Voir Dire

  Everybody's happy when you get new jerseys and are winning.  Little League for 9/10 year olds in Loiza, Puerto Rico.  After a rough start to the season, Los Cocoteritos won 6 straight and advance to the semi-finals. Coaches de Los Cocoteritos: Wilfredo, Candela and Francisco. Practices and games start with prayer en la Republica Dominicana y Puerto Rico.   A dog and his iguana.  Getting out of del sol caribeno and cooling down en El Yunque Rainforest. Always windy, the north atlantic went still one day during the eclipse and looked like el caribeno.  The problem with no wind is that you get killed by mosquitos in the evening.   Rio Espiritu Santo flowing into the North Atlantic.  Still thinking about leaving Dean at one of these islands.  It's his home.           

Saludo de Puerto Rico.  A commonwealth and unincorporated territory of the United States.  Not sure what that really means.  It's a little confusing.  Distances between pueblos are marked in kilometers, but the speed limit is posted in MPH.  Someone born in Puerto Rico could in fact become President of the United States, but the people of Puerto Rico have no vote in the U.S. Presidential election.  Puerto Rico has a steadily declining population of 3.25 million, but there are around 9 million Puerto Ricans in the world.  It's referred to as the Puerto Rican diaspora.  It's been happening for some time, but accelerated after the two devastating hurricanes of Irma and Maria in 2017.  Irma was a category 5 hurricane that came close to the island, 10 days later Maria, a category 4 went straight through the country.  I heard someone talking that in the "eye" of a hurricane everything goes calm for a period but then the ferocity starts again and the wind changes directi

Bon dia y bon bini na Dushi Curacao (Good morning and welcome to sweet Curacao).  Part of the ABC islands: Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and situated 30 miles north of Venezuela in Mar Caribe.  A small island with small pockets of crowded pristine beaches, a deep baseball culture and a language, Papiamentu that blends Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch.  Easy to get around, good water from the tap and a temperature that ranges between 78-86 with a constant breeze.    Went with Ruby to get a soda and found out one of their secrets for the enthusiastic involvement from the parents during youth games. (read the menu) Dock at Pirate's Bay in Willemstad, Curacao. Scout day for a few 14 year olds.  Getting on the radar of MLB teams and training for the new International Signing Date of January 15th.  If you turn 16 before the sign date and 17 before Sept. 1st the following year the player is eligible.  It's a big deal in the Caribbean world.  Curacao Ba

  The word 'travel' comes from an old French word, 'travail,' or toilsome, laborious work.  If you've ever travelled with a group, or with a group of youth in any capacity you can start to understand the meaning.  Looking into the word a little more it probably originates from the Latin word, 'tripalium,' or torture and a painful, laborious effort.  If your accommodations have you crammed into a small European apartment in the damp winter with six people and zero space for sports or activity you start to understand the deeper meaning of the word.  As with work, there has to be an incentive to travel.  One incentive of 'travel' for an amateur historian is that it allows you to get a feel for the area and gain a deeper understanding without having to read an entire book.   Travel day.  I can get us there and we'll eat food at some point.  The better half ensures theres a reasonable level of comfort along the way. The WINE WORLD: Route des Vins d