Begin in Nicaragua with the history of a place made tenuous in the shadow of volcanoes and powerful nations. Among a story of indigenous peoples of Central America, Spanish conquistadors, American industrialists, and politicians, are pirates and a heroic American National Baseball League right fielder. Within a litany of dozens of Nicaraguan presidents since 1821, there are those who deserve mention for valiant efforts to lead Nicaragua into democracy, among whom is the first female head of state in the western hemisphere. A rich Castilian culture, amid continual political strife, produced a cadre of Nicaraguan poets. Rubén Darío is revered in the Poets' Corner of the Leon Cathedral, where he is joined by recipients of the Darío Prize in Poetry. Poets of Leon are also daring revolutionaries, priests, and leaders of the modern nation.
Visit colonial hill towns of Mexico, where Aztec culture fled Spanish devastation of Mexico City. Search for the Goddess Woman of the Aztecs from Puerto Vallarta to Izapa, Manzanillo, Zihautenejo, and Puerto Chiapas. Go beyond beach resorts for Colima, Comala, and Chiapas in Mexico, and Comalapa in Guatemala. Among coastal cities Acapulco adds singular flair as the destination port of Manila Galleons, bringing spices of the Philippines to Mexico, enabling Mexican cuisine as we know it today.
California was the domain of Native Americans, facing Spanish arrivals seeking gold and plantation agriculture. The story of slavery of Native Americans is preserved in California Missions, from San Diego to San Francisco. Mission architecture is the legacy seen in Art and Architecture of Southern California. Spain negotiated the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with the young United States, a document little understood and contested today. San Francisco has a history of singular personalities from inception.
Enjoy Tea and Gardens in Victoria, in far west Canada. Architects of the palaces and hotels have stories as colorful as their buildings are fanciful. Built on the grounds of First Peoples, Vancouver preserves the story of its first residents as it adds the story of Chinese in North America.
Native People of Alaska faced Russian settlers, whalers, and loggers making a home in gorgeous, yet unforgiving terrain. Having lost control of their land, Native Alaskan tribes and corporations are vibrant players in the modern economy, while preserving art and culture. The story of the Alaska purchase is told in Sitka, where intrigue and folly collided in the aspirations of Russian and American dreams for territory. Alaska quickly became the domain of Characters to Match the Outsized Environment. Fur warriors fought early battles and whalers brought the American Civil War to Alaska. Fish canning corporations from the lower forty-eight fought Alaska statehood, while they enslaved new generations of Native Alaskans. Finally, poets came to Alaska painting and writing of the wilderness.
Stories of Hawaii begin with Being Native Hawaiian and move to a Royal History of Hawaii. Until the monarchy was usurped, its assets converted to private use of sugar magnates, Native Hawaiians marginalized, and the last monarch imprisoned, Hawaii was an independent monarchy recognized by the US. The Little History of Honolulu is seen in city streets and monuments, no visit to Honolulu is complete without a visit to Waikiki Beach of the first king of unified Hawaii, King Kamehameha, and now home to A Vision in Pink: Royal Hawaiian Hotel. If walls of the hotel could talk, they would tell of surfers, hula parties, and famous guests.
This Itinerary ends with two tales for days at sea. Explore the northern Pacific Ocean with Bering, Cook, and Vancouver. Search for a Northeast Passage with English and Russian hopefuls, until success was achieved by a Swedish-Finnish-Russian hero.
