When Christopher Columbus made landfall in Puerto Rico during his second trans-Atlantic voyage, in 1493, a young Spanish nobleman, Ponce de León, some scholars believe, was on board. Rumors of hefty quantities of gold brought Ponce de Leon back, in 1508, where he found an islet with an excellent harbor he named Puerto Rico, or Rich Port. This would become the name of the island, while the town was renamed San Juan. He didn’t find gold, but was … [Read more...]
Jade Mountain, Saint Lucia Opens Interactive Chocolate Laboratory
Soufriere, Saint Lucia, May 24, 2014... Believe it or not, stays at Jade Mountain are becoming sweeter. Guests are invited to make their own chocolate in the brand-new chocolate laboratory. Jade Mountain is not only one of Saint Lucia’s most scenic resorts, it is also the island’s only "bean to bar" organic single estate boutique chocolate maker. There are over 1000 cocoa trees on the resort estates, including the organic farm Emerald’s in the … [Read more...]
Moon Dance Cliffs a well-kept secret in Jamaica
Jamaica’s one of those places that gets a mixed response when you tell people you’re going. It’s either, “Man, I love Jamaica, it’s gorgeous” or “No way I’d go to Jamaica, it’s too dangerous.” Funny how that is. I’ve run into tons of gorgeous in Jamaica and never any danger. Granted, you can find danger wherever you are, or it finds you, but by and large, be careful, don’t be stupid and put yourself in known places of danger, you’ll be … [Read more...]
Even the Natives Don’t go Native
We were in Paradise! There were six of us holed up in a luxury three-bedroom condominium resting at the top of a hill. From our lofty perch we overlooked the most beautiful turquoise water of the southern Caribbean Sea that surrounded the Island of Tobago with a fine-grained sandy beach that stretched in both directions as far as any of us cared to look. We sat on cushy cloth-covered deck chairs at our swimming pool, sipping our second or … [Read more...]
The Secret of Happiness: London (UK)
On Shakespeare's "Sceptr'd Isle," in London, John M. Edwards is confronted by an Aggro Cockney near Hyde Park's Free-Speech Forum: "Speaker's Corner" I once came across a swarthy gentleman wearing a sign around his neck emblazoned with the words, “The Secret of Happiness." Obviously a palmed pound coin could loosen the red rascal’s lips. Even if the “secret” was passed down generation to generation by word of mouth within a Da Vinci … [Read more...]
Get dirty, get partying at Antigua resorts
Never have I gone to a party at the house of someone who owns an all-inclusive Caribbean resort. Nor have I rooted in slimy muck of a saltwater lagoon at another all inclusive with its chef, foraging for food to cook and eat. But I did both, in gloriously fun fashion, at Curtain Bluff and Hermitage Bay, two resorts on Antigua in the Leeward Islands of the West Indies, where the rich and famous have homes, such as Georgio Armani, Richard … [Read more...]
One of the Keys to Happiness is a Bad Memory.
For the past decade, I’ve had this recurring nightmare. It involves concrete apartment structures hundreds and hundreds of stories tall and one city block wide. I’m usually stuck on one of the top floors, which are so high in the sky that small communities complete with little stores and schools have been established up there. Rickety walkways strung from windows connect the buildings so the tenants don’t have to make the journey down and back … [Read more...]
Postcard from Cahuita: Wish You Were Here on the “Rich Coast” (Costa Rica)
John M. Edwards succumbs to the lures and snares of Costa Rica’s Caribbean “ecotourism,” instead of “narcissism,” in a relatively wealthy country translating literally as “Rich Coast.” I stood in a state of stupefaction, eavesdropping on a few randomundocumented locals who looked like they were engaging in a slapping fight—except with warm smiles of nonrecognition on their faces, maybe ganja buzzes. “Hey, mon, wha’appen!” “Wa’appen, … [Read more...]
Honduras: When Conservation Goes Too Far
Honduras is like the monkey who locked up the zookeeper. This little tropical realm has put away the constrained thinking that keeps others stuck in unproductive routines, and allowed its wildness to escape the margins. ~Richard Bangs Because it’s faithful to our childlike imaginations of wilderness, our youthful notions of life authentic and unadulterated, Honduras remains a true, original adventure. Far from the strictures of … [Read more...]
Disneyland for Romance
Having recently married, (an unlikely side effect of Obamacare) I seem to find my brain stuck in amorous overdrive - the unlikely beneficiary being my husband, with an impromptu trip for two to the Magic Kingdom. It’s true that many react incredulously to the idea of adults wanting to frolic in a place so firmly aimed at the juvenile but, as a child from Southern California, I have always loved Disneyland and my affection hasn’t waned one bit. … [Read more...]
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