Barbados

We just learned about the country of Antigua and Barbuda

Let's learn a little about the country of Barbados!

This is a very small island country in the Caribbean Sea, just north of Trinidad and Tobago, and South America.
It is about 439 square kilometers, and about 287,000 people live there.
The people in this country speak either English or Creole.


(from: wikipedia - barbados)

The flag of Barbados is vertical stripes of blue, yellow, and blue with a black trident in the middle.
Blue is for the ocean and sky, yellow is for the sand, and the three points of the trident are for government of the people, by the people and for the people.
The bottom of the trident is broken to show that they are not part of a colony and owned by another country anymore after their freedom.


(from: wikipedia - flag of barbados)

To eat in this country you might have fried breadfruit, which is kind of like a jackfruit.


(from: wikipedia - breadfruit)

Visiting this country you might go to Miami Beach

(from: wikipedia - miami beach, barbados)

There is a large cave in Barbados called Harrison's Cave that has a small train ride you can take through the caves.
Some places you get to stop and get out and walk aroud the cave, like one spot called The Great Hall is 15 meters high.


(from: wikipedia - harrison's cave)


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Trinidad and Tobago

We just learned about the country of Jamaica

Let's learn a little about the country of Trinidad and Tobago!

This country is in the Caribbean, just north of the South American country of Venezuela.
The main big island is Trinidad, and the smaller main island is Tobago.
There are about 30 total islands in this country, with the others all smaller than Tobago.
The total land of all the islands is about 5,000 square kilometers, and about 1.3 million people live there.
The people in this country mostly speak either English or Creole.


(from: wikipedia - Trinidad and Tobago)

The flag of Trinidad and Tobago is red, with a black diagonal line, and two white diagonal lines on it.
The red is for courage and the fire of the sun, the black is for dedication and the earth, and the white is for purity and water.


(from: wikipedia - flag of trinidad and tobago)

To eat in this country you might have food called doubles, which is flat fried dough filled with chickpeas and curry.


(from: wikipedia - doubles (food))

Visiting this country you might go to Pigeon Point, to see one of the best beaches in the country.

(from: wikipedia - pigeon point, tobago)

Trinidad has a place called Pitch Lake, which is the largest deposit of asphalt in the world, with around 10 million tons.

(from: wikipedia - pitch lake)


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Jamaica

We just learned about the country of The Bahamas

Let's learn a little about the country of Jamaica!

This country is in the Caribbean, south of the island of Cuba.
It is about 4,000 square miles, and about 2.7 million people live there.
The people in this country speak English or Jamaican Patois.


(from: wikipedia - jamaica)

The flag of Jamaica has a green triangle on top and bottom, black triangles on left and right, and a yellow X in the middle.
Black is for strength of the people, gold is for the wealth and sunshine, and green is for the plants.


(from: wikipedia - flag of jamaica)

To eat in this country you might have Ackee and Saltfish. Ackee is a type of fruit that is almost like a cream cheese, and it is boiled with the fish and then usually eaten with rice or bread.


(from: wikipedia - ackee and saltfish)

Visiting this country you might go to the Doctor's Cave Beach Club.
This is a nice beach that was owned by a doctor who had a hospital there, and believed that the water was so great it was almost like it had healing powers.
He let his friends swim there, and then later gave the land to be free for everyone to use.


(from: wikipedia - doctor's cave beach club)

There is a small beach in a town called Oracabessa where called James Bond Beach, because the person who wrote the James Bond books lived there in Jamaica.
Some parts of the James Bond movies were also filmed at this beach.


(from: wikipedia - orcabessa)


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The Bahamas

We just learned about the country of El Salvador

Let's learn a little about the country of The Bahamas!

This country is in the Caribbean Sea, south east of the state of Florida.
It is made up of about 700 islands, and about 3,800 square miles of land.
About 385,000 people live there, and the people speak English.


(from: wikipedia - the bahamas)

The flag of The Bahamas has a black triangle on the left, and then three sideways stripes of blue, yellow and blue.
Blue is for the water around the country, yellow is for the sunshine, and black is for strength.


