Explore Caribbean

Explore Caribbeanhttps://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbeanExplore Caribbeanhttps://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/caribbean/puerto-rico/visiting-el-yunque-rainforestThe only tropical forest in the US National Forest System, El Yunque is rebounding from hurricane damage with a newly reopened visitor’s center and eco-friendly accommodation options. Nomad Jessica shares what she loves about this park and her favorite things to do here.2024-10-17T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbean/puerto-rico/visiting-el-yunque-rainforesthttps://www.worldnomads.com<p>El Yunque, the lush green rainforest on the northeastern coast of Puerto Rico, is one of my favorite places in the world. <em>Coquíes</em> (a tiny frog whose call sounds like coh-qui) serenade you along the winding roads of Río Grande that lead to the rainforest. You can't help but admire the palm trees, the pops of color from the bird of paradise flowers, and the darting hummingbirds. Entering El Yunque immediately gives me a sense of peace.</p> <p>The rainforest was severely damaged in September 2017 by Hurricane María, and it took several years for the park to reopen. Many of the scars of María are still here. Visitors should <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/elyunque/recreation" target="_blank">c</a>heck the current conditions as some trails are temporarily closed. Here are some tips on how to best prepare for your visit.</p> <ul> <li><a href="#reservations">Getting there and making reservations </a></li> <li><a href="#el-portal">Visiting El Portal de Yunque</a></li> <li><a href="#trails">El Yunque trails and hikes</a></li> <li><a href="#accommodation">Eco-conscious accommodations at El Yunque</a></li> <li><a href="#community">Community experiences at El Yunque</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="reservations">Getting there and entering the park</h2> <p>Getting to El Yunque is straightforward by car, and as public transportation is impossible, a <a href="/explore/caribbean/puerto-rico/driving-in-puerto-rico">rental car</a> is the best bet if you want to explore on your own. Located in the municipality of <span>Río</span> Grande, it’s an hour's drive east from San Juan.</p> <p>As of August 2024, r<a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/elyunque">eservations are no longer required</a> to enter the park. Entry is on a first-come, first-served basis, and there is no fee, but keep in mind there is limited parking at the main recreation area. </p> <p>If you're interested in a private tour or guided hike, the park offers a <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/elyunque/passes-permits/?cid=fseprd1092631" target="_blank">list of authorized tour operators</a>.</p> <h2 id="el-portal">Visiting El Portal de Yunque</h2> <p>I recommend starting your visit to El Yunque by visiting <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/elyunque/home/?cid=fseprd1096018" target="_blank">El Portal</a>, the visitor area that reopened in January 2022. As well as information and exhibitions about El Yunque, there are forest rangers on staff that can answer any questions. Given the constant changes with the trails and roads, going over a map with the rangers is a good idea, even if this is not your first visit to El Yunque. They can also tell you about each trail's length and challenge level so you can plan your experience.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/puerto-rico/el-yunque/view-from-el-portal.jpg" alt="Sweeping view of the rainforest from the El Portal visitors center in El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico." /> <figcaption>The view from El Portal de Yunque. Image credit: Jessica van Dop DeJesus</figcaption></figure> <p>The space is modern and airy, surrounded by rainforest vegetation. One of the things that caught my eye was the many breadfruit trees I saw during my visit. Breadfruit (<em>pana</em>) is a popular ingredient in Puerto Rican food, and I was delighted that I could order <em>tostones de pana</em> (fried breadfruit) with my lunch at the El Portal restaurant. It's the ultimate forest-to-plate experience. The cost to enter El Portal is $8 per adult but note that there are several ways you can <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/elyunque/passes-permits" target="_blank">qualify for free entry</a>.</p> <h2 id="trails">El Yunque trails and hikes</h2> <p>El Yunque has 24 miles of recreational trails for all levels. Due to weather and trail conditions, they are subject to closures. <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/elyunque/recreation" target="_blank">Check this page</a> for a complete list of trails and their availability. Here are currently available trails I find particularly worthwhile:</p> <p><strong>El Angelito Trail:</strong> this trail takes you to the natural pool created by the Mameyes River in just 20 minutes. It’s an easy hike, perfect for those traveling with a family.</p> <p><strong>Britton Trail and Tower:</strong> this challenging trail takes you on a steep walk through the Cloud Forest (take a right towards Mount Britton Tower) or go straight or left to continue on to El Yunque Peak. On a clear day, you can see a stunning view of the Northeast coast of Puerto Rico. <em>(Note: the trail is open but the road segment towards the tower and the tower itself are currently closed for construction.)</em></p> <p><strong>La Coca Trail:</strong> one of the most challenging trails at El Yunque is only 1.8mi but mostly uphill. Given that it’s a tough trail, it’s less crowded, and you’ll encounter some swimming holes and small waterfalls along the way. Make sure you prepare with water, proper clothing, and sturdy shoes if you plan to take this trail, and stay on the trail, as it is easy to get lost.</p> <p><strong>Juan Diego Trail:</strong> this easy trail has a surprise at the end: a waterfall. It's only .125mi long and relatively flat, perfect for families and those with mobility issues</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/puerto-rico/el-yunque/view-from-top-of-britton-tower.jpg" alt="Panoramic view from the top of Britton Tower in the El Yunque rainforest, Puerto Rico." /> <figcaption>View from the top of Britton Tower. Image credit: Getty Images / Jennifer Blount</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="accommodation">Eco-conscious accommodations at El Yunque</h2> <p>Currently, camping is not permitted at El Yunque due to damage from Hurricane Maria, but there are plans to open camping facilities in the future. However, <a href="https://yuquiyufarm.com/" target="_blank">Yuquiyú farm</a>, located at the foothills of El Yunque, offers eco-friendly treehouses with rainforest views.</p> <p>If you're looking for a group retreat, consider <a href="https://www.casaalternavida.com/" target="_blank">Casa Alternavida</a>, located only 15 minutes from El Yunque. It provides a series of group events focusing on the healing powers of the nature of El Yunque and its surroundings.</p> <p>If you want a traditional hotel experience, the <a href="https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/puerto-rico/hyatt-regency-grand-reserve-puerto-rico/sjurc?src=corp_lclb_gmb_seo_sjurc" target="_blank">Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico</a> is a newly renovated resort with eco-conscious features like a hydroponic farm (currently being built), reusable water bottles throughout the property, and installing solar power in the near future.</p> <p><em>Planning a trip to Puerto Rico? Find out <a href="/travel-insurance">how travel insurance can cover</a> medical emergencies, lost or stolen baggage, or other travel mishaps.</em></p> <h2 id="community">Community experiences at El Yunque</h2> <p>If you want to <a href="/travel-insurance/activities/volunteering">volunteer</a> at El Yunque, check out <a href="https://loveinmotion.org/" target="_blank">Love in Motion</a>, a non-profit that focuses on conservation throughout the island. Love in Motion organizes a 7-hour trail maintenance experience. Visit their website for the schedule and details about the cleanup.</p> <p>You can also support community group, Grupo Conciencia, through its <a href="https://www.conservacionconciencia.org/adopt-a-coqui" target="_blank">Adopt a Coquí Program</a> in partnership with Discover Puerto Rico. A donation of $25 will allow you to symbolically “adopt” one of the iconic frogs. Coquí adopters will receive a keepsake adoption certificate for their contribution to supporting conservation, sustainability, and climate resilience efforts by the organization.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/puerto-rico/el-yunque/coqui-frog.jpg" alt="A coqui frog, endemic to Puerto Rico." /> <figcaption>A coqui frog. Image credit: Getty Images / Kevin Schafer</figcaption></figure>Jessica van Dop DeJesus 0 Jessica van Dop DeJesus Two hikers sit beside Juan Diego Falls in Puerto Rico's El Yunque rainforest.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/caribbean/barbados/things-to-do-in-barbados-beyond-the-resortsSkip the all-inclusives and discover real Barbados culture. Nomad Lexi shares the tips she learned from the locals.2022-01-24T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbean/barbados/things-to-do-in-barbados-beyond-the-resortshttps://www.worldnomads.com<p>Upon my slow descent into Barbados, I’m filled with anticipation for the month ahead. My rental is situated in Saint James Parish, 5mi (8km) from the capital Bridgetown. On arrival, I’m keen to connect with the local community, an anchor to keep me from all-inclusive this and all-inclusive that. To do that, my landlord recommends I join a local running group. It isn’t my usual idea of an island holiday activity, but I feel open to something new. I’d never heard of the Hash House Harriers before, and it just so happens they are hosting a run and dinner this afternoon. I dig out my running shoes and make my way to nearby St Thomas parish in time for their Christmas soirée.</p> <p>The Hash House Harriers (or Hash for short) is an international, social running club. Members affectionately call it “a drinking club with a running problem” because when you’ve completed the set course, ranging from 3mi (5km) to 6mi (10km), a small bar is waiting for you at the end. The concept dates back to British civil servants in 1938 Malaysia who were seeking a way to work off a hangover. Something tells me the Brits didn’t have melodic calypso tunes, an ice cream van, and a well-stocked bar waiting for them at the end like I do.</p> <p>The Christmas feast is a sumptuous affair. All the <a href="/explore/caribbean/tasting-my-way-around-the-caribbean">Caribbean classics</a> are presented in potluck style on a Christmas-themed tablecloth. Fish cakes, macaroni pie, grilled potatoes, and coleslaw are on offer, as well as cou-cou (made from corn meal and okra), a Bajan (Barbadian) specialty. What surprises me most about the group – made up predominately of locals – is their warmth and blithe acceptance of newcomers. My new Hasher friend Sam offers an abundance of insider tips, and I appreciate that getting to know the locals will make my time on the island even more memorable.</p> <ul> <li><a href="#republic">The brand-new republic of Barbados</a></li> <li><a href="#sustainable">Sustainable ways to experience the real Barbados</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="republic">The brand-new republic of Barbados</h2> <p>On the easternmost point of the Caribbean chain, Barbados has a population just shy of 300,000, and the locals speak a Bajan dialect of English. There is little information about the Arawaks, the indigenous people of the island, but today, Barbados is predominately (94%) home to Afro-Caribs. After three centuries of colonization by the British, Barbados gained full independence in 1966 and transitioned to a republic at the end of 2021.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/barbados/surfing-freights-bay.jpg" alt="Freights Bay, a surfing beach in Barbados." /> <figcaption>Surfing at Freight's Bay. Image credit: Lexi Connors</figcaption></figure> <p>Barbados is home to thriving fishing and agriculture industries, but a deeper look into the economy revealed that tourism makes up 40% of GDP and employs 30% of its workforce. This news should influence any visitor to make <a href="/responsible-travel/make-a-difference/planet/travel-choices">conscious choices</a> about the power of their dollar – particularly if considering an all-inclusive trip, where the majority of spend could be leaked out to foreign interests through various stakeholders. I got a first-hand look at this on a quick trip to Carlisle Bay, where beach club wristbands were currency and offshore conglomerates were cashing in.</p> <h2 id="sustainable">Sustainable ways to experience the real Barbados</h2> <p>With the goal of supporting the local community, I set out to find activities that didn’t involve a beach club or resort. Not to say I don’t enjoy the beach, quite the contrary. There are more than 80 stunning beaches in Barbados and to describe the color of each requires the thickest of thesauri. I was thrilled to learn that there are no private beaches in Barbados, and all allow for public access.</p> <h3>Surf with Hawkbill sea turtles at Freight’s Bay</h3> <p>For this activity, I rented a board from <a href="https://ridethetidebarbados.com/">Ride the Tide</a> (they also run surf lessons) and by the time I’d paddled out, I’d already sighted a few turtles. <a href="/travel-insurance/activities/surfing">Surfing</a> alongside them was an experience I will never forget.</p> <h3>Catch a drag show at Ragamuffins in Holetown</h3> <p>Nothing screamed Christmas more to me than Mariah Carey tunes, sequins, and a pink wig. The hour-long show starts at 9pm, but you can also dine at Ragamuffins before it starts. Expect high energy and multiple costume changes.</p> <h3>Watch the West Indies play cricket on home soil</h3> <p>Bajans are crazy for cricket – it’s like a pseudo religion. During a match, local fans lead the cheer with calypso musicians helping to stir up the crowd. I bought fish cakes, a Banks beer, and a sorrel-flavored icy pole to eat during the game at Kensington Oval, thanks to Sam’s wise suggestions.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/barbados/kensington-oval.jpg" alt="Fans cheer on the West Indies cricket team at Kensington Oval in Barbados." /> <figcaption>Watching cricket at Kensington Oval. Photo credit: Lexi Connors</figcaption></figure> <h3>While away an afternoon at an authentic rum bar</h3> <p>There are more than 1,500 local rum bars scattered throughout the island – they serve as a place for locals to gather and socialize. If you hear a loud SLAP, that’s just a friendly game of dominoes (almost as popular as cricket). A small bottle of rum should cost approx. US $10 / BBD $21 and while the locals wouldn’t dare mix it with soda, you can buy that too. I visited one in Bathsheba, 10mi (17km) from Bridgetown by local bus. The bus ride back was a little blurrier, I assure you.</p> <h3>Sample the local baked goods</h3> <p>The island’s best sourdough loaves and croissants come from Cliff Bakery. On Sundays, you can find its mobile van at Holders House organic farmer’s market – but go early, they sell out fast. If I close my eyes, I can still hear the crackling, crispy outer crust from that first bite. While you’re in the area, peruse the local handicrafts nearby – Barbados has a thriving pottery scene.</p> <h3>Catch a movie at the Globe Drive-In</h3> <p>In Christ Church, 5.5mi (9km) from Bridgetown, outdoor films are accompanied by a warm breeze and swaying palms. Wednesday to Sunday nights, simply tune your radio to the drive-in station, tilt back your seats, and watch the big screen.</p> <h3>Sail around the island</h3> <p>Cruising on a catamaran is a gloriously relaxing way to see the island. Before I booked my tour, I sought out an operator that’s managed by <a href="https://www.coolrunningsbarbados.com/index.html">local entrepreneurs</a>. Having a jovial dance with the crew at the end was a massive highlight.</p> <h3>Volunteer your time</h3> <p>There are plenty of volunteering opportunities in Barbados, such as tree planting or joining a local beach clean-up. There are also two animal sanctuaries, <a href="https://oceanacresanimalsanctuary.org/">Ocean Acre</a> or <a href="https://arkanimalwelfarebarbados.com/get-involved/%20volunteer/">Ark Animal Welfare</a>, that welcome volunteer dog walkers or marketing and maintenance experts who can lend a hand.</p> <h3>Ditch the rental car and join a local hiking group</h3> <p>A running group might not be for everyone, but that doesn’t mean you should miss out on the spectacular scenery. The <a href="https://barbados.org/hike.htm#.Ye76S_7MKUn">local hiking group</a> is free, but donations are welcome.</p>Lexi Connors 0

