The southern side of the island of St. Barths where the D211 highway meets the ocean again feels like a number of now built up island tourist hubs would have felt 60 years ago. A few homes are visible between the green of the vegetation and dot parts of the hillside, but that is it. There are no high rise condo's here or mass tourism. However, with a little 'vision' one can clearly see an unfortunate busy alternative. From where I am staying … [Read more...]
The British Virgin Islands, a short Ferry Ride Away
I hopped on the ferry this morning from Charlotte Amalie in the US Virgin Islands and in an hour I was going through customs at Road Town in the British Virgin Islands on the lovely mountainous island of Tortola. Spotting a huge Celebrity Cruise ship at dock I thought Road Town would be overwhelmed with passengers but this was not the case. Road Town is the largest town on the entire island - the total population of Tortola is only about 24,000 … [Read more...]
First Day Exploring St. Kitts
I met a Brazilian traveler today - he has not traveled much at all and this was his first time to the Caribbean. He did not speak a word of English so I ended up helping translate through his language barrier using Spanish as our common language. After what I estimated to be a 15 minute walk into town from the B&B where I am staying - turned into a hour, I was more than ready to rent a motorbike. I found a shop run by a man named Matrix who … [Read more...]
Red Eyes & Rum: My Arrival to St. Thomas, USVI
From Jet Blue coach to Spirit Air coach I quickly discovered the differences in seating space. The flight I was on from the 'lower 48' had the most legroom of any standard coach seat I've ever sat in. Then it was on to a Spirit Air flight connection in Fort Lauderdale - down to St. Thomas, USVI. I had slimmed down my normal light weight backpack to my camera and laptop and a few thin shorts and shirts. My plan was to wear all the shorts and … [Read more...]
A Few Interesting Notes about St. Barths in the Caribbean
Here are a few notes from what I was told by those living on the island and or from first hand experience. - Flying onto the short airport runway in a small plane is an exciting experience - The island is only 8 square miles but due to its mountainous topography feels bigger than it actually is - The island's electricity is powered by diesel generators - Homes have cisterns to collect rainwater - The roads are narrow and windy and people … [Read more...]
Sometimes The Unscripted Tour is the most Memorable
We disembarked the Holland America Line, MS euroDam and I caught a whiff of some crew chatter about some sort of strike on the island. I didn't think much of this at the time. Soon we were driving through the "Dutch" countryside and a few minutes later we were driving through the "French" countryside. The island of St. Martin is a divided territory between the Dutch and the French - on the French side the Euro is used and the Dutch still use (at … [Read more...]
Exploring Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
Today we skirted the edges of Santo Domingo - the oldest city in North America founded by Europeans. It dates from 1496. Now we find ourselves in the small but very busy town of Las Terrenas on the Samaná Peninsula - about a 2.5 hour drive from Santo Domingo. Kite Surfing is popular here - several outfitters offer introductory courses - usually lasting 6 - 9 hours spread out over several days. We became inspired by the combination of … [Read more...]
A Delayed Introduction to the Dominican Republic
We had been planning a short getaway to the Caribbean for some time (and the timing was right to escape the cooler coastal California weather we often have this time of year) - my brother had been to the Dominican Republic a number of years ago and recommended we visit the Samaná Peninsula in the northern part of the country. We arrived to Punta Cana and were the first ones from our flight off the bus from the plane to the terminal. Three hours … [Read more...]
A Most Random Encounter on Saba
While on Saba during my latest trip to the Caribbean something happened that I've dreamed about but in all my years of traveling has eluded me until now. I was standing at Fort Bay waiting to board the ferry back to Sint Maarten in a crowd of people when I spotted a couple standing near me. I am usually good with recognizing faces I have seen before - the man looked very familiar and I initially thought maybe I had met him on another trip. I … [Read more...]
Another Day of Caribbean Island Hopping
I began my morning in the brand new Antigua International Airport on my way to Princess Juliana Airport in Sint Maarten. To call an airport 'International' in most of these small Caribbean Islands is probably redundant as most of the airports have flights connecting to other Caribbean Islands. Princess Juliana Airport is well known for Maho Beach, a small strip of sand that lies at the foot of the runway where sun bathers look up at times … [Read more...]