The Painted Rooster

Today we have a guest traveler. We will call her .... 'I'.

Though there is an abundance of fruits and other foods, generally, if you ask locals what they normally eat, they'll say, "rice, beans, and something else." or "special sauce" is that like lunchrooms mystery meat?

These folks have lots of slang. I tried to speak their language but still had a hard time understanding them. A popular slang term is pronounced "twanees"

You know how there are always the popular tourist item? Well here it is a painted oxcart. What do I do with that?

Most countries are eye catching, even if it is in it's own way. It is hard not to notice the beauty here though, and the variety. Volcanoes, waterfalls, coffee fields, beaches, banana plantations, rivers, prehistoric rain forests, cloud forests etc. I admit cloud forests intrigue me, I'm glad I got to see one.

There are about 30,000 members of the church here. The first two missionaries arrived in 1946. And now it has its own temple. I was there for the dedication.

The locals enjoy a relatively high standard of living compared to the countries around it but I would still consider it a poor country. Is home to lots of people from adjacent countries who need work or want political or social refuge. As has happened in the U.S., many locals are not fond of the influx of "foreigners."

Spanish is the main language but on the coast some people speak a Caribbean Creole dialect of English. Indigenous populations account for less than 1% of the population. Most people are of Europeans descent. I looked more Latina than a lot of people. On the coast there are lots of Chinese Spanish-speaking who came many generations ago to work on the railroads.

One of the past presidents won the Nobel Peace Prize--for his efforts to end civil wars then raging in several other Central American countries. Doesn't he look a little like Ross from Friends?

I would be remiss if I did not mention. .... just kidding, I'm not going to give it away but he has been mentioned before here on JTW with his outrageous filibusterness. He wasn't just satisfied with getting kicked out of one place, he had to try again and again. Until he was eventually executed by the Hondurans.

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. But America wasn't the only place he discovered. A few years after claiming America for the Spanish he toured some more and one of his discoveries was this quaint little place.

Most of us don't realize this but hand gestures are different all over the world. When someone wants to point they don't use their fingers they point with puckered lips. In America that would be quite a different message in the US of A.

A fun tradition that you really would have to hang around for a while to learn or experience is a birthday tradition. For this local tradition boy or girl gets to take the first bite of cake, right out of the side of the cake.

Thanks for letting me share my love and experience with these beautiful people. Good luck guessing.

ESTONIA

My Fatherland, My Happiness and Joy

BZ - 25

- The Estonian language is most closely related to Finish.

- After the collapse of the Soviet Union, an Estonian POLITICAL SCIENTIST at a US Institution helped draft the constitution.

- There is a large minority ethnic population of Russians.

- They have the worst relationship with Russia out of all other former Soviet republics.

MP - 20

Estonia’s coastline has hundreds of deserted beaches. Even in the height of summer you can find private space for yourself (skinny dipping baby!)

-In Soomaa National Park, in spring, if the snow thaws fast enough then a natural phenomenon occurs: the whole area floods and people have to travel around by boat.

-Roads are traffic jam free (I'm moving there!)

MoMa/MS - (for trying) 5

Kiiking

Finally, I've found it a new sport. A new adventure. Granted they have all the regulars, Kayaking, hiking, skiing, beach resorts, etc. But a new sport/adventure arises. Invented here it is relatively new, it requires little skill....

well unless you get competitive... it can require great skill.

the smaller the swing, the easier it is. the current records is at about 21 feet. WHEEEE

This place like most.. well all, goes way back. But unlike well say the USA, you can trace the inhabitants waaay back. In fact the first inhabitants started setting up shop as soon as the ice melted.. after the ICE AGE.

We are talking 11,000 to 13,000 years ago. So don't be surprised to find historical monuments, castles, forts, etc of all ages scattered all around.

On one of my hikes I found myself at a beautiful little pond. But this is not just any little pond. It is a meteor crater. This land has the highest number of meteorite craters per land area in the world. They are everywhere, how wild is that?

After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, These people finally attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940, it regained its freedom in 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Free at Last!

Have you ever heard 18 000 voices singing at once? This emotional experience can be felt during the countries Song Festival, which occurs once every five years in the capital. Once in five years, tens of thousands of people gather in the summertime to take part in the Song and Dance Festival.

Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, they has been free to promote economic and political ties with Western Europe. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.

There are many rivers and many waterfalls here, I can take a drive along the coast or a hike or a bike ride, and see some of the most beautiful sights imaginable. It is sometimes hard to establish uniqueness for countries in Europe, the culture, the history, the beauty. But it is the people who make it their own. It is a unique experience just to experience the uniqueness they provide.

Morocco - (Arabic: المغرب‎)

34°02′N 6°51′W

Motto:

"الله، الوطن، الملك"

"Allāh, al Waṭan, al Malik"

"Yakuc - Tamurt - Agllid"

God - Homeland - Kin

I've heard of Casablanca all my life and for some reason never related it to Morocco. I thought it was interesting non of you brought it up either.

I have to admit you all had good info this time around, but I was very impressed with DP's answers, and was very tempted to give her extra points. EXTRA CREDIT!!

BZ - 25
-Not sure if this counts, but it's a great talk that talks about an incident in Morrocco: http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?
- The mid day meal is the main meal of the day.
- Bread is eaten with every meal
- The most popular drink is Green Tea with mint

MP - 20
-It has been inhabited since at least 8000BC.
-Moroccan pipes can't handle toilet paper, so you have to throw all toilet paper in a trash can.
-A traditional Moroccan wedding ceremony lasts from four to seven days. On her wedding day, it is a Moroccan wedding custom for the bride to have a ceremonial purification milk bath before a ritual henna painting (Beberiska) of her hands and feet. Once the couples wedding vows have been exchanged, and before the newlywed Moroccan bride becomes the mistress of her new home, she walks around the outside of her house three times.


M0Ma/MS - 20
YES!! - Barnaby IS a barbary Lion
- A-K U is Al Karaouine University
- traditional entertainment centers around horses
- 1st African country to play in world cup soccer
- Nawal was the 1st African Muslim woman to win Olympic GOLD

DP - 20
- The cartographer Mohammed al-Idrisi (d. 1166), whose maps aided European exploration in the Renaissance is said to have lived in Fes for some time, suggesting that he may have worked or studied at Al Karaouine.
- The university was started by a woman. An educated woman who got an inheratance and wanted to use it to make a mosque that then grew into what it is now
- Ok I will make this all about education. The country spends 1/5 of their budget on education and though their literacy is around 50% they received the UNESCO 2006 Literacy Prize" for their efforts

wheat and barley, wheat and barley, wish I had some chocolate

I arrived here on Friday, I should have known better, but I forgot today is their Holy Day. These Muslims go to the mosque on their lunch breaks on Fridays and sit for a 30 minute sermon before returning to work. What a site to see these men worshiping in front of these beautiful mosques.

One thing I did take into consideration though is the dating .... or non dating customs here. If you make eye contact with someone of the opposite sex and smile, to them this is a sign that you are romantically interested in them. There is no such thing as dating in Islam, you are either married or not. Married men and women are not to have any friends of the opposite sex. It is permissible to have professional relationships, of course, but if you are in public and see someone of the opposite sex from work, you must pretend as if they are a stranger.

I met Barnaby, their national mascot. Talk about King of the Jungle, isn't he a fierce warrior. Though it didn't help much, he is now and extinct species in the wild. The last one shot in the wild was back in 1922. If I were the king of the forrrrest.

Most people make a quick assumption that the area here is mostly desert. But along with beautiful coast, sandy beaches, coastal waterfronts there are beautiful mountain ranges, rivers and plains. But YES there is Desert.

Because of the location, throughout history people have come from the North, South, East and ...well not from the west. Of course with this kind of immigration, there are many different influences. From Music to food.... Spices are used extensively in the food here. While spices have been imported for thousands of years, many ingredients, like saffron from Tiliouine, mint and olives from Meknes, and oranges and lemons from Fez, are home-grown. Couscous is the staple.

The University of A-K is a university located in F. It is considered the oldest continuously operating academic degree-granting university in the world. Talk about old school... he he he

Founded in 859, as a madrasah the university is one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the Muslim world still. I'm just so awed by the beauty of the architecture in the old schools. I could just sit and meditate for hours.