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/caribbean/puerto-rico/7-things-to-know-before-visitingMany travelers don’t know much about Puerto Rico beyond its historic capital of San Juan. Puerto Rico native Jessica shares her tips on the hidden side of the island, from quiet beaches and lively towns to experiencing the local culture.2021-03-16T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbean/puerto-rico/7-things-to-know-before-visitinghttps://www.worldnomads.com<p>I grew up in Puerto Rico, in a small town called Guayama, on the island's southern coast. Although I travel every year back to<em> La Isla del Encanto</em> – the island of enchantment, as it's fondly called – I never tire of exploring the island and finding new experiences. Puerto Rico is known for its beaches, but there is so much more to see and do here. Here are some of my suggestions on how to make your trip an unforgettable one.</p> <ul> <li><a href="#road-trip"> Rent a car and explore beyond San Juan</a></li> <li><a href="#chinchorreo">Plan a Sunday of chinchorreo in the countryside </a></li> <li><a href="#outer-islands">Discover the two outer islands (Vieques and Culebra)</a></li> <li><a href="#el-yunque">Go on a guided hike at El Yunque National Forest</a></li> <li><a href="#southern">Explore the southern coast of Puerto Rico</a></li> <li><a href="#caribbean">Experience the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean in one day</a></li> <li><a href="#loiza">Learn about Afro-Puerto Rican culture in Loiza</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="road-trip">Rent a car and explore beyond San Juan</h2> <p>Yes, San Juan is beautiful, but there is a lot more to Puerto Rico. Although the island is fairly small, roughly 110mi (175km) wide by 35mi (55km) long, each geographical region offers something unique. Drive along the east coast to relax at beaches such as Luquillo Beach and Seven Seas. For an adventure, I love navigating the winding roads of Route 10 or Route 149 through the Cordillera Central, the mountain chain that crosses the island from East to West. I always keep my eyes open for waterfalls alongside the road, making for the perfect photo op.</p> <p>Along the roads, many vendors sell fresh fruit, <em>frituras</em> (fritters filled with meat or seafood), or a <em>pincho</em> (kebab) of savory grilled pork, and even <em>tiburón</em> (shark). One of my favorite <a href="/explore/caribbean/puerto-rico/driving-in-puerto-rico">island road-trip activities</a> includes buying a cold coconut, drinking the water, and asking the vendor to cut it in half so I can indulge in the delicious pulp.</p> <h2 id="chinchorreo">Plan a Sunday of <em>chinchorreo</em> in the countryside</h2> <p>Puerto Ricans love to party. There's nothing we enjoy more than spending time with friends and family, listening to upbeat music, and eating <a href="/explore/caribbean/tasting-my-way-around-the-caribbean">good food</a>. <em>Chinchorreo</em> takes place mostly on weekends, and it consists of going to a dedicated road, mainly in the countryside, and hopping from vendor to vendor. These days you can find <em>chinchorreo</em> routes everywhere across the island. For example, the town of Ciales in north-central Puerto Rico has become a popular spot for this activity. You’ll see venues such as Casa Vieja teeming with people, live music, and locals sipping on their <em>parcha</em> (passion fruit) mojitos.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/puerto-rico/casa-vieja.jpg" alt="Locals enjoy chinchorreo - an afternoon of music and food, hopping from one venue to another - at a roadside reastaurant in Ciales, Puerto Rico." /> <figcaption><em>Chinchorreo</em> at Casa Vieja in Ciales. Image credit: Jessica van Dop DeJesus</figcaption></figure> <p>For the quintessential <em>chinchorreo</em> experience, head to an area called Guavate in the town of Cayey, in southeastern Puerto Rico. On weekends, the place comes to life with live bands and <em>lechoneras</em>, restaurants dedicated to cooking whole roasted pigs with sides of rice, stewed root vegetables, and fried plantains. I grew up not too far from here, and this was a monthly weekend outing for our family.</p> <h2 id="outer-islands">Discover the two outer islands (Vieques and Culebra)</h2> <p>An archipelago of several islands and cays, the territory of Puerto Rico contains two habited islands besides the main island: Vieques and Culebra. These tiny islands are sparsely populated, making them ideal for a secluded getaway. Instead of large resorts, there are small hotels, guesthouses, and vacation rentals, which give it a more intimate feel.</p> <p>Culebra is home to Playa Flamenco, one of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean. With its white, sandy beach and azure waters, it's the perfect place to relax and forget about the world. There are other, smaller beaches along the island that are secluded enough that you may be the only visitor there.</p> <p>Vieques is known for horses that roam throughout the island. Most have owners, but since the island is so small, they roam free. A night time <a href="/travel-insurance/activities/kayaking-or-rafting">kayak tour</a> of bioluminescent Mosquito Bay is also a must – it’s surreal to watch the water light up as you paddle along. But make sure not to visit during a full moon, because the bay doesn't light properly, and many operators don't even host experiences. I made the mistake of scheduling my last two trips to Vieques during a full moon!</p> <h2 id="el-yunque">Go on a guided hike at El Yunque National Forest</h2> <p><a href="/explore/caribbean/puerto-rico/visiting-el-yunque-rainforest">El Yunque National Forest</a> is the only rainforest in the United States National Park Service and one of my favorite places on earth. Listening to the coqui's calming sounds (this tiny frog makes a very distinct call, "cooh-qi") automatically relaxes me and takes me to a happy place. Many local tour operators and volunteers at the newly reopened El Yunque El Portal Visitor Center offer guided tours along the forest's many trails. Although the forest is one of the smallest in the United States, it’s one of the most biologically diverse. Along with a range of wildlife, there are 150 fern species and 240 tree species (88 of these are endemic or rare, and 23 are exclusively found in El Yunque).</p> <p>The forest was extensively damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017, but trails have been gradually reopening. After a challenging hike, I love taking a dip in <a href="/stories/connection/cannonball-at-la-mina">La Mina Falls,</a> a stunning waterfall with a natural pool. The water is bitterly cold, but I guarantee that it will help your sore muscles feel better. I recommend going early in the morning during a weekday, to avoid crowds.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/puerto-rico/la-mina.jpg" alt="Iconic La Mina Falls in El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico." /> <figcaption> Iconic La Mina Falls in El Yunque National Forest. Image credit: Jessica van Dop DeJesus</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="southern">Explore the southern coast of Puerto Rico, filled with culture and gorgeous beaches</h2> <p>I may be biased, but I think the southern coast of Puerto Rico is one of the most underrated regions of the island. Many visitors tend to stay in San Juan and its surrounding areas, but there is plenty to see, do, and of course, eat, here. The biggest city on the coast is Ponce, which is known for its culture. It’s home to El Museo de la Musica Puertorriqueña, containing memorabilia of the many Puerto Rican music genres. El Museo de Arte de Ponce is one of the most prominent museums in the Caribbean, with an impressive permanent collection, including the famous painting<em> Flaming June</em> by Frederic Leighton. Growing up, my Dad used to take us to Ponce once a month on a weekend outing, and it's become a special place for me to return.</p> <p>The island's southwest coast has impressive beaches with blue, calm waters. Popular beaches include Playa Santa in Guanica, and Boquerón and Playa Sucia, located in Cabo Rojo. I also recommend a stop in La Parguera, a coastal community in Lajas, with a lively nightlife scene on the weekends and boat rides along the bioluminescent bay. But for me, taking in the sunset at Combate Beach in Cabo Rojo with a passion fruit mojito from Annie's Place is the ultimate luxury.</p> <h2 id="caribbean">Experience the Caribbean<em> and</em> the Atlantic Ocean in one day</h2> <p>Puerto Rico is lapped by both the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The beaches on the northern coast tend to be more brazen, with plenty of waves. You can take a dip in San Juan in the morning and then drive an hour down to Patillas, a beach town on the island's southeast coast, for a swim in the Caribbean.</p> <h2 id="loiza">Learn about Afro-Puerto Rican culture in Lo<span>í</span>za</h2> <p>Puerto Rico's culture is a mix of European (mainly Spanish), African, and Taíno (the indigenous people who lived on the island before colonization by the Spaniards). The African influence, introduced via slavery, is sometimes overlooked, but its roots are in every aspect of Puerto Rican culture: food, music, art, and dance. A great place to learn more about this heritage is the town of Loíza, located 15 minutes east of San Juan.</p> <p>Catch live performances of <a href="/explore/caribbean/5-unforgettable-experiences-in-the-caribbean">bomba</a>, one of the traditional Afro-Puerto Rican dances, throughout the city on the weekends. Indulge in traditional Puerto Rican food in Piñones, a beach neighborhood lined with kiosks serving delicious treats such as fried cod fritters (<em>bacalaítos</em>), <em>tostones</em> (fried plantains), and empanadas with a selection of creative fillings. Learn about Afro-Puerto Rican art at Estudio de Arte Samuel Lind, an art studio in Loíza. A native of Loíza, Samuel's art focuses on the Afro-Puerto Rican experience for his oil-on-canvas work.</p>Jessica van Dop DeJesus 0

Cannonball at La Mina Falls | Puerto Rico Travel Storyhttps://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/stories/connection/cannonball-at-la-minaCannonball at La Mina Falls | Puerto Rico Travel StoryWed, 28 Oct 2020 00:17:23 GMThttps://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/stories/connection/cannonball-at-la-minaThe Love That I Have for You | Cuba Travel Storyhttps://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/stories/connection/the-love-that-i-have-for-youThe Love That I Have for You | Cuba Travel StoryMon, 28 Sep 2020 19:05:12 GMThttps://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/stories/connection/the-love-that-i-have-for-youhttps://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/caribbean/the-world-nomads-podcast-the-caribbeanIn America and staying close to home during COVID-19? Revisit this episode exploring mountain peaks, dense rainforest, active volcanoes and safety tips for female solo travelers.2020-08-18T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbean/the-world-nomads-podcast-the-caribbeanhttps://www.worldnomads.com<h2><strong>The World Nomads Podcast: The Caribbean</strong></h2> <p><span>With COVID-19 still affecting the way we engage with the world, it’s important to plan wisely and travel responsibly, both for your own safety and that of the places you visit. </span><span>But as we reengage with the world you're likely planning vacations not far from home. World Nomads can help by providing travel safety tips, inspiring content, and travel insurance designed to protect you while traveling.</span></p> <h2><strong>What’s in the episode</strong></h2> <p>01:08 An idyllic childhood<br /><br />04:12 Is Jamaica safe?<br /><br />07:50 The beauty of bioluminescence<br /><br />10:42 Hiking a volcano<br /><br />15:42 Recapping White Island<br /><br />20:23 Australian bushfires<br /><br />24:44 Getting our rhythm on<br /><br />27:42 The history of Bomba<br /><br />34:03 Saving the sea turtles<br /><br />39:30 The turtle spotter's program<br /><br />42:47 Next week</p> <h2><strong>Quotes from the episode</strong></h2> <p><em>"The interesting part of the Caribbean is that each of the different ethnicities, the different communities come together and participate and contribute their part of their culture to create that one Caribbean flavor depending on the Island that you go to. And it's different variations based on the Island."</em> - Diedre<br /><strong><br /></strong><em>"...it was a pretty fun hike cause you go through about three or four different ecosystems coming from the thick jungle of the sea level, and going through kind of a cloud rain forest...and you can see the trees changing as you go up. So we get to more of a volcano type summit with hard rocks and ash and some pretty challenging winds at times."</em> - Bill<br /><em><br />"</em><span><em>I ended up in the South West of the country, in a province called Baraona. It's actually the least visited region in the Dominican Republic, but it's very rich in outdoors and it's also the least developed."</em> - Lily</span></p> <p><span>"As we have spread our populations around the planet and invented technologies like motorized boats and things like that, we've been able to access turtles even easier. And so we've had a substantial impact on them." David</span></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p style="border: 3px; border-style: solid; border-color: #FF9C00; padding: 1em;"><em><strong>Experience the Caribbean World Nomads style <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/explore/guides/caribbean-nomads-guide">Download our free guide</a></strong></em></p> <h2><strong><br />Who is in the episode</strong></h2> <p>Born and raised in Jamaica, Diedre McLeod is the bilingual and adventurous WanderWisher behind the blog <a href="https://www.diedreinwanderland.com/">Diedre in Wanderland</a>. Diedre is on a mission to bring the world closer to Caribbean women via her travel adventures. She also shares tips and tricks on how to travel without breaking the bank so that women are empowered to wanderlust on a budget.</p> <p>Check out her <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/caribbean/jamaica/womens-safety-tips-for-traveling-jamaica">top safety tips</a> for women traveling to the Caribbean.</p> <p>Bill Fink is an award-winning travel writer based in California, specializing in adventure travel, with credits in the <em>San Francisco Chronicle, Outside Magazine, National Geographic Traveler</em>, and many other publications. He's tackled hikes in dozens of countries across six continents, including summitting an unnecessarily large number of volcanoes. Follow his adventures @finktravels and<a href="http://billfinktravels.com/"> www.billfinktravels.com</a>.</p> <p>Bill wrote a piece for our Caribbean guide about climbing the active <a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/saint-vincent-and-the-grenadines/la-soufriere-hiking-st-vincents-active-volcano">Soufriere volcano</a> on the island of St. Vincent.</p> <p>Lebawit Lily Girma is an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and guidebook author who loves to show places through culture and the outdoors and encourages sustainable tourism as a vehicle for social impact. Her work appears in numerous publications, including CNN, Lonely Planet, and Delta Sky. She's also widely referenced in media outlets, from Oprah Magazine to TravelPulse. Originally from Ethiopia and fluent in four languages, Lily is currently based in the Caribbean. Follow her adventures online at <a href="https://lilylilyphotography.com/">Sunshine and Stilettos</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/dominican-republic/the-hidden-dominican-republic">Read her article</a> she wrote for the guide on traveling to the Dominican Republic.</p> <p>David Godfrey is Executive Director of the <a href="https://conserveturtles.org/">Sea Turtle Conservancy</a> an organization carrying out the world’s most successful sea turtle protection and recovery programs.</p> <p>Thanks to your micro-donations the World Nomads Footprint Network raised more than the US $25,000 for a project to reduce the impacts of climate change on sea turtles and promote eco-tourism to build sustainable conservation programs that provide revenue for local communities.</p> <p>This film about the project was a finalist in the 4th Shorty Social Good Awards.