Around the World in the Hetzel Kitchen

Location : Caribbean, about halfway between Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago Background : Last of the Caribbean islands to be colonized by the Europeans, due to the resistance of the natives. Area : 751 sq km; 189th largest in the world         Slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC Terrain : Rugged volcanic mountains Highest Point : Morne Diablotins 1,447 m Natural Hazards : Flash floods and destructive hurricanes Population : Over 73,000; 200th largest in the world Capital : Roseau Diplomatic Relationship : The US does not have an embassy in Dominica, but instead the ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Dominica Economy : Traditionally based on agriculture (bananas), but moving more toward ecotourism Source: CIA Factbook Dominica was one of the stops listed for our honeymoon cruise, and neither Kevin nor I knew much about it.  In fact, we were even pronouncing it wrong...not like the beginning of Dominican Republic, but D...

Independence : 1966, from the UK Location : Caribbean, northeast of Venezuela            Easternmost Caribbean island Area : 430 sq km, 200th in the world           2.5 times the size of DC Elevation : Ranges from 0 m to only 336 m Population : over 280,000; 180th in the world Capital : Bridgetown Nationality : Barbadian or Baja (this is important!) Ethnic groups : 93% black Airports : 1 Language : Officially English, although a variant called Bajan is spoken colloquially.  Depending on the accent and slang, it can be unintelligible to English speakers. Famous People : Rhianna is from Barbados, and Wikipedia tells you this with a scantily clad picture of her wearing a Mickey Mouse hat... Barbados is a pretty big milestone for me.  It is the first country in this that I have actually visited!  It was one of the stops on our honeymoon cruise.  That was the ...