The Man Behind the Name George Maduro was born in July 1916 to a Sephardic Jewish family in Willemstad, Curaçao. At a young age he moved to The Hague, Netherlands, to further his education. He lived there for the rest of his childhood. George joined the Dutch army after finishing his education and was subsequently appointed to Second-Lieutenant-Reserve in 1939 ... View Post
About Elijah
Tripoint of Austria, Slovakia and Hungary
Twenty minutes south of urban Bratislava, and about a kilometer west of the freeway, lies Szoborpark. One may wonder, “What makes this park so unique? After all, it is just some strange statues in the middle of farmland.” The answer is that it is one of the world’s 176 tripoints. A “tripoint” is a single point of land in which 3 countries meet. When following the border around a ... View Post
History of Estonia
Around 3000 BCE, Tallinn, Estonia was first settled by Vikings. Not a large amount is known about these people, but archaeologists have found ceramic pottery dating back to about 2500 BCE. It was a small town, but it slowly became an important trade port between Baltic countries and Russia due to its unique location. Tallinn, at the time known as “Reval”, became a primary target for ... View Post
Impressions of St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia at almost five million people, and it’s where we are living for the next week. Overall the city is fine, but it’s got quite a few problems in my eyes. Personally, I would much rather have spent another week in Iceland instead of staying here. One of the things the city has going for it is the food. All the ... View Post
Horseback Riding at Laxnes, Iceland
On our second day in Iceland, we went horseback riding at Laxnes Horse Farm, about 30 kilometers out of Reykjavik. Icelandic horses have an interesting history. No horses have been imported from the mainland in over 1000 years, making the breed completely native to Iceland. On top of that, all Icelandic horses have five gaits as supposed to the common four. They have the common gaits: ... View Post
Zip Lining Over the Rio Colorado
I feel myself soaring over the Rio Colorado 50-some feet below. The hot sun and strong breeze give me a nice combination of hot and cold that balances out. Despite moving at over 40 miles an hour, I am at peace. Today is our final full day in Costa Rica, after five days of volunteer work at Costa Del Oro Beach. We have been on the Nicoya Peninsula watching wild olive ridley sea ... View Post