</p> <div style="position: relative; display: block; max-width: 960px;"> <div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe width="300" height="150" style="position: absolute; top: 0px; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; left: 0px; width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://players.brightcove.net/5486793334001/IQTZKD2zK_default/index.html?videoId=6005019299001" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></div> </div> <h2></h2> <h2><strong>Resources & links</strong></h2> <p><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/usa/travel-insurance/near-is-the-new-far">Near is the New Far</a><span>. Whether it’s a call from your mom or the call of the wild, we’ll help you prepare for your trip and help you stay safe while traveling.<br /><br /></span></p> <p><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/worldwide-travel-alerts">Travel safety alerts.</a></p> <p>You can get in touch with us by emailing<span> </span><a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">podcast@worldnomads.com</a>.</p> <h2><strong>About World Nomads & the Podcast</strong></h2> <p>Explore your boundaries and discover your next adventure with The World Nomads Podcast. Each episode will take you around the world with insights into destinations from travelers and experts. They’ll share the latest in travel news, answer your travel questions and fill you in on what World Nomads is up to, including the latest scholarships and guides.</p> <p><a href="https://www.worldnomads.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank">World Nomads</a> is a fast-growing online travel company that provides inspiration, advice, safety tips, and specialized travel insurance for the independent, volunteer, and student travelers traveling and studying most anywhere in the world. Our online global travel insurance covers travelers from more than 135 countries and allows you to buy and claim online, 24/7, even while already traveling.</p> <p>The World Nomads Podcast is not your usual travel Podcast. It’s everything for the adventurous, independent traveler. Don’t miss out. Subscribe today.</p> <p>You can get in touch with us by emailing <a href="mailto:podcast@worldnomads.com">podcast@worldnomads.com</a>.</p> <p>We use the <a href="https://www.rode.com/rodecasterpro">Rodecaster Pro</a> to record our episodes and interviews when in the studio, made possible with the kind support of Rode.</p> <div class="AccordionSection nst-component nst-is-collapsed"><button class="AccordionSection-title nst-toggle">Full Transcript of the Episode</button> <div class="nst-content"> <div class="AccordionSection-inner"> <p>Kim: If you think the Caribbean is just sun, sand and sea, then don't go anywhere as we show you the Caribbean you never knew existed.</p> <p>Phil: Welcome to the World Nomads Podcast delivered by World Nomads, the travel lifestyle, and insurance brand. It's not your usual travel podcast. It's everything for the adventurous independent traveler.</p> <p>Kim: Thanks for tuning in wherever you get your favorite podcast, Kim, and Phil with you discovering the Caribbean.</p> <p>Phil: [inaudible 00:00:25] look this episode sitting alongside the Caribbean guide that was released in late 2019 and that's highlighting a region that's much more multifaceted than its picture-postcard reputation might suggest. It's the region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean sea obviously, it's many islands and the surrounding coasts from mountain peaks to dense rainforest and volcanoes, the Caribbean is diverse, culturally rich, and as we sign the guide, as vibrant as anywhere on the earth.</p> <p>Kim: Yeah, in this episode, we'll chat with a few other contributors to the guide and fill you in on some exciting news about our travel writing scholarship. So let's kick it off Phil with Deirdre MacLeod, a Jamaican woman who had an idea like childhood for me.</p> <p>Deirdre: For me yes it was. It is like I still live here. I've moved around a bit, but it is idyllic, it depends on also what your version is. But for me, growing up in Jamaica is having sun all year round, being outdoors, playing with all of your cousins, and having like a big family, which is an extended family or friends, immediate family. going to the beach, and just being able to explore. So for me, that was a big part of growing up.</p> <p>Kim: Well we know that the Caribbean is more than beaches and reggae music.</p> <p>Deirdre: Exactly.</p> <p>Kim: It's true then that does sound like an idyllic childhood, but take us through the diversity. It's not just white sand and clear water.</p> <p>Deirdre: It really isn't just the sun and the sea. You also have language differences. So you have the Spanish speaking Caribbean, so you have Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. You have the English speaking Caribbean, which includes Jamaica, St Vincent all the way to Trinidad and Tobago. But then there are also other islands like Saint Martin that it speaks French with [inaudible 00:02:24] and Guadalupe as well. We also have Dutch side of Saint Martin and Serena which is, we also like to reclaim Serena, we do share lots of history.</p> <p>Deirdre: So you have language differences across the Caribbean. You also have different ethnicities because of our history. To take Jamaica as an example, we have a large group of Chinese, a Chinese population in Jamaica. We have a big Indian community. We also have of course persons of African Caribbean descent. We also have persons who are white. But I would say one of the big ... for me it's an interesting part of the Caribbean, is that while you have this, it really is a melting pot of cultures.</p> <p>Deirdre: So, our Chinese community comes together with our Indian community, with our African Caribbean community to create the Jamaican culture. And this you can see across the Caribbean. So you can see through our food that recreate. So we have curries, which are a big part of our cuisine. You can also see through our music in terms of we have different ... we have carnivore which talks about [inaudible 00:03:42] you can listen to Calypso, you can also have reggae and dance hall, you have Zook.</p> <p>Deirdre: So for me, the interesting part of the Caribbean is that each of the different ethnicities, the different communities come together and participate and contribute their part of their culture to create that one Caribbean flavor depending on the Island that you go to. And it's different variations based on the Island.</p> <p>Kim: Is Jamaica a safe place to visit?</p> <p>Deirdre: For me, yes. So one of the great parts of experiencing Jamaica is that I moved away for seven years and I came back. And so I have a good example of coming back as like a foreigner, as like a visitor, because I'm returning, but I've also experienced Jamaica like a local, and I see the different dichotomies. But for me it really is safe in the sense that you can travel around Jamaica and the Caribbean as a solo traveler, which I do. I just jump in my car or gets a driver, and I go to different parishes. You can also walk around and just explore. You do have to pay attention to ... which is for me, general safety rules, no matter where you go. Pay attention to how much jewelry you have on, or maybe taking care of the amount of money that you walk around with, and just paying attention to going out alone at night.</p> <p>Deirdre: But for me, this is something that I would do no matter where I am and what's important or what's interesting as well is that I had the opportunity to speak with over 30 other visitors who are women, in Jamaica, who have visited Jamaica and they all share the same sentiment. So they all are saying, "Yes, just pay attention to your valuables, know where you're going beforehand, take chartered or regulated transportation, which is available everywhere." But you're also safe. We had women who motorbiked around the country for three weeks and were okay. So for me, it is generally, just a generally safe place. It's not crazy. It's not, "Oh my God what's going to happen to me?" [crosstalk 00:06:16]</p> <p>Kim: And those rules would apply to any type of traveler.</p> <p>Deirdre: Yeah. I would say though that one caveat might be, as a woman in the Caribbean, which for me it's no matter if it's inappropriate, good, bad or inappropriate, we do have our men who like to share their appreciation for the female form. And so you might be called and said, "Hey beautiful." That can sometimes be alarming.</p> <p>Kim: No, I would love that.</p> <p>Deirdre: You would love it, but I've had friends who are like, "This is so strange." Like everybody just says, "Hey", or "Hi, you're so sexy today." Or "You look great." And it was a strange, not necessarily overwhelming, but sometimes it might be, but that's also something for my friends who have visited, they've commented on as something different.</p> <p>Kim: And I'm not being flippant because I know that people don't like being commented on about the way they look. But when you get to a certain age, bring it on. So you have written an article for us on travel safety tips for Jamaica, women's safety tips for Jamaica, which we'll share in show notes, but some of those being a local, can you share with us some of those off the beaten path places that might not necessarily be on everyone's radar.</p> <p>Deirdre: One of the places which I really enjoyed was, in Jamaica, we have a great big spot for bioluminescence. So that's a lagoon where when you go, it lights up. When the water moves, it lights up in this great big neon blue. And for me, it was just a really great experience. It's in the dark, and you do it at night to make sure that you really see the brightness of the light. So that's one thing that we have. We do also have like a lot of adventure and counters that you can go on, so you can do cave spelunking across the Caribbean.</p> <p>Deirdre: We have a lot of limestone caves as well in Jamaica. You can do a lot of zip lining, or waterfalls. It's not just one. We have the main one for Jamaica, Dunn's River Falls, but there are so many. Each parish has a waterfall that you can explore and discover. These are some of the off the beaten path things that you can do.</p> <p>Kim: Now, as you said, you come and go, and you've spent a lot of time in Europe, so you've very well-traveled. You all saw Diedrich in Wonderland. Does that cover travel tips and stories from every place that you've visited?</p> <p>Deirdre: Yes, it does. My mission for me is to get Caribbean women to travel more, to understand that it's attainable, so I do it by sharing my travel adventures, the places that I've been, sharing the different tips that I found out while traveling. I've been traveling, I recently found out since I was 10 years old, every single year I've gone someplace. So, I won't tell you how long I am now, but it's over 15 years of just yearly annual travel.</p> <p>Deirdre: And I do try to share my tips and open up the world to the Caribbean for me, women as well because I find travel to be an empowering and exhilarating activity. And I want Caribbean women to know that they can do it as well as solo travel, in the group, and it's something that is attainable and you can curate your own experience no matter your budget.</p> <p>Kim: Thank you, Deirdre, links in show notes. And a parish, by the way, is like a province or a state. So I learned something there. There are a lot of people to thank for their contribution to the guide, including Ellen Holo, editorial producer, North America who says our next guest, Phil, can chat about anything Caribbean.</p> <p>Phil: All right. It's Bill Fink and he wrote a piece for our Caribbean guide about climbing the active La Soufrière volcano on the Island of Saint Vincent. Last year a tragedy unfolded when many visitors to a volcano in New Zealand white Island died when it erupted. We asked Bill if he thinks exploring volcanoes is safe?</p> <p>Bill: I think it depends on the situation, it's something where you need to check in with local experts to see how active it is, if there is any real danger of going there, or if it's kind of a safely observed. The trip that I wrote up for the Caribbean guide, on La Soufrière on Saint Vincent, that's a volcano that hadn't really had an eruption for a hundred years, was covered in jungle, and lakes, and waterfalls. So it's something that I really did consider being safe, particularly with the local guide that I have.</p> <p>Kim: With white Island though, it hadn't erupted for around a hundred years either. So, I guess you've got to just take on board the warnings from operators and guides.</p> <p>Bill: True. I think that's that volcano is more in a situation where it really was, even though there hadn't been on eruption, it was very active with bubbling sulfur for pits and gasses coming up. So it seems to the untrained eye like mine that it would be a more dangerous situation. But, obviously, you have to go with what the experts are saying and that was really an unfortunate situation where they seem to be wrong.</p> <p>Kim: Now. You're not a volcanologist, you're an adventurist, tell us about your experience with the volcano in the Caribbean.</p> <p>Bill: Yeah, it was a situation where I wanted to do something to get away from the standard, just sit on the beach type holiday. And I found out about this adventure tour led by a local company that had been doing it for a while. Where you a hike up to the summit of the 4,000 foot, I guess that's about 1,300-meter elevation volcano of La Soufrière. And, it was a pretty fun hike cause you go through about three or four different ecosystems coming from the thick jungle of the sea level and going through kind of a cloud rain forest, a lot of misting and you can see the trees changing as he goes up. So we get to more of a volcano type summit with hard rocks and ash and some pretty challenging winds at times. But it was a really fun experience and it was a good day, a full day of exercise to get up there and back again.</p> <p>Kim: Ellen tells us, and you have contributed the article for the Caribbean guide, but you can chat, well she says this, you can wax lyrical about adventure travel in the Caribbean. Is she on the money there and what else did you experience?</p> <p>Bill: Yeah, absolutely. I've had all kinds of wild adventures around the Caribbean by land and by sea, have gone on some fun sailing trips around the Virgin Islands where you can really explore hidden coves and to some underwater adventures exploring the reefs and stopping at little deserted beaches and climbing up into the hills and discovering all kinds of cactus that you didn't think would exist on a Caribbean Island. So, word to the wise there is, you're hiking inland, dress for it. Don't go up in a swimsuit and flip flops cause some of these islands to have some pretty gnarly prickly plants up there.</p> <p>Phil: What do you enjoy most about that when you get onto one of those places?</p> <p>Bill: I think it's the sense of discovery to getting off the beaten track a little bit. I tend to go crazy if I'm just sitting at a beach in a lounge chair for too long. So I think it's the sense, even though that I know that probably people have been to pretty much every spot on these islands, it's to get to a place where most people haven't been before. To have a little bit of a unique experience and to have a story to come back with to tell people that, "Hey, did you know the Island of Saint Martin is riddled with hidden caves that pirates used once and I climbed up and saw a couple of them." That's a better type of adventure story than coming back from a trip saying, "I changed from SPF 30 to SPF 50 sunscreen on Wednesday."</p> <p>Phil: Can I just make it quite clear that you saw a couple of caves up there, not a couple of pirates?</p> <p>Bill: Yes. Not to my knowledge anyway, the guides seem trustworthy.</p> <p>Phil: Without giving away your sacred place, have you got a favorite spot?</p> <p>Bill: Maybe some of the lesser-visited islands, Saint Vincent might be one of them. That's really kind of off the standard tourist track. It's a little less developed, seems like more of a local scene versus going to the say built up beaches of the Dominican Republic where you're in this self-contained bubble of a resort. But even there as well, if you get off the beaten track, I think there's plenty to see.</p> <p>Kim: Well Bill, we are all about getting off the beaten track. But let's rewind to that disaster that was the eruption of White Island in New Zealand last year and revisit a chat we had with a volcanologist for World Nomads travel safety article in which he mentions the volcano that Bill climbed. But we asked him why the volcano on White Island exploded not once but twice.