(from: wikipedia - flag of the bahamas)

To eat in this country you might have conch chowder which is soup made from the animal called a conch that lives in a shell.


(from: wikipedia - conch soup)

Visiting this country you might go see Blue Lagoon Island
This is a small island that was used for many different things through the years like a zoo, or a place for pirates to stop and rest, or a place for soldiers during world war 2 to practice swimming.

(from: wikipedia - blue lagoon island)

In the Bahamas there is a lighthouse called Great Isaac Lighthouse built in 1859, that is about 151 feet tall.
In 1969 the people who were supposed to be working at the lighthouse disappeared, and some people believe it was part of the Bermuda Triangle where people disappear for no reason.

(from: wikipedia - great isaac lighthouse)


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Belize

We just learned about the country of Haiti

Let's learn a little about the country of Belize!

This country is in Central America, and borders Mexico, the Caribbean Se, and Guatemala.
It is about 23,000 square miles, and about 419,000 people live there.
The people in this country mostly speak English, Creole or Spanish.
Belize is the only country in Central America that has English as one of it's official languages.


(from: wikipedia - belize)

The flag of Belize has sideways stripes of red, blue and red for the two different groups of people there that run the country.
In the middle is the Belize coat of arms, which shows the history of logging by the British in the country long ago.


(from: wikipedia - flag of belize)

To eat in this country you might have a fry jack, which is fried dough kind of like a donut.


(from: wikipedia - fry jack)

Visiting this country you might go see El Castillo, which means "the castle", a 130 foot tall castle built by the Mayans long ago.

(from: wikipedia - xunantunich)

Near the coast of Belize is a giant sinkhole called The Great Blue Hole.
It is about 400 feet deep, and 1,000 feet wide, and is a famous place for scuba diving.
The famous diver Jacque Cousteau said it was one of the top 5 best scuba diving places in the world.


(from: wikipedia - great blue hole)


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Haiti

We just learned about the country of Dominican Republic

Let's learn a little about the country of Haiti!

This country is in the Caribbean Sea in the Pacific Ocean, and shares the other half of an island with the Dominican Republic.
It is about 10,000 square miles, and about 11 million people live there.
The people in this country speak French or Haitian Creole.


(from: wikipedia - haiti)

The flag of Haiti is two sideways stripes of blue and red, with a white rectangle in the middle with the coat of arms of Haiti.
The blue and red are for the different people of the country.


(from: wikipedia - flag of haiti)

To eat in this country you might have griot, which is pork cooked with orange or lime juice, and usually eaten with beans and rice.


(from: wikipedia - griot)

Visiting this country you might go see the Citadelle Laferrièrem, which is an old castle built around the year 1820.

(from: wikipedia - citadelle laferrièrem)

There is a castle called Sans-Souci Palace built in 1813 where the King of Haiti lived for a long time until an earthquake came along and destroyed it.

(from: wikipedia - sans-souci palace)


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Costa Rica

We just learned about the country of Panama

Let's learn a little about the country of Costa Rica!

This is a small country in Central America that borders Nicaragua, Panama, Ecuador, the Pacific Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea.
It is about 19,000 square miles, and has about 5 million people living there.
In Costa Rica they speak Spanish.


(from: wikipedia - costa rica)

The flag of Coast Rica is 5 sideways strips of blue, white and red, with the coat of arms in the red stripe.
Blue is for the sky and opportunities, white is for peace and happiness, red is for blood of the people who fought for freedom.


(from: wikipedia - flag of costa rica)

To eat in Costa Rica you might have casado, which is a meal served with rice, black beans, plantains, salad, a tortilla and meat.
The word casado means "married man", and some people think the name of the meal came from people who went to restaurants and wanted a meal like they would get if they were a married man eating a home cooked meal.


(from: wikipedia - casado)

Visiting Costa Rica you might go see the Poás Volcano National Park.
This park has old volcanoes that are usually not active, and you can walk into the craters and see geysers and lava.


