Caribbean With Simon Reeve S01 Complete X264 [CrazzyOtter]

Idyllic turquoise sea, sunshine and white sandy beaches;

its no wonder Caribbean countries make the most of their
income from tourism these days. But Simon Reeves not
interested in swish hotels and water-sports, preferring as
always to explore the realities of a country, no matter how
seedy or distressing.



Series 1 - Episode 1

He starts his journey around the Caribbean Sea on Hispaniola –
the island shared by Dominican Republic and Haiti
where he finds out about international drug trafficking
and restavek (child slavery), the aftermath of a devastating
earthquake and the allure of voodoo.

Poverty is everywhere. He’s told that there are now fewer
Puerto Ricans living in the affluent-looking island of Puerto Rico
than in mainland America. Why? Because over there they can earn
three times more for doing the same job.
About this programme

1/3. The adventurer travels around the islands and mainland coast
of the Caribbean Sea, beginning on Hispaniola. He joins the
Dominican Republic police's anti-narcotics division, before crossing
the border to Haiti to see the notorious tented slums of Cite Soleil,
while also discovering a vibrant, colourful and thriving side to the country.
He ends this leg of his journey in Puerto Rico, an archipelago
that is a territory of the United States, and examines the legacy
of bombing and weapons testing on the island of Vieques.


Series 1 - Episode 2

Approach this as you would a Caribbean cruise because, while you get a
flavour of each place, you don’t stop long enough to get to grips
with the countrys character.

So there are quick stop-offs in wealthy Barbados to see how lionfish are
destroying marine life and St Vincent, where marijuana rather
than bananas is the preferred crop.

Then Simon Reeve arrives in Venezuela. This does have a very different feel.
There’s corruption “from top to bottom”, poverty, violence and a phenomenal
trade smuggling petrol (which is laughably cheap here) across the border to
Colombia, home to the Earth-loving Kogis, who have an ecological warning for us.
About this programme

2/3. Simon meets the owner of a traditional wooden house in Barbados
who has turned down millions of dollars from luxury property developers,
then encounters marijuana growers on the volcanic island of St Vincent
hoping that the drug will soon be decriminalized. On the South American mainland,
Simon examines the mismanagement of Venezuela's natural resources,
before crossing into Colombia, where he spends time with the Kogi -
an indigenous people who have maintained their traditional forest lifestyle.


Series 1 - Episode 3


On the last leg of the journey, our companion again points out what
he considers important, not what would fit smoothly into a normal,
relaxing travelogue. As usual, the theme is the struggle of ordinary
people to maintain their way of life in extraordinary circumstances.
From there, you don’t know what might come next.

Nicaragua has the story of a small coastal community about to be
ripped apart by a new super-canal; in Jamaica, tackling high-level
corruption and street gangs simultaneously has slashed crime rates.

The eyebrow-raiser is the middle section in Honduras, a country
deeply blighted by drug trafficking. Reeve’s visit to a prison full of
gang members is both scarier and more hopeful than you’d expect.
About this programme

3/3. Simon begins the last leg of his journey in Nicaragua and
visits the Rama-Kriol people, who face losing their ancestral homes
due to the construction of a new transoceanic waterway.
Simon then discovers Hondurans living in the grip of some of
the most violent criminal gangs in the world, with San Pedro Sula
having the highest murder rate of any city on the planet.
His journey ends in Jamaica, where he spends time with young
people who have rejected gang life, offering a model of hope for
future generations. Last in the series.


Enjoy x