</p> <p>Richard: Yes, it's an interesting case and it's not unique around the world, but this particular eruption is one that's hard to predict and it stems from the interaction of magma, liquid rock that's over a thousand degrees Celsius, with cold dish groundwater. And the interesting thing about white Island is it's a crater, atop of a 1500 meter, mostly submarine volcano, the crater is breached to the East and in that crater accumulates rainfall and also seawater can get access to the structure. So you've got a magma body sitting in the crust below the crater, and the geologists are really interested in that because the magma giving off gases and also interacting with the groundwater produces a series of minerals. I know this is a complicated answer, but a series of minerals that can form something of a seal to the magnet chamber.</p> <p>Richard: If that seal is broken, groundwater can directly interact with the magma and that is an explosive combination. The groundwater will flash over to gas more than a thousand times increase in volume. And if the seal and the lid on the volcano, let's say the crater floor fails, all of that comes out of the ground in a rush. So let's say an explosion which doesn't have a lot of precursor warning because it's like a structural failure.</p> <p>Phil: I mean it's not unique, but it's a very special type of volcano in that respect.</p> <p>Richard: No, it's not unique at all. There've been some classic cases of this kind of event. For example, I did my Ph.D. on the volcanoes and the lesser Antilles on the Eastern Caribbean. And one of the volcanoes in that chain was experience interruption, somewhat like this. It was La Soufrière volcano on Guadalupe. And there was a division amongst the scientists, about what this represented. There was a group that saw that it was a so-called Phreatomagmatic eruption. Now Phreatomagmatic is a fancy word for a magma water interaction. An explosion of this type is just like the White Island, we think. And another group has thought no, the eruption that occurred was a precursor to something much more serious, like an initiation of a cycle of eruptive activities such as a good on Mount Agon in Eastern Bali a couple of years ago. In the case of the latter, that's serious news cause you've got to get people out of the way, the volcano, and it could go on for weeks, months, or whatever, but you can't predict it.</p> <p>Richard: But if it was a one-off kind of a short-lived event, like a free automatic explosion, then okay, that's a real nuisance. But we're not going to get everybody out of the way because maybe nothing else is coming for a while. In the case of Guadalupe, they decided to caution, they evacuated everybody. Nothing else happened and gradually people drifted back to where they were living in the main town and slept slopes, the volcano, so it's happened in the past. Volcanologists have had difficulty predicting these kinds of eruptions and understanding them, and there's ongoing work, intense work by New Zealand scientists and international colleagues into how this works and how it happens.</p> <p>Kim: Well, given that it is difficult to predict then, from a scientist's perspective, do you believe it's wise to hike or travel to an active volcano?</p> <p>Richard: Good question. I think there are many ways that human beings can do damage to themselves and various kinds of extreme sports and that question is hard for me to answer because I wouldn't blink. I've always relied on the alert levels and the expertise of the tour operators when I visited White Island. And you accept that they know in their case more about the local situation than somebody like me who visited sporadically and pays attention to alert warnings only when I'm going there. But for the average member of the public, they probably are not aware of the extrinsic risks, but of course, we are in the public except all kinds of things where we rely on experts to set safe.</p> <p>Richard: It's also accessible so you can take your yachts, chartered yacht, or whatever and go on more on the Island unless they put some kind of police person stopping you getting on onto the Island, it's going to be difficult to control access to it. And if it's not in the hands of expert tour guides and that's intrinsically riskier, people are less likely to pay attention to warnings and they would if they were in the care of a tour guide.</p> <p>Phil: One takeaway from this would be don't go volcano hiking on your own. Make sure you go on an organized and properly credited tour.</p> <p>Richard: I think that's right. There's an intrinsic risk to this. Anytime you go to a volcano and active volcanoes and intrinsic risk.</p> <p>Kim: Professor Richard Arculus from the Australian National University there. Phil, what is travel news?</p> <p>Phil: I was talking about disasters at the time of recording this. Australia was in the grip of some pretty major bushfires. They've even caused the US state department to raise the travel alert for Australia, but I think it's important that people don't overreact to this at the moment, despite the media reports, not all of Australia is on fire. It's a massive 26 million acres of land that has been burned. The affected areas about the size of Southern California. But Australia is a big place. It's almost the same size as the USA and in the area, it's actually 1.9 billion acres. So the fires have affected about just over 1%, 1.3% of the landmasses and that's burned land. Fire has passed through those areas. It's not still on fire everywhere in that 26 million acres.</p> <p>Kim: And those communities want people to go back and, start spending money.</p> <p>Phil: Yeah. I was trying to check on this. I don't think there are any parts where people are not allowed to go still at the moment.</p> <p>Kim: [crosstalk 00:21:25] there's no way [crosstalk 00:21:28] Yeah.</p> <p>Phil: Okay.</p> <p>Kim: But that's again at the time of recording.</p> <p>Phil: Okay. And don't forget as well as Australia is a big country. Our tropical North is in the middle of the wet season or summertime there. So from Cairns to Darwin and including Kakadu and over to the Kimberley in Western Australia, that's their wet season up there. So they're completely unaffected by the fires. And now major cities where many of our most popular attractions lied. They're large urban conglomerations. So while they may be thick with smoke from time to time, really thick, they're not under the direct threat of it. So don't write Australia off right now.</p> <p>Phil: We appreciate all the support and help come through. And these are really very devastating fires that have been through. But don't mistake it. The whole place is not on fire.</p> <p>Kim: It's a huge country. Can I put this on record?</p> <p>Phil: Yes.</p> <p>Kim: I had drinks with someone from the country on the weekends. They know a beekeeper and the beekeeper said the way the bees are behaving at the moment that we should see flubs in Australia in March.</p> <p>Phil: I love a sunburnt country. Last bit of Japanese. Remember when we did the episode on the Philippines? I mentioned the world's largest island in a Lake on an Island.</p> <p>Kim: I think it was that great quiz question you used to [crosstalk 00:22:44]</p> <p>Phil: Yeah, that's right. Well, it's not there anymore.</p> <p>Kim: What.</p> <p>Phil: The volcano in the Philippines?</p> <p>Kim: Yeah.</p> <p>Phil: Yeah, it's that, it's blown up.</p> <p>Kim: Oh no.</p> <p>Phil: The lake in the Taal Island is the cold era of the volcano South of Manila that's just gone off and closed Manila airport. So I don't know if that's that at the moment. In the last reading I think there are 80,000 people evacuated from the nearby region just as a precaution, but Manila airport was closed because of Ash cloud, so I'm not sure when that was going to open. It is the second most active volcano in the Philippines, so it's kind of like 36 times in the last decade. But anyway-</p> <p>Kim: It doesn't exist. That's terrible, that again at the time of recording, is that it?</p> <p>Phil: Yeah, that's it. [inaudible 00:23:33] remember we promised some news on our travel writing scholarship. Well, if you're a keen writer and interested in traveling to the Caribbean, then make sure you're subscribed to the scholarship mailing list to be the first to hear about an upcoming opportunity, link in our show notes. Go and check it out.</p> <p>Kim: Thanks for that Phil. Now let's get back to the Caribbean because we're going to talk Bomba with Lily, but I thought I would put out the call around their talented staff here in the Sydney office to see if anyone could play Bomba music, which is specific to Puerto Rico.</p> <p>Phil: Okay.</p> <p>Kim: So Mona said, "No, I can't do that, but I can do salsa." I thought, "Is that during a [inaudible 00:24:12]" Because you don't want to disrespect the Bomba, but I have since read-</p> <p>Phil: [inaudible 00:24:17]</p> <p>Kim: Don't disrespect the Bomba. That Bomba is both a traditional dance and music style of Puerto Rico, which Lily will explain, but today Bomba can be found anywhere on Puerto Rico and infusion with styles like jazz or salsa music. [crosstalk 00:24:32] There's the link. Thank you. And you really nervous, aren't you?</p> <p>Simona: A bit just because I usually play with music.</p> <p>Kim: Oh, we could get something up I suppose. But how did you learn to do the ... is this a bongo drum?</p> <p>Simona: No. Okay. So I play the congas. The congas are a drum which comes predominantly from Cuba. And when I traveled to Cuba back in 2016 to celebrate my graduation from the [inaudible 00:24:57], I went with a friend and I absolutely fell in love with everything percussion. As a child, I used to play the djembe drums in Senegal. I grew up there. So when I went back to Cuba I was like, "Oh, I have to go back into drums." And so I started taking classes with a percussionist in Canberra from Chile and ever since then I just play for fun and I've played at some nights so.</p> <p>Kim: We didn't know that [crosstalk 00:25:17]</p> <p>Phil: Wait a minute, Senegal? [crosstalk 00:25:21]</p> <p>Kim: This is why we have to ask around the office. It's just some incredible people sitting there with this history. So you know about Bomba music then?</p> <p>Simona: Yeah, I know. I love Bomba music, it's very hard to play it. It's played with it slightly different drum, but it's from Puerto Rico. Myself, they share very similar rhythms.</p> <p>Kim: So do you play in a band?</p> <p>Simona: No. I don't. I've played at night before, but not in a band. I haven't. My conga drums are in Canberra and I live in an apartment here. So it's a bit hard.</p> <p>Kim: Yeah. A little bit hard. So this one is called what again?</p> <p>Simona: It's similar to a djembe drum which is from I think Africa.</p> <p>Kim: Oh cool. So you said you normally play along to a song. So this is putting you to the test. Because we just want to get into the chat with Lily with a little bit of rhythm pattern.</p> <p>Simona: Sure.</p> <p>Kim: So we shake our booty.</p> <p>Simona: Yeah.</p> <p>Kim: Take it away.</p> <p>Simona: Okay. [inaudible 00:26:16] another rhythm.</p> <p>Kim: Can we clap on? Wow, I can't do anything. Any skills like that. That's really cool. Thank you for doing that.</p> <p>Simona: That's different to the congas because you have two, but you want improvisers.</p> <p>Kim: That is very, very cool. So, some stage you obviously like traveled, would you consider going to Puerto Rico and [crosstalk 00:27:12]</p> <p>Simona: I would love to that's the next on my trip. So to go back to Cuba, I'd love to volunteer with some kids there and then go off to Puerto Rico, which is the capital of reggaeton music.</p> <p>Kim: And just really getting amongst it.</p> <p>Simona: Yeah.</p> <p>Kim: Well thank you so much.</p> <p>Simona: No thank you.</p> <p>Kim: Well, let's learn a little bit more about Bomba in the Caribbean with Lily.</p> <p>Lily: So Bomba is one of Puerto Rico's original music jazz and it's a dance as well. And it was brought by enslaved Africans when they came to Puerto Rico. And, yeah, so it's mostly played in this town called Louisa in Afro-Puerto Rican municipality just about 10 minutes East of San Juan, really quick cab ride over from downtown San Juan. It has the highest concentration of Afro-Puerto Ricans. So Bomba is amazing. It's basically drum-based music, and you have to learn the steps and it's like so many steps and there's this community center in Louisa that teaches Bomba and hosts workshops for tourists or locals or anyone who wants to come and learn about Afro-Puerto Rican culture.</p> <p>Kim: Yeah, I'd love to learn about it, but I don't think they could teach me to do it.</p> <p>Lily: Actually they're really good. The instructors is really good. They give you the outfits. For the women, they give you a skirt, like a big preliminary, colorful skirt, red, yellow, green, and some of the movements you have to use the skirt.</p> <p>Phil: Puerto Rico, a question I've got there. We've got an article in the travel safety section which has started a lot of discussion amongst the community there, about whether it's safe or not. And it seems, it's a bit like the Moscow, Saint Petersburg, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne argument there. They talk about, one side of the Island is more relaxed than the other side. And I think that's where someone is a little bit more sketchy.</p> <p>Lily: No, I traveled there, well the first time there was actually something like 10 years ago. And then when I went back there this year I went solo. The first time was with college friends and this time I went solo and I actually felt the complete opposite about Puerto Rico. I thought it was super safe. I thought everyone was absolutely helpful. I stayed in San Juan, I did an about few days in old San Juan, but then I also spent time in some of the other neighborhoods like ocean park, Sten, I spent a day in Louisa. I didn't rent a car, I used some of the rideshare services, but no, I didn't feel unsafe at any moment whatsoever, which really surprised me coming back because, yeah-</p> <p>Phil: It does have a reputation doesn't it?</p> <p>Lily: Yeah. It's sort of unclear really. It's one of those where you're not really sure. I'm not sure why, and I will tell you, I remember one time, I was in a cab and I was going to this, there's a Monday night, I sure recommend that for live Bomba. There's a spot in Santurce which is a neighborhood in San Juan. And there's an outdoor Bomba and a play now, which is another Afro-Puerto Rican music. Live Bomba I play every Monday night in Santurce at this bar, outdoor bar. And it's really doesn't look like much when you get there instead of just a ramshackle kind of place, they serve fast foods, like Puerto Rican foods and then they have a live show, drumming and it's literally one big street party every Monday night.</p> <p>Lily: And when I was heading there in the cab, I just kind of feeling a bit weird because for a while there we were going down really dark roads and I was wondering whether it was a good idea and I asked the cab driver, "Have you haven't been to this place?" And he said, "No, I've never been there, but I've heard about these Monday nights live bands, but I've never been there. So I can't say." And then he felt that I was unsure. So when we got there, I did see that there were a lot of people there already, but he said that to me. If at any point you feel uncomfortable you can call and I will come back and pick you up and take you back to your hotel. And I thought, "Wow, that's super nice."</p> <p>Phil: That is super nice. Also, can I just give a golf clap for a party on a Monday night?</p> <p>Lily: Yes. Yeah, I actually left thinking, why don't we have this elsewhere in the Caribbean?</p> <p>Phil: But you also got away from the tourist sites and went and joined a rural community. Tell me about that.</p> <p>Lily: I did. I spent a year in it to make it public, while I was working on a book and I made it my mission to dig up the lesser-known areas. And I ended up in the southwest of the country, in a province called Baraona. It's actually the least visited region in the Dominican Republic, but it's very rich in outdoors and it's also the least developed. So basically what you see is what you get. This is a place where people go just to hang out, enjoy the rivers, and the sea and beaches. The beaches are very different, they're Pebble stone beaches, and it's just the kind of place where you just get in a car and go on a road trip. I ended in a community that is run by a group of women and it's in [inaudible 00:32:45], this particular town. It's a very small kind of village sized really. They run their own community tours. To this day. It's still one of the most unique things I've done. It was a really eyeopening, very local experience.