ANDORRA

Sorry its taking me a little longer to get back in the groove... this pic will have to do for now.

42°30′N 1°31′E

DP - 25
- Sale e pesce (salt and fish) in May is a gastronomic festival that lasts two days that celebrates Andorra and its commercial activity through two aspects characterising its territory; the earth and the sea.
- The nearest airports are Genoa GOA Cristforo Colombo and Nice NCE Cote d’Azur. which is over 700 miles!!!
- Before 1994 members had to travel 84 miles to go to church in Spain.

MM - 10
I have a personal connection with. When I was doing volunteer library work in El Estor, Guatemala, I met and hung out with a Guatemalan guy, a German guy, and three nice girls from Andorra. At this point in my life I'd never heard of Andorra. We had many adventures together. One time we went canoeing, and I didn't realize I should have brought a swimsuit. They offered to lend me a bikini and couldn't understand why I didn't want it or couldn't change there on the spot. Anyway, one interesting fact is that they called female friends "Tia" (aunt) as a term of endearment.

MP - 20
-St George’s Day (St Jordi)is a traditional holiday with traditional gifts of roses for women and books for men.
-Right now the weather is 31 degrees.
-It's about half the size of New York City.

AH - 5

BZ - 20
- Prevalence of Urinary Incontinence in female Andorran population is about 30%.
- Their national anthem is: El Gran Carlemany
- There is a perfume museum to enjoy there.
- Some of their favorite dishes include: cunillo (rabbit cooked in tomato sauce), xai (roast lamb), trinxat (bacon, potatoes and cabbage) and escudella (a stew of chicken, sausage and meatballs).

JESS IS BACK! With a brand new traveling PACK.

How did you love the Olympics! So much fun. The good sports, the bad sports. The explosive crashes, the tubular boarding, the .001th of a second difference between Gold and Silver. Never a dull moment.

The folks here where I am agree, they have been to every Summer and Winter Olympics since 1976 and never won a medal, but they have so much fun they keep coming back with the hopes of one day getting that medal.

Though having a bit of advantage of having both summer climates (300 days of sunshine) and winter paradise nestled in the mountain ranges, average elevation of 6200 ft, and highest at 9652 ft. I think their weakness is in numbers - only around 85 thousand strong to train. Though tourism boosts their numbers to 10.2 million ANNUALLY! Because of the tourism and the tax haven the numbers are growing. Who wouldn’t want to live here? And live they do! They have the 2^nd highest human life expectancy in the world.

Charlemagne himself granted a charter to these mountain folks in return for fighting the moors. And for many years they were ruled by the overlords of other countries. Countries often fighting over rulership of this tiny place. Wanting to look tough when the tough needed showing, they declared war on Imperial Germany during World War I, but did not actually take part in the fighting. It remained in an official state of belligerency until 1957 as it was not included in theTreaty of Versailles.

Tucked away in a little corner they have been isolated from mainstream for a while, but because of the tourism increase they are coming out of isolation. And they aren’t afraid to go big. In fact there are 2000 shops, that is more than 1 for every 40 citizens! But that’s all shoved in their one.. yes one… city, the capital. The rest of the country is postcard perfect. Warning though, this may not be the case in a few years. Greed and uncontrolled development risk spoiling the views.

There may be only one town, but there are at least 6 ski resorts. Skiing and shopping. Should be their slogan. Wait, someone just showed me one more… SPA… Ahhh. This health spa, is the largest one in Europe, covering six thousand square meters. The features include inside and outside lagoon, saunas, Jacuzzis, a grapefruit pool, an Aztecian pool, Indo-Roman baths, cascades, bubble baths and warm marble slates.

Ok so the three S’s are only the Highlights. Some of the lowlights are hiking, rock climbing, fishing, mountain biking, canyoning, pretty much anything you want. Rough lowlights eh?

G42! Oh yeah, I’m in one of the two MAJOR bingo halls. I’m so going to win.

I found an LDS church here, and did some investigating. The first member baptized was Marlize Gomez Lima in 1992. At the time there were 5 members living here. Now there are 58. They got their own chapel in 1994