(from: wikipedia - poas volcano national park)

In Costa Rica there was an old ancient group of people called the Diquis, and they made some stone spheres that are still around today that people visit to study the old history.


(from: wikipedia - stone spheres of costa rica)


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Panama

We just learned about the country of Guatemala

Let's learn a little about the country of Panama!

This is a small country in North America that connects North America to South America.
It borders Costa Rica, Columbia, the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

It is about 29,000 square miles, and about 4.3 million people live there.


(from: wikipedia - panama)

The flag of Panama is four rectangles.
The top left is white with a blue star, the top right is red, the bottom left is blue, and the bottom right is white with a red star.
Blue and red are for the different groups in Panama that run the government.
The white is for peace and purity.
The blue star is for purity and honesty, and the red star is for the law.


(from: wikipedia - flag of panema)

To eat in Panama you might have bollo, which is corn, potatoes, or yuca which is kind of like a potato.
The ground up corn, pototato or yuca is then all mushed up together and served like a bun.


(from: wikipedia - bollo)

The most famous thing about Panama is the Panama Canal.
Long ago if someone was in a boat on the Pacific Ocean and they wanted to go to the Atlantic Ocean, they either had to go all the way north above North America, around Alaska and Canada close to the north pole, or all the way south below South America, close to the south pole.
Both of these ways were very dangerous and took a long time to travel.
Since the country of Panama is not very wide and it is right in between North and South America, people had the idea to dig a trench in the land, so that boats could cut through like a shortcut.
The US helped dig the canal, and it took about 10 years, and cost about 12 billion dollars.


(from: wikipedia - panama canal)

There is a type of folk dance called the cumbia in Panama where people wear fancy dresses and outfits.

(from: wikipedia - cumbia (panama))


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Guatemala

We just learned about the country of Cuba

Let's learn a little about the country of Guatemala!

This is a small country in Central America, that borders Mexico, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, the Carribean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
It is about 42,000 square miles, and about 17 million people live there.
People in Guatemala speak Spanish.


(from: wikipedia - guatemala)

The flag of Guatemala is stripes of blue, white and blue, with the country's coat of arms in the middle.
Blue stripes are for the Pacific and Atlantic oceans on either side of the country.
White is for peace and purity.
The coat of arms shows a Quetzal bird for freedom, and then a scroll that has the date Guatemala became free from Spain.


(from: wikipedia - flag of guatemala)

To eat in Guatemala you might have fiambre, which is a salad made from sausages, chicken, sandwich meat, corn, onion, beets, pacaya flower, cheese, olives, and other vegetables.


(from: wikipedia - fiambre)

Visiting Guatemala you might go to Tikal, which is the ruins of a Mayan city that is over 2,000 years old.


(from: wikipedia - tikal)

There are volcanoes in Guatemala, like the Santa María volcano that erupts sometimes and tourists go to see the active volcano.


(from: wikipedia - santa maria (volcano))


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Cuba

We just learned about the country of Honduras

Let's learn a little about the country of Cuba!

This is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, and borders the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It is about 42,000 square miles, and about 11 million people live there. In Cuba the people speak Spanish.


(from: wikipedia - cuba)

The flag of Cuba has a red triangle on the red, with a white star in it, and five sideways stripes of blue and white.
The red triangle is for liberty, equality and fraternity, courage and independence.
The blue stripes are for the three different parts of Cuba, and the white is for purity.


(from: wikipedia - flag of cuba)

To eat in Cuba you might have ropa vieja, which is a type of shredded steak stewed in a tomato sauce.
The name means "old clothes" and there is an old story of a poor man who was so hungrey that he tore up his clothes and put them in a pot to cook, and then prayed over them for food and it turned into this delicious meat stew.


(from: wikipedia - ropa vieja)

Visiting Cuba you might go to the Havana Cathedral, a church built in 1796.

(from: wikipedia - havana cathedral)

In the city of Camagüey, clay pots called tinajon are used a lot to help get rain water to be used later.
There is an old legend that if you drink water from one of these clay pots, you will fall in love with a girl from Camagüey and never leave the city.


(from: wikipedia - camagüey)


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