</p> <p>Phil: A good way to disconnect from the world.</p> <p>Lily: Not so much disconnect as much as it is really feeling the culture. The first thing I did when I got there was going to a local birthday party and the neighbors across the street. They're very family-oriented here. It's music, [inaudible 00:33:14] a lot of dancing, a lot of food. It's a very loud culture here. Very vibrant and very loud. So you get a real glimpse of that, in that area. And then at sunset and everyone goes to the boardwalk area and the beach or swimming or playing baseball or whatever it is, interacting. It's a real glimpse into a regular everyday neighborhood.</p> <p>Kim: Which Lily is the beauty behind travel. Links to Lily in show notes. The World Nomads footprints recently funded a project in Costa Rica in the Caribbean by the sea turtle Conservancy research program and organization carrying out the world's most successful sea turtle protection and recovery program.</p> <p>Phil: David Godfrey is the executive director of the sea turtle Conservancy. David, what's the problem with sea turtles? Why are they in danger?</p> <p>David: Well, that's a not a super easy thing to answer because the reasons are complex and varied and they range from, really centuries of harvesting turtles by humans for meat and eggs and shell. Even back to indigenous times, people were harvesting and eating turtles for meat. And as we have spread our populations around the planet and invented technologies like motorized boats and things like that. We've been able to, access turtles even easier. And so we've had a substantial impact on them in addition to our direct ... I say our, of course, we as humans, not everybody does this, and hopefully very few people today do it, but, we humans have had a substantial impact on them in that way, and also from accidentally harming them.</p> <p>David: And this happens in the form of certain types of commercial fishing activities in which we accidentally catch turtles in nets or, in the long line fisheries. We set miles of baited hooks and wait for certain things to come along and take that bait. And unfortunately, a number of turtle species take that bait as well and get hung up and die before they're ever reeled in by these commercial fishing vessels.</p> <p>Phil: So we've got two main problems. And you'd tackle them both?</p> <p>David: Well, we don't have a long time to talk. I realize I only got through two of them, but, if I can summarize the last main issue, I would say it's habitat loss and harming that habitat. Again, unfortunately, mainly through our own actions, development on the beach, the introduction of lighting on beaches where turtles were trying to nest, and even climate change and how that's impacting turtles in their nesting habitat. So, yes, all of these things are affecting them. Our organization has been working for 60 years to try to systematically address all of these threats. And in many cases, we're making substantial headway and doing good things for turtles and they're responding.</p> <p>Kim: Well good things have been done for the turtles on the coast of Costa Rica. Is that true?</p> <p>David: Absolutely.</p> <p>Phil: I suppose the problem is just going back to the first of the issues that you mentioned there were for hundreds, possibly thousands of years, they've been part of what has amounted to an economy. So, they're very much [crosstalk 00:36:51] capturing, part of the food and the shell. And so that becomes very much a part of the culture and the economic viability of people living in that area. So the problem is you can't just take that away from people. You need to replace it with something.</p> <p>David: That is absolutely correct. And the way you described that is how I would have described it in the 1950s and sixties.</p> <p>Kim: He thought you're going to [inaudible 00:37:17]</p> <p>David: What I mean by that is, they were a part of the diet. They were a part of the economy of different coastal regions where they had become dependent on harvesting the turtles for income, and profit, and meat. And literally the name Tortuguero in Costa Rica is the place of the turtles. It was given its name by the people who went there to harvest the animals. When our organization started working on that beach in the late 1950s, virtually everyone was making their living by taking the turtles. And we have systematically put in place, of course, laws and regulations to protect them. I say we've worked very closely with the government to convince them that that needed to be done.</p> <p>David: And the government of Costa Rica has responded and put laws and protections in place. They created the Tortuguero national park to protect the nesting beach. And we, of course, knew we needed to work with the local community to replace the income that was derived by unsustainable harvesting turtles and replace it with a sustainable source of income. And that is ecotourism, people from all around the travel to Tortuguero every year to have this amazing opportunity to see turtles and experience them in their natural environment in one of the last places in the world where green turtles nest in really substantial numbers.</p> <p>Kim: So how do travelers get involved then?</p> <p>David: There are a variety of ways. We've worked with the community to establish a tour guide association so that all the people who are permitted to take tourists out on the beach are local people. The money goes to them as opposed to outside organizations like ours, or even for-profit businesses that come in there. We want the money to go to the people. They are permitted and trained how to take tourists out on the beach, to observe turtles nesting up-close, and do that as safely as possible. Whenever we've noticed over the years that there are any harmful impacts from the tourism that are occurring on the beach, around the turtles, we actually developed a new program that's on top of the tour guide program. It's called the turtle spotters program. And that is a way of having a limited number of people on the beach looking for turtles that are at the appropriate phase of nesting during which tourists can go up and safely observe the process.</p> <p>David: The turtle spotters identify the turtles, radio back to the guides with their group of tourists and lead them directly to the turtle that's ready to observe as opposed to having bands of dozens, or 50 tourists traipsing up and down the beach, all over the place, or many dozens of tourists and guides on the beach at any time. So rather than having them all searching for turtles at the same time, they're led directly to a turtle that they can safely observe. In that way, it lets the most number of tourists see turtles, observe them without harming them. And on top of that whole program, the turtles are nesting in increasing numbers, which is very important.</p> <p>Kim: Now thanks to the micro-donations from our travelers through the footprints project.</p> <p>David: 100% I've been working for this organization for 25 years and the World Nomads footprints program has been one of the most amazing things I've seen in terms of quick response and an infusion of financial support to help specific projects when it's most needed. It can take sometimes almost a year to develop a relationship with, say a private foundation or a donor, write a grant proposal, and wait for the board to review it and finally reward the money and then get that money to you. And literally a year-long process. The footprints program is very efficient. We can describe a project and what urgent need we have in a relatively short period of time. We can have a project put up on the website and the clients begin to make these micro-donations immediately and you can watch the goal be met relatively quickly. And that's important in conservation because you can respond to threats quickly, and you can take advantage of opportunities for community support when it's needed and we just couldn't be more pleased to be associated with the program.</p> <p>Phil: There is a film in show notes about the project, which was fun, that's in the fourth shorty social good awards recently. [crosstalk 00:42:32] It's grateful.</p> <p>Kim: Well, that wraps up our episode on the Caribbean links to the guide in show notes, which you can download for free. And thanks for listening. There are hundreds of thousands of podcasts out there and you've chosen to listen to ours. So don't forget to tell your friends about it. Next week, Phil.</p> <p>Phil: Lungi, who was afraid of the open sea but is now an accomplished sailor, described herself as a humbled Zulu girl.</p> <p>Kim: Bye.</p> <p>Phil: Bye.</p> </div> </div> </div>Getty Images/ Jason Ondreicka 1 1149241357 Lesser Antillean Whistling Frog

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/caribbean/antigua-and-barbuda/barbudas-road-to-recoveryIn 2017, Hurricane Irma unleashed widespread destruction on this island paradise. Here’s how it's bouncing back – and why it's still well worth a visit.2019-12-20T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbean/antigua-and-barbuda/barbudas-road-to-recoveryhttps://www.worldnomads.com<p>Barbuda, with its pink-shell beaches and picture-perfect palm trees, was Princess Diana’s East Caribbean escape whenever she sought to lose the paparazzi. Now, two years since <a href="/travel-safety/worldwide/how-to-survive-a-hurricane">Hurricane Irma</a>, it’s an island trying to repair its recent past and recover a paradise lost.</p> <p>Part of the Lesser Antilles, and located on the outer arc of the West Indies, Barbuda was directly in the path of the Category 5 storm. When Irma visited in the early hours of September 6, 2017, Barbuda suffered 95% devastation. Winds of up to 185mph (298kph) decimated everything from homes and hotels, to schools, the airport, and the community’s only hospital. Neither running water nor electricity survived, and the island’s steel phone tower folded in two as if it were made of chicken wire. The Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, called the island “uninhabitable” and ordered its 1,500 residents be evacuated.</p> <ul> <li><a href="#recovery">Barbuda's gradual recovery</a></li> <li><a href="#pink">Pink sand and frigatebirds</a></li> <li><a href="#economy">Boosting the economy</a></li> <li><a href="#trip-notes">Trip Notes</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="recovery">Barbuda's gradual recovery</h2> <p>The island and its people are rising again, but it has been a slow process. When I visited with my young family in November 2018, officials estimated 75% of the population had returned. Yet as we arrived for a day trip, no other travelers were on the catamaran that shuttles passengers between Barbuda and its sister-isle Antigua. Instead, we bounced up and down alongside only sleepy-eyed laborers and smartly dressed NGO workers.</p> <p>It was a sharp contrast to bustling Antigua, 39mi (63km) south, which avoided severe damage by Irma. Much of Barbuda still felt barren and broken. Flooded dirt roads forced our driver to weave between potholes, uprooted trees, boulders, and wild donkeys. Fences lay flattened. Abandoned beachside cottages featured thick cracks running across their interior walls like varicose veins. A grandiose hotel close to Pink Sand Beach sat empty, save for a chandelier made of shells.</p> <h2 id="pink">Pink sand and frigatebirds</h2> <p>Yet, despite all this, it’s possible to enjoy Barbuda's unrivaled beauty – and in doing so, pump a little money into an economy in desperate need of exactly that. 4.5mi (7km) south of the ferry terminal, on deserted Princess Diana Beach – so named in 2011 to mark what would have been the late royal’s 50th birthday – we sipped from coconuts hand-picked by our driver and swam in the crystalline Caribbean Sea. We <a href="/travel-insurance/activities/scuba-diving-travel-insurance">snorkeled</a> with schools of tropical fish, and with a bit more luck, would have been able to spot sea turtles, barracuda, rays, and a variety of other marine creatures.</p> <p>Back on land and alone for as far as the eye can see, it’s easy to pretend you’re shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. <em>Condé Nast Traveler</em> named Pink Sand Beach the 14th most beautiful in the world, while at the lagoon close to Codrington, Barbuda’s largest town, you can find the largest frigate breeding and nesting colony outside the Galápagos, with around 2,500 birds.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/barbuda-frigatebirds.jpg" /><figcaption> Frigate Bird Sanctuary, Barbuda. Image credit: Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="economy">Boosting the economy</h2> <p>Happily, it’s not only the birds who are flocking back. As of September 2019, half of the island’s 1,200 properties have been rebuilt, according to Prime Minister Browne. Accommodation options remain limited, but they never were abundant. Beach bungalows have reopened, there’s a handful of homestay and Airbnb options available, and a luxury resort located at the northern end of 11 Mile Beach has reopened to rapturous international reviews. Princess Diana Beach has started hosting idyllic weddings again, and popular steel-band music nights and <a href="/explore/caribbean/tasting-my-way-around-the-caribbean">Caribbean cooking classes</a> have even returned to the island.</p> <p>If in doubt that even a basic day trip can help a community back on to its feet, consider this: as we headed to the wharf to catch the catamaran back to Antigua, our driver stopped at his house to drop off some construction materials. Exiting his black pick-up, he motioned towards the empty shell of a suburban bungalow; its roof just a series of exposed wooden rafters. “That’s home,” he said. “But until I can afford to finish the repairs, I sleep there…” We followed his gaze to the right of the house, where a white, UN-provided tent stood erect in the garden.</p> <h2 id="trip-notes">Trip Notes</h2> <h3>Getting there</h3> <p>The <a href="https://www.barbudaexpress.com/" target="_blank">Barbuda Express</a> – catchphrase: “A to B by Sea” – leaves from Antigua at 6:30 or 7:30am most days, takes around 90 minutes, and returns at 3pm most days. A round trip costs US $100. It’s often possible, and sometimes cheaper, to charter a 15-minute flight from Antigua for up to six people.</p> <h3>Day tours</h3> <p>A variety of operators offer day tours, which typically include the ferry, a lobster lunch on Pink Sand Beach, and visits to the Frigate Bird Sanctuary, Princess Diana Beach, and various caves with petroglyphs and stalactites. See <a href="https://barbudaful.net/" target="_blank">Barbudaful.net</a> for more details.</p> <h3>Accommodation</h3> <p>Since this article was originally written, a number of <a href="https://www.visitantiguabarbuda.com/" target="_blank">new hotels, resorts, and guest houses have opened</a>. Consider staying a night or two, as you'll have more time to explore.</p>Getty Images / Roberto Moiola / Sysaworld 11151800059 Getty Images Pink Sand Beach, Barbuda.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/caribbean/responsible-travelSustainability expert James Ellsmoor offers his tips for minimizing your impact, encouraging ecotourism, and helping the local economy.2019-12-20T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbean/responsible-travelhttps://www.worldnomads.com<ul> <li><a href="#ecotourism">Ecotourism vs overtourism</a></li> <li><a href="#responsible">Making responsible choices</a></li> <li><a href="#economy">Supporting the regional economy</a></li> <li><a href="#podcast">Listen to the World Nomads Podcast: Caribbean</a></li> </ul> <p>From conservation success stories to unprecedented environmental degradation, tourism can be a double-edged sword but, more and more travelers are embracing more responsible forms of travel. In the Caribbean, that often means looking beyond the typical cruises and all-inclusive resorts and exploring the region’s <a href="/explore/caribbean/nomads-share-their-favorite-festivals">unique cultures</a> and <a href="/explore/caribbean/dominican-republic/the-hidden-dominican-republic">incredible landscapes</a>.</p> <p>A global biodiversity hotspot home to many endemic species, Caribbean ecosystems are admired by scientists, locals, and visitors alike. Sustainable tourism is a growing industry in the region, and it contributes to both economic development and successful conservation efforts.