Wednesday, February 3, 2010

TOP FIVE WONDERFUL THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE CARIBBEAN

Within my two years of blogging, we've been in so many places and discovered some wonderful things to know about them like South Korea, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Dubai, Hawaii, New York, Philippines and Thailand. And now, we'll be doing an island hopping as we discover the wonderful place offered by the "Caribbean" Despite of what happen in Haiti which is also a part of the Carribean group of islands, let us look forward to a brighter side of this region.

TOP FIVE WONDERFUL THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE CARIBBEAN
The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America.

TOP 5 WONDERFUL THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE CARIBBEAN
"THE STORY BEHIND PIRATES AND TREASURES"


I know that you are all familiar with the "Pirates of The Carribean" but is there really such thing a "Pirates?" The era of piracy in the Caribbean Sea began in the 16th century and died out in the 1720s after the navies of the nations of Western Europe with colonies in the Caribbean began combating pirates. The period during which pirates were most successful was from the 1690s until the 1720s. Piracy flourished in the Caribbean because of the existence of relatively lawless British seaports such as Port Royal in Jamaica and the French settlement at Tortuga. Caribbean piracy arose out of, and mirrored on a smaller scale, the conflicts over trade and colonization among the rival European powers of the time, including the empires of Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal and France. Most of these pirates were of English, Dutch and French origin. Because Spain controlled most of the Caribbean, many of the attacked cities and ships belonged to the Spanish Empire and along the East coast of America and the West coast of Africa. Some of the best-known pirate bases were New Providence, in the Bahamas from 1715 to 1725, Tortuga established in the 1640s and Port Royal after 1655. Among the most famous Caribbean pirates are Edward Teach or "Blackbeard", Calico Jack Rackham and Henry Morgan.

And about the Pirate buried treasures, although these pirate treasures are favorite literary theme, there are very few documented cases of pirates actually burying treasure, and no documented cases of a historical pirate treasure map. Another case in 1720 involved British Captain Stratton of the Prince Eugene who, after supposedly trading rum with pirates in the Caribbean, buried his gold near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. One of his crew, Morgan Miles, turned him in to the authorities, and it is assumed the loot was recovered. In any case, Captain Stratton was not a pirate, and made no map.


TOP 4 WONDERFUL THING TO KNOW ABOUT THE CARIBBEAN

"CHICHEN ITZA"

Chichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the Yucatán state, present-day Mexico. Chichen Itza was a major focal point in the northern Maya lowlands from the Late Classic through the Terminal Classic and into the early portion of the Early Postclassic period. The site exhibits a multitude of architectural styles, from what is called “Mexicanized” and reminiscent of styles seen in central Mexico to the Puuc style found among the Puuc Maya of the northern lowlands. The presence of central Mexican styles was once thought to have been representative of direct migration or even conquest from central Mexico, but most contemporary interpretations view the presence of these non-Maya styles more as the result of cultural diffusion. Chichen Itza, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the second-most visited of Mexico's archaeological sites. The archaeological site draws many visitors from the popular tourist resort of Cancún, who make a day trip on tour buses. In 2007, Chichen Itza's El Castillo was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World after a worldwide vote. Despite the fact that the vote was sponsored by a commercial enterprise, and that its methodology was criticized, the vote was embraced by government and tourism officials in Mexico who project that as a result of the publicity the number of tourists expected to visit Chichen will double by 2012.


TOP 3 WONDERFUL THING TO KNOW ABOUT THE CARIBBEAN

"CARIBBEAN'S BIODIVERSITY"


The Caribbean islands are classified as one of Conservation International's biodiversity hotspots because they support exceptionally diverse ecosystems, ranging from montane cloud forests to cactus scrublands. The hotspot contains dozens of highly threatened species, ranging from birds, to mammals and reptiles. Popular examples include the Puerto Rican Amazon, two species of solenodon (giant shrews) in Cuba and Haiti, and the Cuban crocodile. The hotspot is also remarkable for the decimation of its fauna. One of the best tourist spot would be the "Saona Island", it is a tropical island located a short distance from the mainland on the south-east tip of the Dominican Republic, near La Altagracia Province. The Island is famous for the natural beauty of its beaches, and has been used on many occasions by film-makers and advertisers looking for a stereotypical 'desert island' setting for their film or product.



TOP 2 WONDERFUL THING TO KNOW ABOUT THE CARIBBEAN

"THE BOILING LAKE"


Dominica's Boiling Lake is situated in the Morne Trois Pitons National Park - Dominica's World Heritage site. It is filled with bubbling greyish-blue water that is usually enveloped in a cloud of vapour. The lake is approximately 200 ft (60 m) across. The first recorded sighting of the lake was in 1870 by Mr. Watt and Dr. Nicholls, two Englishmen working in Dominica at that time. In 1875, Mr. H. Prestoe, a government botanist, and Dr. Nicholls were commissioned to investigate this natural phenomenon. They measured the water temperature and found it to range from 180 to 197 degrees Fahrenheit (82 to 91.5 degrees Celsius) along the edges, but could not measure the temperature at the centre where the lake is actively boiling. They recorded the depth to be greater than 195 ft (59 m). There is no road leading directly to the lake. It is approximately a 13 kilometer hike to the lake from the nearest road, passing sulfur springs, over mountains and through gorges along the way. On July 6, 2007, Adventure film maker George Kourounis became the first person to ever cross the boiling lake from above, suspended by ropes over the most violently boiling section. This event was filmed for the TV series Angry Planet. Dominica's Boiling Lake is the second largest hot spring in the world.



THE MOST WONDERFUL THING TO KNOW ABOUT THE CARIBBEAN

"THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE"



The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean in which a number of aircraft and surface vessels are alleged to have mysteriously disappeared in a manner that cannot be explained by human error, piracy, equipment failure, or natural disasters. Popular culture has attributed these disappearances to the paranormal, a suspension of the laws of physics, or activity by extraterrestrial beings. While a substantial body of documentation reveals that a significant portion of the allegedly mysterious incidents have been inaccurately reported or embellished by later authors, claims by official agencies, stating that the number and nature of disappearances in the region is similar to that in any other area of ocean, have been directly challenged by the investigations of several private researchers. The boundaries of the triangle cover the Straits of Florida, the Bahamas and the entire Caribbean island area and the Atlantic east to the Azores. Triangle writers have used a number of supernatural concepts to explain the events. One explanation pins the blame on leftover technology from the mythical lost continent of Atlantis. Other writers attribute the events to UFOs.



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