My Travel Journal
By: Nicholas A
Mexico City
Today I arrived at my first destination Mexico City, and I decided to learn about the history of the city by going to a museum. When I walked in I headed for the area that was labeled for the beginning of the city's history. When I walked in, felt like I was in an Aztec village. I was surrounded by hut and wax figures of Aztecs. To find out what this was all about, I walked up to the nearest sign and began to read. When I finished reading about everything in this room, this room made more sense, because the Aztec Empire's capital was where Mexico City was today.
Now that I had learned about this room, I moved on to the next one. In the next room, there were pictures of the spanish fighting the Aztecs. Not noticing any signs, I walked up to a man who looked like he worked here in the museum and asked him what the picture were about . He told me that the Spanish arrived in Mexico in the 1500s and began their conquest.He also told me that the Spaniards took over in 1519 and held control of the area until 1821!
I thanked the man and realized that now I was coming closer to modern. I realized that the museum would not hold many answers. So I left the museum and went to a library. When I got there I found a book on the history of Mexico City and began to read. I learned that soon after Mexico was free of Spain, Mexico began to prosper rapidly. Then in 1970 mexico City began to decline. Pollution had caused smog to be everywhere. In the 1990s the ruling party was caught killing students that were protesting, causing political changes. Satisfied with what I had learned, headed to my hotel and went to bed happy with what I had learned.Aztec Artifact
This is one of the artifacts I saw. ( above In text museum I went to)
Libary
This is the cool library I went to.
Aztec vs. Spain
One of the picture I saw
Cuba
Today I left Mexico City and headed for Havana, the capital of Cuba one of the only communist countries in the world. It was hard to get permission from the U.S. to go to Cuba. I needed permission because the U.S and Cuba have such political differences that it would be would illegal for me to there. I wanted to learn why the two countries were so politically different. But one difference was was clear when I arrived here from Mexico, and that was freedom of travel. I wasn't allowed to leave the airport until later in the day. Finally when I was able to leave I asked a local about the government. She didn't tell me much but she did tell tell me that the government is Republic and governed]ended by the Castro brothers. This confused me because in all the papers I had read said that Cuba was communist. But then I remembered that communist countries don’t really admit that they are communist.
I asked more people but I kept getting the same answer. The day dragged on not learning anything new. That afternoon I decided to try my luck one more time, and ask one more person, and boy did I strike gold. The person told me everything about the government. He told me that the government is headed by one person and that person controls the military too. He told me that the Russian inspired constitution makes Cuba a communist (a type of socialism) country, and the government bans and takes away most human rights and needs. Excited by this information, I quickly took notes. After thanking the man I left for my hotel.The Capital Building
This is the capital building of Cuba (above in text the flag of Cuba)
Havana
This is the capital of Cuba.
Castro Bros
These are the Castro bros that rule Cuba
The Galapagos Islands
Yesterday I arrived in the Galapagos but it was too late for me to do anything, so I had to go to bed. But today when I got up I was ready to go.
I wanted to explore the volcanic region of the country, so I scheduled a helicopter ride because then I could get a better view of the volcanos. On the copter ride the pilot was very nice, and told me all about the volcanoes. He told me that some volcanoes are still active which meant that these islands are young. He also told me that the biggest volcano is called wolf and is on the biggest island of the archipelago.
when it time to land we got delayed because of the fog. Because of this fog delay my pilot me about the climate and how it mostly stays rainy and foggy. He taught me that the climate is tropical because we are on the Equator. But not all island are on the equator because they are so spread out. A couple of minutes later we landed. Happy with what i learned I went to bed satisfied.Volcano
A volcano going off on the Galapagos( Above in text map of the Galapagos)
Crater
A volcano crater I saw
Beach
A beach on the Galopagos
Brazil
Today I arrived in the last country of my tour, Brazil. While I’m here I wanted to learn about Brazil’s large mining industry.
When I got off the plane, I rented a car and drove to the Carajas Mine. When I got there I was greeted by the mine manager , Billy Francisco. After a brief conversation, we began our tour of the mine. First we went to the mine shaft. Here, Billy told me about all the minerals mined here, such as gold,diamonds, and iron ore. Billy told me that Brazil is rich in resources, and one of the most popular resources is iron ore.Iron ore makes up 78% of Brazil’s mining exports.
Then we went to the packing area where they ship minerals to the refinery. Here Billy told me that China is where the main demand for minerals comes from. He told me once in 2006, 245 million tons of iron ore was shipped out.
Now we moved on to the office building.Here,Billy told me that Brazil has the largest economy in Latin America, and is rapidly growing.he told me that Brazil has other important industries, such as manufacturing and farming.
I thanked Billy and left the mine getting back to the city just in time for lunch.Carajas Mine
Sky view of the Carajas Mine.( Above Iron Ore)
Money
Brazilian money known as Real