</p> <p>When traveling throughout the Caribbean nations, you’ll notice that the region is slowly emerging as a leader in sustainability, through efforts such as adopting renewable energy and banning single-use plastic. It offers countless opportunities to actively participate in responsible tourism and help drive the environmental movement.</p> <h2 id="ecotourism">Ecotourism vs overtourism</h2> <p>The Caribbean has been a victim of its own success in attracting sun, sand, and sea vacationers. In 2016, 46.7 million people experienced the islands’ lush rainforests and coral reefs, but overtourism, a polluting cruise industry, and climate change have had a negative impact on the Caribbean’s sustainability. From coral bleaching to <a href="/responsible-travel/make-a-difference/planet/how-to-reduce-plastic-use-while-you-travel">plastic waste</a> and large deposits of sargassum algae washing ashore, the Caribbean has been the first to witness the detrimental impact of climate change on the environment.</p> <p>But the region is also taking action, taking the lead in environmental efforts such as cleaning up the oceans. Most of the islands have already taken the step to preserve their local environment by banning plastics. As Cheryl Carter the UK Director of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. explains: “Banning single-use plastics goes some way to ensuring the protection of our pristine beaches and crystal-clear waters that we are famous for. As a destination, however, we realize that our sustainability efforts cannot stop there, and we are proud to say we are embracing many conservation projects and methods across the island, from driving electric cars to biodynamic farming. We are excited for a more sustainable future.”</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/responsible-ecolodge.jpg" /><figcaption>An ecolodge in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Image credit: Getty Images / DamoceanCreative</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="responsible">Making responsible choices</h2> <p>Helping to preserve beautiful landscapes and rich biodiversity doesn’t have to be left to scientists and politicians – as a traveler, you can contribute by making responsible choices.</p> <p>Air travel has been put under the spotlight as a major source of carbon emissions, but there are solutions for the eco-conscious traveler. Buying carbon offsets for flights is one popular option, as it enables you to donate to various projects based in the region, ensuring your contribution stays local.</p> <p>If you’re looking for an experience that you won’t find within the all-inclusive resorts that dot the beachfront, there are many alternative forms of retreat that blend tourism and sustainability. Evident in Guyana becoming the world’s top ecotourism location, and Aruba pioneering agroforestry-based tourism, the region is adding an environmental flair to its breathtaking panoramas and rich cultural history.</p> <p>As an ecotourist, the responsibility to protect the environment is shared between you and your host community. By choosing environmentally friendly resorts, joining local conservation efforts such as <a href="https://conserveturtles.org/">The Sea Turtle Conservancy</a>, and learning about the region’s ecology, you not only expand your knowledge of sustainable practices, but also help to drive conservation efforts.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/guides/caribbean/hog-island-hero-new.jpg" /><figcaption>Hawksbill sea turtle. Image credit: Getty Images / Brandi Mueller</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="economy">Supporting the regional economy</h2> <p>As a result of the increasing popularity of ecotourism in the Caribbean, more and more eco-conscious travelers have visited the region. However, a 2017 report by the World Travel & Tourism Council notes that despite the region’s popularity, misconceptions regarding the severity and location of storms in the Caribbean have discouraged tourists from traveling to the area. The destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian and Tropical Storm Humberto in 2019 serve as a stark reminder of the problems facing the various nations that make up the region, but these events are rare and should not put off potential visitors.</p> <p>Sensational headlines tend to be rife on those occasions that severe weather does occur, so ensure that any information you heed comes from local sources that are aware of the current conditions at your destination. Tourism makes a vital contribution to the region’s economy, so it’s important to make informed decisions, as your choice to cancel does not just affect you, but can have serious local repercussions and cause further economic damage.</p> <p>The tourism industry and the environmental sector have not always been on the same page, but they are intertwined. Ecotourism is not only protecting the local environment, but also the economy, by ensuring that future generations can enjoy the same natural beauty that has long defined the Caribbean. Responsible tourists are driving the sustainable development of the region, one vacation at a time.</p>Getty Images / Cavan Images 1961470928 Getty Images A woman standing at the edge of a lake in Puerto Rico.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/caribbean/when-to-go-and-how-to-get-aroundFrom avoiding tropical storms to the challenges of moving between destinations, a trip to the Caribbean can take some planning. Check out these useful tips from an expert on the region.2019-12-20T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbean/when-to-go-and-how-to-get-aroundhttps://www.worldnomads.com<ul> <li><a href="#climate">Climate and weather</a></li> <li><a href="#time">Best time to visit</a></li> <li><a href="#getting-around">Getting around the Caribbean</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="climate">Climate and weather</h2> <p>From Jamaica’s steamy mangrove swamps to the occasionally snowy top of Pico Duarte in the <a href="/explore/caribbean/dominican-republic/the-hidden-dominican-republic">Dominican Republic</a>, the Caribbean’s weather is as diverse as its natural environment.</p> <p>The entire region benefits from its proximity to the equator – from about 1,700mi (2,735km) in the northern Caribbean to around 621mi (1,000km) on Panama’s Caribbean coast – leading to warm temperatures usually between 25-33°C (77-90°F). That being said, there’s marked variation in climate across the thousands of islands and the surrounding mainland nations.</p> <p>Exotic wildlife inhabits the rainforests and reefs that abound throughout the Caribbean, which is considered a biodiversity hotspot. Finding activities that help you explore the environment is easy, and can provide valuable information regarding local conservation efforts and projects aimed at safeguarding the region’s natural capital for future generations.</p> <p>Many islands and mainland nations, such as <a href="/explore/caribbean/puerto-rico/7-things-to-know-before-visiting">Puerto Rico</a>, in the eastern Caribbean, and Costa Rica and Belize, in Central America, feature warm, humid tropical weather. Meanwhile, the southern Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao tend to have a drier tropical climate, evident in their savannah-like landscapes and broadleaf forest. More temperate climates can be found on the elevated terrain of mountainous islands such as Dominican Republic, Haiti, or Jamaica.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/getting-around-tropical-storm.jpg" /><figcaption>Stormy weather in Puerto Rico. Image credit: Getty Images / Bloomberg Creative</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="time">Best time to visit</h2> <p>The Caribbean experiences a period of dry, warm weather from December to April, and a wet season, which stretches from May to November, with the highest risk of <a href="/travel-safety/worldwide/how-to-survive-a-hurricane">hurricanes and tropical storms</a> occurring between June and November. Transport options, including flight or ferry schedules, can be affected by inclement weather, so it’s important to stay updated and trust the decisions made by local operators.</p> <p>Caution is always warranted when booking holidays during the wet season, but remember that the region is vast, and that a severe weather event occurring somewhere in the area is not always likely to affect your own destination. Responsible travelers should monitor reports from the <a href="https://www.gdacs.org/">Global Disaster and Coordination System</a> (GDACS) and other official sources. But refrain from instantly cancelling your vacations when a hurricane hits the news, and instead contact your hotels and listen to local authorities and advice.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/getting-around-taxi.jpg" /><figcaption>Vintage taxi in Havana. Image credit: Getty Images / zodebala</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="getting-around">Getting around the Caribbean</h2> <p>While all-inclusive package holidays are ubiquitous in the Caribbean, travelers who want to explore their own way will get to experience the region from a totally different perspective. Backpackers are still infrequent, but for the adventurous traveler with an open mind, it can be a highly rewarding opportunity.</p> <h3>Flights</h3> <p>Many flights to the region transit through Miami/Fort Lauderdale or Panama, but there are direct flights from various US, Canadian, and European cities to some islands. Traveling between islands can be surprisingly difficult and expensive, meaning any multi-island trip requires advanced planning. The regional carrier LIAT links some destinations in the Eastern Caribbean, but you’ll often hear the joke that the acronym stands for “Leave Island Any Time”, serving as a playful warning to travelers<em> (note: as of November 2020 the airline has been operating at a reduced capacity)</em>.</p> <h3>Island transport</h3> <p>Transport within the islands tends to be relatively easy, but can sometimes be expensive. Taxis are usually a safe option but require the same common sense that you would employ at home. Local buses on many islands provide an affordable alternative, but you may have to ask around to work out the schedules and routes. In Jamaica, the <a href="https://www.knutsfordexpress.com/">Knutsford Express</a> provides a reliable, comfortable option with air conditioning and Wi-Fi, and serves most major towns on the island.</p> <h3>Ferries</h3> <p>Despite its beautiful waters and the short distances between islands, the Caribbean lacks an extensive ferry network. Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Freeport, Grand Bahama is the only regular ferry link between the region and the United States, and services departing from South or Central America are available from only a handful of ports to nearby islands.</p> <p>Domestic ferry links are common within countries to their smaller islands, such as from <a href="/explore/caribbean/trinidad-and-tobago/indo-caribbean-culture-in-trinidad-and-tobago">Trinidad to Tobago</a>, Grenada to Carriacou, <a href="/explore/caribbean/saint-vincent-and-the-grenadines/la-soufriere-hiking-st-vincents-active-volcano">St. Vincent</a> to the Grenadines, and within the <a href="/explore/caribbean/the-bahamas/native-boat-regattas-in-the-bahamas">Bahamas</a> archipelago. One of the best options for an international island trip is with the L'Express des Îles ferries running frequently to connect the islands of Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and St. Lucia.</p>Getty Images / Westend61 11190939283 Getty Images Ferries, Bequia, St. Vincent.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/caribbean/3-museums-worth-a-special-tripFrom celebrating the richness of Caribbean culture to reckoning with the past, these museums offer a unique take on the region’s heritage.2019-12-20T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbean/3-museums-worth-a-special-triphttps://www.worldnomads.com<ul> <li><a href="#acte">Memorial ACTe Museum, Guadeloupe</a></li> <li><a href="#synagogue">Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue and Jewish Museum, Curaçao</a></li> <li><a href="#carriacou">Heritage Museum of Carriacou, Grenada</a></li> <li><a href="#podcast">Listen to the World Nomads Podcast: Caribbean</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="acte">Memorial ACTe Museum, Guadeloupe</h2> <p>Every now and again, you go somewhere that changes you and your world view. The Memorial ACTe museum in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe, is such a place. Long after my visit, the memory is as fresh as the day I visited.</p> <p>It’s the largest museum on the planet dedicated to the history of the African slave trade and slavery from the early 17th century to the present. The 77,000ft<sup>2</sup> (7,154m<sup>2</sup>) complex, which opened in 2015 on the site of the former Darboussier sugar factory, is an architectural wonder. The black box housing the permanent exhibition visually represents a treasure house of knowledge. The tiny quartz specks in the black granite honor millions of victims of the slave trade and slavery. The silver latticework symbolizes new, intertwined beginnings.</p> <p>You could spend days in this museum, which was awarded the 2017 Museum Prize by the Council of Europe for its major contribution to the knowledge of European cultural history. It’s part of UNESCO’s Slave Route Project, the global initiative to promote the healing and harmony of people through the shared legacy of slavery.</p> <p>As fascinating as the façade is, the works inside are powerful and soul-stirring. I saw the replica of a slave ship stuffed with hundreds of people side by side. I lifted a chain – once around someone’s neck – that was so heavy it pulled my hand downward. It made my heart sink, and brought tears to my eyes. As I walked around the exhibits, reflecting years of oppression, I felt uncomfortable and disturbed. I had never reacted to a museum this way. However, the emotions I felt were cleansing; when truth is acknowledged, there is peace. -<em> <a href="/about/contributors/sheryl-nance-nash">Sheryl Nance-Nash</a></em></p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/curacao-synagogue.jpg" /><figcaption>Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue. Image credit: Elyse Glickman</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="synagogue">Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue and Jewish Museum, Curaçao</h2> <p>A Dutch territory 40mi (65km) north of Venezuela, <a href="/explore/caribbean/contemporary-art-in-curacao">Curaçao</a>’s appeal to Jewish travelers is that of a fabulous island escape with substance – a rich Jewish history dating to 1651. That history is readily brought to life within Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue, the oldest continuously operating congregation in the Western Hemisphere, and adjoining Curaçao Jewish Museum.</p> <p>Together, they’re the heart and soul of the island’s small-but-active Jewish community. The sandy floor and simple-but-elegant baroque interiors serve as constant reminders of how a small group of Sephardic-Portuguese Jewish merchants escaped the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisition in the 16th and 17th centuries and contributed to Curaçao’s cultural and economic growth.</p> <p>On my first trip, in 2010, I arrived just in time for Friday night Shabbat services. Afterwards, the rabbi introduced my group to the welcoming, multicultural congregants. He dispelled the popular myth about the temple’s sand-covered floor, chuckling at the romantic notion of having sand brought in from the Sinai Desert. Its actual purpose was to muffle footsteps and praying to avoid detection from Spanish invaders or pirates – a legitimate concern when the synagogue was consecrated in 1732.</p> <p>In 2010, the museum had a modest but nicely arranged assortment of Jewish artifacts providing a general overview of Jewish life, traditions, and holidays. Nearly a decade later, it’s been extensively refurbished. A detailed timeline at its entrance puts the island’s Jewish history in context with general world history, while artifacts from long-established Sephardic and Ashkenazi families humanize the Jewish role in Curaçao society.