainland. The island itself is total land area is about 430 square kilometres (166 square miles), and is primarily low-lying island which has some higher areas in the country’s interior. The highest point in Barbados is Mount Hillaby (340 m) in the parish of Saint Andrew.

Now some of you may know this and others may not, but the geological composition of Barbados is of non-volcanic origin, predominantly limestone-coral. A reef was formed around the island after a break of South America from Africa in the Mesozoic. The reef actually became more visible when during the Cenozoic time, both the Caribbean and South American plates moved westward, this then caused the two plates to impact, this then went on to cause the plates to press the reef upward. Barbados is part of a North Atlantic Ocean submarine mountain range located to the east of the Windward Islands. This range stretches from its close proximity of Puerto Rico in the north, to a south-easterly direction toward Venezuela. Because of everything that happened to this island, it actually now forms the only part of this mountain range that rises above sea level. Being sittuated where it is you will find that the climate is very Tropical, it does recieve quite alot of wind that comes from Atlantic Ocean and this helps to keep the the island country temperatures mild. If you were to venture towards some of the less developed parts of Barbados, you will find that there are tropical woodlands and mangroves. But there are other parts of the island that concentrate on agriculture and it’s industry, where you can see many large sugarcane estates and wide, gently sloping pastures, with panoramic views down to the coast also.
Finally even though the main industry in Barbados is Sugar the economy, but is now being dominated by services and tourism. Barbados is actually one of the largest global domiciles of captive insurance, there are also many different businesses and companies moving to this island and there are also a large number of expanding call centres in the country.

Welcome to the British Overseas Territory, the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean.

Mark — Sun, 02 May 2010 09:16:56 +0000

Well we all dream of going somewhere nice for a summer holiday and for alot of Brits they seem to get drawn to the caribbean, why?, well it is beautiful blue sky, golden sandy beaches, tropical gardens and friendly people, so I have decided to write a post about the Turks and Caicos Islands, which is a British Overseas Territory, so here we go.

Photo by gobucks2

The Turks and Caicos Islands consist of two groups of sub-tropical islands in the West Indies, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre. These Islands are found in the southeast of Mayaguana in the Bahamas and north of the island of Hispaniola, and the main capital town of theses Islands, Cockburn is situated about 1,042 kilometres (647 mi) east-southeast of Miami in the United States. The overall land area is 430 square kilometres (170 sq mi).[7] The islands are geographically contiguous to the Bahamas, but are politically a separate entity.

Photo by qwghlm

Photo by vicsaez

Photo by peacenik1

In 2008, the estimated population of this nation was 36,000 of whom approximately 22,500 live on Providenciales in the Caicos Islands, this Island happens to be the largest populated island in the Turks and Caicos, and is also the third largest island. The capital town,Cockburn Town, is situated on Grand Turk Island. So if you fancy a nice warm holiday with tempretures ranging from 28 to 35 degrees celsius, and one of the lowest crime rates within the region. But even though it is a British Overseas Territory, they still use the U.S.A dollar as their currency. So if you fancy a peaceful and relaxing break, this is the place to go, and for all you young ones out there you have plenty to do day and night, wether it is surfing, diving, shopping, pubbing, clubbing or just eating out, you will find something to do and the hotels look lovely to, enjoy!.

This is part two of Port-au-Prince in Haiti.

Mark — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:29:54 +0000

Has i have written in my previous post about this earthquake i was lucky enough to find some information on Wikipedia: about what happened in Port-au-Prince on Tuesday 12th January 2010. As you can imagine it was a shock for many Hatians seeing their homes, gardens, business’s, shops, parks, pubs etc being destroyed and it would not have given the citizens much confidence, hearing that their President and Government had also been effected.
So what actually went wrong, well it all started in the small coastal city of Léogâne in the south of Haiti, it is about 25 km (16 miles) west of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, it was around 16:53 local time when a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck the coastal city, it was at a depth of 13 km (8.1 miles). It past very quickly through the country to Port-au-Prince, by the 24th January it had been recorded that at least 52 aftershocks hit the country, measuring 4.5 or more.

Photo by United Nations Photo

It had been reported that the International Red Cross gave an estimate of around 3 million people had been effected. The Haitian Interior Minister, Paul Antoine Bien-Aimé, said on the 15th January that 100,000 or even 200,000 lives had been lost and then tragic news was broadcasted by the Haitian President Rene Preval on the 27th January the bodied count was “nearly 170,000″. Has you can imagine an earthquake can be disasterous, but imagine if you are also a poor nation and are just surviving before the quake. So much damage was done like in Jacmel and other settlements in the region.

Photo by United Nations Development Programme

Lots of well known landmarks had been destroyed, some of them included the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and the main jail. Also sadly some well known people died like the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince Monsignor Joseph Serge Miot,and opposition leader Micha Gaillard, and worst of all the headquarters of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), which you will find in the capital city, was also destroyed causing many many deaths including the Mission’s Chief, Hédi Annabi.

Photo by United Nations Development Programme

Thankfully, though the news hit the world extremely quick and hard and many countries were offering help and assitance including humanitarian aid, pledging funds and dispatching rescue and medical teams, engineers and support personnel. But it was thanks to America and the rest of the world for supplying food, and hospitalization on board a ship, as you can imagine communication was very hard because most of the air, land, and sea transport facilities, hospitals, and electrical networks were all damaged. There were delays, with aid etc and their were many angry Haitians, but the aid and support did finally get through. Even though there was alot of looting going on and certain people taking more aid than was needed at that time.

Photo by US_Air_Force

Photo by IFRC

It was on the 22nd January that the United Nations decide it was time to stop the emergency aid and that the relief work was slowing down. This mean’t that they would stop searching for survivors, but a few survivors have still managed to get out of the situations that they were dangerously in. The following day it was then announced by the Haitian government that it was time to call off the search. Even today surprises are still happening when survivors come through and the way that the Haitians have mangaed to pull themselves through this dramatic time, thank you for reading this, and my hopes and prays go to the all the Haitian people and I hope things get better for them soon.