Haiti

My children and I volunteered for 6 years in the northern part of the Dominican Republic. And while we had crossed the border and traveled into Haiti, we wanted to see more of the country. In 2014, we flew into Port Au Prince and then traveled overland from there to Monte Cristi in the Dominican Republic.

Port Au Prince is an exciting place to travel – alive with commerce! It seems that everyone there is an entrepreneur selling goods and services on the city’s bustling streets.

Yes, the country is one of the poorest in the region and world, however pigeon holing this country into that narrative is doing it a disservice. Sure, it’s poor but it has heart.

This is a country of artists and ingenuity … check out this cool bus. These are all over the city. I’m telling you … this country is a photographer’s paradise!

We rode horses in northern Haiti, to the top of the Citadelle, the largest fortress in the Western Hemisphere. When Haiti was seeking its independence in the 1800s, it was designed to withstand an attack from France.

East Timor

  (Visited in 2017) You just couldn’t make up this country’s past: colonized by the Portuguese, declared their independence in 1975, and then 9 days later the Indonesians invade East Timor. For the next 25 years they rebelled against the Indonesian occupation,...

Japan

Fish market & fish and egg shrine   The Japanese people I met sensed that something was wrong with the world. Why?  Because the cherry blossoms were blooming during the wrong time of year (during the “snow” season), and because typhoons were occurring more...

Antigua and Barbuda

Country Information: Christopher Columbus came to Antigua in 1493 and the Spanish settlers grew sugarcane and tobacco there. It was colonized by the British in 1632 and remained a British possession until 1981. Jim's Perspectives: In 1993, my wife (who I was then...