</p> <p>On my second visit, in 2019, my close friend Renee said that she felt at home here in a way she hasn’t in other Jewish communities. When sharing family names and stories from her Sephardic-Caribbean family tree, the congregants responded in kind with details of their mixed Jewish heritages. Conversations like these, over <em>challah</em> and coffee, say as much about Curaçao’s collective pride and Jewish culture as the museum does. <em>- <a href="/about/contributors/elyse-glickman">Elyse Glickman</a></em></p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/carriacou-museum.jpg" /><figcaption>Clamencia Alexander, Heritage Museum of Carriacou. Image credit: Bruce N. Meyer</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="carriacou">Heritage Museum of Carriacou, Grenada</h2> <p>The beautiful island of Carriacou, one of seven that makes up the nation of Grenada, takes some effort to get to. But it’s worth the 90-minute ferry ride from the capital, St. George’s, when you discover gems like the Heritage Museum of Carriacou.</p> <p>We stumbled upon this museum one afternoon while poking around in Hillsborough, Carriacou’s tiny main town. Located in what we were told is the world's second-oldest cotton gin, it's a cluttered little museum, but amidst the disarray, you can appreciate the colorful music, clothing, and history of the people of Carriacou.</p> <p>While angling for a closer look at a big drum used in the Maroon Festival, celebrating the island’s indigenous culture, I literally stumbled on what, at first, looks like an old log. Some years earlier, a local man found this “log” buried in the sand on Mount Pleasant Beach. As he dug it up, he realized it was a canoe made from a gum tree from the Orinoco River Basin in Venezuela. The interior had been burned and carved with a stone axe. No one knows who made it or how long it had been buried in the sand.</p> <p>Upstairs, we found a collection of folk art by Canute Caliste, a self-taught artist whose works are in museums around the world, including the Smithsonian.</p> <p>Caliste, who died in 2005, was also a master fiddler and boat builder who fathered 22 children. One of those is Clamencia Alexander, who manages the museum. Each month, she showcases a fresh selection of her father’s work from her personal collection, which is the world’s largest of Caliste’s work.</p> <p>My husband, an art major, loved Caliste’s colorful simplicity in capturing the spirit of Carriacou, and we thanked our good fortune to happen upon this charming little museum in this out-of-the-way destination. <em>- <a href="/about/contributors/diana-lambdin-meyer">Diana Lambdin Meyer</a></em></p> <h2 id="podcast">Listen to the World Nomads Podcast: Caribbean</h2> <p>Learn about safety in Jamaica, bomba dancing in Puerto Rico, the hidden Dominican Republic, and more.</p> <iframe width="100%" height="190" src="https://webplayer.whooshkaa.com/episode/545890?theme=light" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay"></iframe>Courtesy Memorial ACTe and G. Aricique 0 Courtesy Memorial ACTe and G. Aricique Memorial ACTe Museum, Guadeloupe

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/caribbean/contemporary-art-in-curacaoThis small south Caribbean island has earned a big reputation for art that’s as sustainable as it is meaningful. 2019-12-19T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbean/contemporary-art-in-curacaohttps://www.worldnomads.com<p>Although I’ve been a musician for most of my life, I’ve always felt less than gifted in the arts. Put anything other than a mic in my hands, especially a paint brush, and I become a klutz, making art in general something I both admire and fear.</p> <p>But on a trip to the island of Curaçao, in the southern Caribbean about 40mi (65km) north of Venezuela , I discover something among its rich, world-renowned community of artists, many of whom infuse their work with principles of sustainability – the healing spirit evident in the name of the island, derived from the Portuguese word for heart (<em>coração</em>).</p> <p>On a day-long tour of the works of three leading artists, I find inspiration everywhere.</p> <ul> <li><a href="#garrick">Garrick Marchena</a></li> <li><a href="#serena">Serena Janet Israel</a></li> <li><a href="#andy">Andy Kirchner</a></li> <li><a href="#trip-notes">Trip Notes</a></li> <li><a href="#podcast">Listen to the World Nomads Podcast: Caribbean</a></li> </ul> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/curacao-mural.jpg" /><figcaption>Ami Ta Kòrsou (I Am Curaçao). Image credit: Garrick Marchena</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="garrick">Garrick Marchena</h2> <p>I’m in Curaçao’s capital, Willemstad, a city that embraces upcycling by converting countless, deteriorating colonial buildings into dazzling new hotels and businesses. Leading our Tuk-tuk brigade down the narrow back alleys of the pastel-colored Pietermaai district is street artist Garrick Marchena. The 53-year-old native paints strategically placed murals throughout the city to raise awareness of the environmental and cultural issues the island is facing, such as the ongoing recovery from colonialism.</p> <p>He stops in front of one of his most renowned works, called <em>Ami Ta Kòrsou</em> (I Am Curaçao), which features a Partawal, a local white-tailed hawk that serves as a symbol of guardianship. Next to it, a poem proclaims the emancipation and healing of the city in artistic lettering inspired by indigenous cave paintings and California Cholo lettering – a gothic-style graffiti used by Mexican gangs.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/curacao-chichi.jpg" /><figcaption>Chichi® sculpture. Image credit: Jay Galvin / Flickr Creative Commons</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="serena">Serena Janet Israel</h2> <p>With my art appetite whetted, the brigade heads to Serena’s Art Factory. Many visitors to Curaçao will recognize the Chichi<sup><span>®</span></sup> doll souvenir, a curvaceous, black plaster sculpture of a woman created by the sprightly, energetic Serena Janet Israel – a 48-year-old German transplant who has lived in Curaçao for more than 20 years. Each Chichi<sup><span>®</span></sup> doll is hand-molded by Israel and hand-painted by a local artist to create a one-of-a-kind original, rather than a mass-produced trinket. Sustainably extends to the mold itself, which can be reused hundreds of times. “Our Chichi<sup><span>®</span></sup> stand for decency and respect,” Israel declares.</p> <p>I’m invited to paint my own design on a Chichi<sup>®</sup> doll, but am doubtful of my abilities. However, once I cradle the Chichi<span>®</span> doll in my hand, I give my full concentration to the project. I don’t seem to exhale until the last, painstakingly detailed red brush stroke, and realize that I’ve been in a meditative state during the entire two-hour session, leaving me energized and focused, yet completely at peace. Who knew painting could be so healing?</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/curacao-lamp.jpg" /><figcaption><span>“Love Light”</span>. Image credit: Andy Kirchner, 2nd Life Curaçao</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="andy">Andy Kirchner</h2> <p>We end our day at 2nd Life Curaçao, an art studio and collective located at the home of “The Recycled Pirate” aka Andy Kirchner. Upcycling is the lifeblood of Kirchner’s work, and he’s most known for his “love lights” – lanterns made from cans that weren’t being recycled, as recycling bins were only placed around the island starting in 2016 by the TUI Care Foundation.</p> <p>Kirchner, a ruggedly handsome man with a salt and pepper beard, walks with a slight limp and a cane because of a tragic scuba diving accident seven years ago that cost his girlfriend her life. Out of the pain came the inspiration for him to create 2nd Life Curaçao, which is not only focused on sustainability but also dedicated to giving a second life to the injured and disabled. We each take home a hand-hammered lantern of a heart, which now sits on my counter, reminding me to love and appreciate Mother Earth, and myself.</p> <p>No trip to Curaçao is complete without a swim in the warm Caribbean waters. As I float lazily on my back, after a day fueled by art and human connection, I feel resolved to bring my new principles home with me, along with my cherished Chichi doll, to remind me of the artist within me. During my short time on this island, I was cured of my own limiting beliefs in my artistic skills.</p> <h2 id="trip-notes">Trip Notes</h2> <h3>Getting there</h3> <p>American Airlines, jetBlue, Air Canada, and KLM offer direct flights to Curaçao from Miami, Caracas, Amsterdam, and Newark. From Curaçao International Airport, it’s a quick 15 to 20-minute taxi ride over to the Pietermaai District (around US $35).</p> <h3>Costs</h3> <p>Curaçao is fairly affordable, compared to its better-known sister island Aruba. </p> <p>For meals, local plates start at US $6, but travelers can spend as much as US $20-$60 for a meal at the upscale resorts and restaurants. Keep an eye out for local, seasonal food such as Dutch pancakes or <em>Balchi di piska</em> (fried fish cakes).</p> <p>There are several options for getting around Curaçao. Bus rides often costs no more than US $1 a trip. Taxis are convenient, starting at about US $8 a fare. Rental cars are steeper, ranging US $30-$80 a day.</p> <h2 id="podcast">Listen to the World Nomads Podcast: Caribbean</h2> <p>Learn about safety in Jamaica, bomba dancing in Puerto Rico, the hidden Dominican Republic, and more.</p> <iframe width="100%" height="190" src="https://webplayer.whooshkaa.com/episode/545890?theme=light" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay"></iframe>Getty Images / argalis 01170926130 Getty Images / argalis A heart sculpture at the harbor's edge in Willemstad, Curacao.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/caribbean/dominica/4-eco-adventures-on-the-nature-islandWith its diverse sea life, 365 rivers, and nine active volcanoes, Dominica is rich in natural wonders – and sustainable ways to enjoy them.2019-12-13T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbean/dominica/4-eco-adventures-on-the-nature-islandhttps://www.worldnomads.com<p>This 29mi (47km) long, 16mi (26km) wide island, one of the Lesser Antilles in the Eastern Caribbean, was dubbed with the Latin word for Sunday by Christopher Columbus in 1493. Environmental sustainability is inherent here. It was the first nation to be certified by the Green Globe program for sustainable development in 2005. This adoration of nature has made the island a phenomenal place for eco-adventures.</p> <ul> <li><a href="#reef">Snorkeling at Champagne Reef</a></li> <li><a href="#springs">Visiting the hot springs</a></li> <li><a href="#waterfall">Lessons in rappelling down a waterfall</a></li> <li><a href="#foraging">Foraging for food with a local chef</a></li> <li><a href="#trip-notes">Trip Notes</a></li> <li><a href="#podcast">Listen to the World Nomads Podcast: Caribbean</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="reef">Snorkeling at Champagne Reef</h2> <p>I have heard about Dominica’s Champagne Reef, one of the few places on earth where it’s possible to snorkel above a volcano. I’m with the responsible tour operator Nature Island Dive, and I’m not sure what to expect, but am hoping to see the effervescence caused by geothermal activity.</p> <p>Our expert snorkeling guide, Dizzy, picks up her speed and fins towards a scene straight out of a nature film. Nature herself is tickling me, as I joyfully swim through the rare phenomena of small gas bubbles rising from the volcanic seafloor. The venting attracts a slew of sea creatures and I see a school of squid for the first time, and catch a glimpse of an octopus, scorpionfish, and a sea turtle near the Scott’s Head Peninsula.</p> <h2 id="springs">Visiting the hot springs</h2> <p>Dominica has one of the world’s highest concentrations of dormant volcanoes, which lend themselves to epic hikes such as the famous Boiling Lake trek, an 8-hour round trip with an elevation of 2,600 ft (790m).</p> <p>After exploring Dominica’s mountainous terrain, I’m eager to soothe my body in the natural, hot sulfur springs the island is known for. I stroll between heated dipping pools, mud oozing between my toes, at the locally owned Ti Kwen Glo Cho in Wotten Waven, an unpretentious outdoor spa in the middle of the jungle, but only a 15-minute drive from the capital, Roseau. I’m the only foreigner here, but am warmly welcomed by locals.</p> <p>After soaking in the hot water pools, I dash into freezing freshwater, streaming out of an industrial pipe to form a shower. Indigenous flowers scent the air as I settle in for a long, warm soak in the rustic, outdoor copper tub, with the cascading waterfall in the background as my soundtrack.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/boiling-lake.jpg" /><figcaption>The hike to Boiling Lake. Image credit: Getty Images / Joseph Thomas Photography</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="waterfall">Lessons in rappelling down a waterfall</h2> <p>There are more than 12 officially named waterfalls in Dominica, and it’s possible to rappel down the cascades. I join a beginner’s course with Extreme Dominica, and after gearing up, we receive training on how to rappel across a canyon, starting with an 8-foot ledge, which helps take the edge off my reasonable fear of jumping from taller heights.</p> <p>The terrain is easy to traverse – just a moderate fitness level is needed, and there’s an 11-year-old on our tour. We hike through the verdant jungle into a canyon and make our way along a mossy gorge. A series of thrilling jumps, rappels, and rock slides gets us down the face of six waterfalls and into cool natural pools. It’s intimidating and adrenaline-inducing at times – especially during a hair-raising, 25ft (8m) jump off a waterfall.</p> <h2 id="foraging">Foraging for food with a local chef</h2> <p>I’m vegan, and foraging is one of my favorite travel experiences – to me, one of the best ways to discover a destination is through its food. I meet Grant Lynott, executive chef of Zing Zing restaurant at the Secret Bay eco-resort, on a backyard-to-table nature walk, harvesting ingredients for a meal straight from the source.</p> <p>Armed with a wicker basket and a pair of gardening shears, we peruse the resort’s organic food gardens. Most of the plants we find were planted by colonizers from France and England (who competed for ownership of the island from 1632 until 1805, when the French withdrew). We pluck edible hibiscus flowers and wild herbs for seasoning, including moringa, sorrel, and bay leaves. I'm surprised to discover there are plants I had no idea were edible, including papaya seeds, which can be used to make pepper, and love trying their unique flavors.</p> <h2 id="trip-notes">Trip Notes</h2> <h3>Getting there</h3> <p>Several local airlines fly to Dominica from other Caribbean islands. There are occasional ferries from Martinique, Guadeloupe, and St. Lucia. Hire a car with a driver to get around Dominica.</p> <h3>Hot springs</h3> <p>Wotten Waven is 15 minutes from Roseau. Entrance for visitors is US $10. You can store your belongings at the covered benches by each pool.</p> <h3>Snorkeling at Champagne Beach</h3> <p>Snorkel tours are US $30 a person including equipment, Marine Park fees, and a trained guide. Guided kayak snorkel tours are US $50 per person. Groups of four or more can be picked up in Roseau for an additional US $25 per person.</p> <h3>Rappelling waterfalls</h3> <p>A half-day tour starts at US $159 per person and includes equipment, a local guide, and pick up in Roseau. No prior experience is required. Bring swimwear and closed footwear.</p> <p>It’s important to check you’ve purchased the right level of travel insurance cover and have the appropriate qualifications for your chosen adventure sport before you leave home. Still not sure if you’re covered? Check your policy for more details.</p> <h3>Foraging</h3> <p>The foraging experience is US $182 per group (two to four people) and must be <a href="https://secretbay.dm/">booked in advance</a>.</p> <h2 id="podcast">Listen to the World Nomads Podcast: Caribbean</h2> <p>Learn about safety in Jamaica, bomba dancing in Puerto Rico, the hidden Dominican Republic, and more.</p> <iframe width="100%" height="190" src="https://webplayer.whooshkaa.com/episode/545890?theme=light" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay"></iframe>Getty Images / Mike Lyvers 1514619555 Getty Images A young woman hiking near the base of a waterfall in Dominica.