In the Americas with David Yetman

The Dutch empire lives on in the Caribbean's ABC Islands--Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. Colonial Curaçao's capital city, Willemstad, was made possible by slave trade. On Bonaire we mingle with marine life, and witness the extraction of salt from its tidal flats. Finally we trek into a national park for tall cacti, big lizards, and flamingos.

Across the bay from Salvador, Bahia, in the Reconcavo region slaves escaped, founded their own towns, and shaped the local society as they exploited dende palms, mangrove swamps, rivers, and its once-lush forests. Islands along the coast became homes to the wealthy and to humble fishing families. A tire company is restoring the original forest.

Bogotá is Colombia's capital. At 8,600 feet, its air is thin, but with 8 million residents, it's polluted. Remedy? Mass transit and Ciclovía: Sundays they close downtown's 70 miles of streets to vehicles. Ciclovía has become almost as important as coffee. Host David Yetman travels west to the Zona Cafetera where he learns the life history of their and our most popular beverage.

It's our greatest mountain range. It influences California's weather, serves up most of its water, and was once a huge to transcontinental transportation. It is a symbol of earthquakes, which created it. Tectonic geologist Eldridge Moores helps host David Yetman decipher the mysteries of the Sierra Nevada and describes the range's importance.

Long stretches of Brazil's northeast coast are home to dunes, some the size of small mountains, some big enough to create their own climate. Their color, shape, and composition provide a variety of landscapes, each with its own ecological character, plants, and animals. The sands are also home to the cashew tree. One in particular has become a major attraction.

It's the world's largest lake, vast enough to create its own climate. Lake Superior separates the U.S. and Canada, on the east by a portage canal. For a thousand years the lake has seen vibrant cultures and trade in copper. Canadian shores harbor unending forests and some of the coldest towns in the Americas. Within its waters is Isle Royale National Park.

For 200 years Nicaragua suffered from earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and military interventions. Now a democracy, its Spanish heritage is preserved and its cultures varied: Misquito Indians from the Caribbean and descendants of Aztecs, who hardly know each other, still flourish within the country. Its natural wonders are now acclaimed.

Pernambuco, the size of Maine, is home to Recife, a city of more than 5 million Brazilians. Carnival parties there and in nearby colonial Olinda and in the cities of Bezerros and Nazarene da Mata are part of a flamboyant, boisterous week of parades, intense dances, and elaborate costumes. And invitations are not required. You can jump in at any time.

500 years ago Franciscan monks ventured to remote Cuetzalan in Mexico's Puebla State. It was fertile for evangelizing, a mix of Aztecs and Totonacans who supported a vibrant culture. Although less remote now, the traditions and languages continue in a town that venerates its fiestas and the rituals they perpetuate, especially the airborne voladores.

Lake Clark and Katmai National Parks in Alaska endure a heritage of volcanic explosions. Lake Clark has endless forests, lakes, marshes, glaciers, and recently active volcanoes. Katmai experienced violent explosions still evident 100 years later. In both parks, the rainforests have recovered, wildlife is abundant, and Native Americans persevere as well.