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/caribbean/5-unforgettable-experiences-in-the-caribbeanFrom restoring a coral reef in Bonaire, to finding a secret surf spot in Panama, to learning how to bomba dance in Puerto Rico, these nomads share their most indelible moments.2019-12-13T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbean/5-unforgettable-experiences-in-the-caribbeanhttps://www.worldnomads.com<ul> <li><a href="#surf">Surf trippin’ in Panama</a></li> <li><a href="#bomba">A bomba workshop in San Juan</a></li> <li><a href="#beer">Connecting through craft beer in Puerto Rico</a></li> <li><a href="#guavaberries">Guavaberries, a Caribbean Christmas carol</a></li> <li><a href="#coral">Restoring a coral reef in Bonaire </a></li> <li><a href="#podcast">Listen to the World Nomads Podcast: Caribbean</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="surf">Surf trippin’ in Panama</h2> <p>On a particularly hot, humid, and surf-less January day on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, I get a text message from a friend promising a swell in the Caribbean.</p> <p>A day later, I cross the Panamanian border to Changuinola, and catch a one-hour speedboat bound for Isla Colon in Bocas del Toro province.</p> <p>After our first surf at a punchy wave called Paunch, we replenish at a signless roast chicken joint behind a chain link fence. Ice-cold Balboa cervezas accompany the salty chicken and neon-orange habanero sauce.</p> <p>The next day, the entire town of Bocas gathers in the plaza as the President of Panama arrives by helicopter. Running down in the nick of time, we're able to shake the hand of Ricardo Martinelli as he works the crowd.</p> <p>Meanwhile, we’ve heard about a secret wave on Isla Bastimentos that you can only access by hiking to it.</p> <p>After more than an hour of trudging through the jungle in sticky, sandal-snapping mud, we find a surf spot. We know it's the one, because the secret is out: six other surfers sit waiting for a wave. We paddle out and say hello. Within minutes, one of the other surfers shouts, “BULL SHARK!”</p> <p>I nearly walk on water as I paddle to the shore, grab my broken Havaianas, and sprint back to the docks.</p> <p>That night, we celebrate our misadventures at the local bars. Since I’d already lost one pair of thongs and know of a swim-up cantina, I put a protective layer of duct-tape on my feet in lieu of shoes. Going shoeless pays off when we have to swim, fully clothed, to the last boat back to Isla Colon. -<em> <a href="/about/contributors/audrey-hills">Audrey Hills</a></em></p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/unforgettable/bomba.jpg" /><figcaption>Bomba dancing and drums, Puerto Rico. Image credit: Sandor Weisz / Flickr Creative Commons</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="bomba">A bomba workshop in Puerto Rico</h2> <p><em>“Maraca, cuá, buleador, subidor!”</em></p> <p>We repeat the instructor’s words as she stands on stage, pointing at various instruments – a rattle, a pair of wooden sticks, low-pitch and high-pitch drums. Before I can memorize them, more words follow: <em>“seis corridos, sicá”</em> – names of distinct beats that the drummer demonstrates for us. Learning bomba, Puerto Rico’s earliest musical genre created by enslaved Africans, feels like learning a new language.</p> <p>I might have missed this bomba workshop, held at Corporación Piñones se Integra’s (COPI) community center in Loíza – the heart of Afro Puerto-Rican culture – if I hadn’t contacted Local Guest. A community-focused tour enterprise, Local Guest connects visitors with immersive experiences around Puerto Rico. They’d arranged my visit with COPI’s founder, Maricruz Rivera, who shared the history of Puerto Rico’s African heritage and the decades of marginalization of Black <em>boricuas</em> (Puerto Ricans) in this Piñones region. In 2001, the center began reviving bomba music to preserve Afro-Puerto Rican identity and culture for future generations.</p> <p>That same week, Rivera invited me back to COPI – a 15-minute drive east of Old San Juan – to join a group US students and teachers for a bomba class.</p> <p>It’s time to dance and demonstrate what we’ve learned together. The women are handed green, red, or yellow skirts, used to express bomba’s signature movements. We shake our hips while moving backwards, our hands holding our skirts out wide; we stop and sway side to side, while snapping our skirts open. With each move we make, slow or fast, the drummer beats a corresponding rhythm. Learning bomba, it turns out, isn’t about words. It’s about unity. - <em><a href="/about/contributors/lebawit-lily-girma">Lily Girma</a></em></p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/unforgettable/craft-beer.jpg" /><figcaption>Ocean Lab brewery. Image credit: Ocean Lab</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="beer">Connecting through craft beer in Puerto Rico</h2> <p>Before visiting in 2019, I hadn’t visited Puerto Rico (PR) in 14 years, before the term “craft beer” entered the lexicon of anyone outside the savviest of mainland American connoisseurs. True, I’d snuck the occasional sip of Cuba Libre during my family’s annual vacations, taken to nurture friendships forged in 1950, when my Caucasian grandparents began bringing their children down every year for a winter escape. But in 2005, I had yet to imagine I’d become a professional beer writer, and options for local <em>cerveza</em> consisted of little more than mass-produced Medalla.</p> <p>When a work trip called me to return, I sought out several of PR’s dozen-or-so artisanal breweries, plus bar owners and homebrewers. I learned that independent breweries like Ocean Lab, Pura Vida, FOK, and REBL are blossoming from the beaches to the mountains. In San Juan, publicans are pouring them all.</p> <p>The geographic penetration surprised me. But true shock came from witnessing the prevalence of craft beers I’ve devoted my career to writing about.</p> <p>One afternoon, stopping for lunch in what used to be barely passable jungle, I literally gasped when I spotted a coffee shop covered in decorative signs for breweries like Bell’s, Cigar City, and North Coast. Two decades ago, I doubt this area had running water. Now it has American craft beer.</p> <p>And at La Taberna Boricua in San Juan, a keg poured Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout, a Michigan beer so rare I’ve never seen it on draught. Words evaded me when the bartender poured me an entire pint.</p> <p>I’ve carried a lot of guilt about neglecting my life-long Puerto Rican friends, especially after Hurricane Maria. But with this new community joining my present with my past, I feel my sentimental homeland has embraced me anew. - <em><a href="/about/contributors/tara-nurin">Tara Nurin</a></em></p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/unforgettable/guavaberries.jpg" /><figcaption><span>Lucia Henley’s</span> guavaberry liqueur stand on St. Thomas. Image credit: Ashley Winchester</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="guavaberries">Guavaberries, a Caribbean Christmas carol</h2> <p>For me, it’s not the holidays without a healthy dose of guavaberry liqueur. I’ve celebrated Christmas nearly every year with family on St. John in the US Virgin Islands, and this Yuletide beverage is as traditional as Santa’s milk and cookies.</p> <p>The sweet, but strong, rum-based brew is the product of a centuries-old eastern Caribbean tradition steeped in song, celebration, and secrecy. Groves of guavaberries, which appear year to year, are as transient as Scrooge’s generosity, and are closely guarded family secrets.</p> <p>There are commercial versions available, but our go-to source for the authentic stuff is Lucia Henley’s stand off of Highway 32 in the East End of St. Thomas, another of the US Virgin Islands. Henley is among the most prolific purveyors of the homemade drink, and visitors can find her stand well-stocked from November through December with guavaberry liqueur, jams and pies.</p> <p>A song, “Good mornin’, good mornin’, ah come for me guavaberry…” speaks to the island custom of caroling house to house in exchange for a sample of that family’s stash, and Henley always sings a few lines of the tune as she offers me a taste of her concoction. It’s special, like a fine brandy, and is traditionally passed between carolers and revelers in the same way as wassail – the mulled wine drink of Medieval Christmastime that’s also linked to song. Today, guavaberry liqueur is most often enjoyed alone in a snifter or over ice, as a holiday aperitif, but it’s also tasty as a topping over ice cream.</p> <p>Our favorite way to imbibe is after caroling and Christmas Eve events on St. John, following Santa’s visit – by boat – in downtown Cruz Bay, and each sip of the bright red drink adds to the festive atmosphere. - <a href="/about/contributors/ashley-winchester"><em>Ashley Winchester</em></a></p> <figure><a href="/about/contributors/ashley-winchester"><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/unforgettable/coral-bonaire.jpg" /></a><figcaption><a href="/about/contributors/ashley-winchester">Cutting staghorn at Buddy's Reef Nursery. Image credit: Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire</a></figcaption></figure> <h2 id="coral">Restoring a coral reef in Bonaire</h2> <p>Weighted down by scuba gear and floating just above the sandy ocean floor, I carefully tie a string, dangling a coral fragment, to the branch of a “tree” in a coral nursery. The tree is made of thin, metal cross bars attached to a thicker post – coral fragments hang from each bar like Christmas ornaments. Around me, divers gently brush juvenile coral to remove algae and predators, while others clip, restring, and rehang fragments – which grow an inch a month – on the trees. The clipping process enables the coral to regenerate time and again.</p> <p>These coordinated efforts are all part of a Discover Reef Renewal Dive with Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire. We’re helping to restore the coral that surrounds the island and provides habitats to myriad marine life. After all, the reefs are what draw divers from around the world to this small, Dutch Caribbean island around 50mi (80km) north of Venezuela.</p> <p>Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire was founded in 2012 with a mission to protect and restore the coral reefs within the Bonaire National Marine Park, which was established in 1979 and surrounds the island entirely. Currently, some 13,000 individual corals are grown in Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire’s eight nurseries, and more than 22,000 corals have been outplanted back to the reefs. The foundation invites certified scuba divers who are interested in volunteering to complete a training course and assist with the nursery, maintenance, and outplanting corals to restoration sites around Bonaire and Klein Bonaire.</p> <p>As someone who’s been passionate about marine life since learning to snorkel in Hawaii as a little girl, I'm thrilled to participate in a Discover Reef Renewal Dive and do my part to help preserve Bonaire’s coral reefs for future generations. - <em><a href="/about/contributors/susan-barnes">Susan Barnes</a></em></p> <h2 id="podcast">Listen to the World Nomads Podcast: Caribbean</h2> <p>Hear more about bomba music, plus learn about safety in Jamaica, the hidden Dominican Republic, and saving sea turtles in Costa Rica.</p> <iframe width="100%" height="190" src="https://webplayer.whooshkaa.com/episode/545890?theme=light" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay"></iframe>Getty Images / tropicalpixsingapore 0

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/caribbean/nomads-share-their-favorite-festivalsFrom a Maypole festival in Nicaragua to Trinidad's famed Carnival, these celebrations highlight the region’s food, music, and diverse culture.2001-01-01T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbean/nomads-share-their-favorite-festivalshttps://www.worldnomads.com<ul> <li><a href="#jouvert">Playing Jouvert at Trinidad Carnival</a></li> <li><a href="#maypole">Maypole Festival, Bluefields, Nicaragua</a></li> <li><a href="#conch">Turks and Caicos Conch Festival</a></li> <li><a href="#guna">Feria de Río Tigre, Guna Yala, Panama</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="jouvert">Playing Jouvert at Trinidad Carnival</h2> <p>Burning sunshine, booming soca music, and blinged-out parades may be most people’s image of a Caribbean carnival, but for me, it’s the untamed intensity of “dirty mas”(masquerade): joining a city-full of revelers to dance through moonlit streets under a coating of mud, body paint, oil, and even melted chocolate. This orgy of pure, unadulterated bacchanalia is Jouvert, a loose translation of the French <em>jour ouvert</em> (opening of the day), and the official start of the Caribbean's biggest and best Carnival.</p> <p>This pre-dawn ritual begins with a 2am alarm, hot coffee, the first of many rum shots, and the briefest of outfits, pearly-white and ready for adornment. Outside, the air crackles with misrule as we meet our band and receive the Jouvert baptism, covering each other top-to-toe with smooth, purified mud until faces and features disappear in glorious anonymity.</p> <p>The music truck growls into action as we shuffle onto the road, moving together in the chip, chip, chip rhythm of the Jouvert walk. Arcs of paint fly: red, yellow, blue, and purple splattering me, the tarmac, the street signs in Pollock-esque style, and polka-dotting the roadside dancers who leave smudged imprints of a back or bottom against a pristine white wall.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/festivals-jouvert.jpg" /><figcaption>Paint-smeared Jouvert revelers on Trinidad. Image credit: Getty Images / Blacqbook</figcaption></figure> <p>Dawn streaks into the sky as we reach the hallowed, grassy Savannah. We’re the first. As we cross the stage, dancing for ourselves to the empty stands, the rising sun reveals a kaleidoscope of humanity: ochre mud, technicolor paint, rich brown chocolate, slick black oil: bodies moving with snake-hipped intensity, friends hugging, everyone laughing and loving the sheer pleasure of being alive.</p> <p>And three hours later, scrubbed up and clad in feathered, beaded glory, we’re back on the road in the hot-hot sun for the first day of the main Carnival parades.</p> <p><em>Trinidad’s Carnival is celebrated the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday every year.</em></p> <p>Author: <a href="/about/contributors/polly-thomas">Polly Thomas</a></p> <h2 id="maypole">Maypole Festival, Bluefields, Nicaragua</h2> <p>Every May in Bluefields, a small town on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast, the streets explode into a celebration that traces its lineage 400 years – not to Spain, but to Great Britain.</p> <p>British pirates first touched these shores in the 17th century, where they met the indigenous Miskitos, who’d already mixed with Africans who’d escaped a capsized Portuguese slaver. Over the years, former slaves, European settlers, and Caribbean immigrants formed Nicaragua’s English-speaking Creole people. One of them was my great-grandmother. I doubt she imagined one of her descendants would be born in California and have to wait 29 years for her first Maypole dance.</p> <p>On my first night in Bluefields, my cousins took me to one of the neighborhood block parties that rotate throughout the month. There was a greasy pole (shimmy to the top to grab the prize), an ultra-local beauty pageant, and a dance competition around the Maypole, a tree hung with streamers and real fruit.</p> <p>The Maypole dance was an ancient fertility rite in England, but the people of Bluefields have made it all their own. The dizzying rhythms are unmistakably African, and it’s sung in English, Miskito, and Spanish. To dance Maypole, you have to surrender and let your hips bounce of their own volition.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/festivals-maypole.jpg" /><figcaption>Maypole Dancers. Image credit: Lauren Schenckman</figcaption></figure> <p>By day, each neighborhood <em>comparsa</em>, or troupe, dances in a town-wide parade to live drummers. On the final night, we gathered for the “tulululu”, wiggling our way in pairs down a tunnel of joined hands. We danced all night, then ran for shelter from Bluefields’ torrential rain.</p> <p>But my unforgettable Maypole moment was at a small party thrown by a family friend. Her granddaughters, four and six, took the floor. Effortlessly, they shook their hips to the Maypole rhythm – a good sign that this very old festival will have a very long life.</p> <p><em>Bluefield’s Maypole Festival is held throughout the month of May.</em></p> <p>Author: <a href="/about/contributors/lauren-schenkman">Lauren Schenkman</a></p> <h2 id="conch">Turks and Caicos Conch Festival</h2> <p>Put a shell up to your ear, and you’ll hear the sea. Listen to Triton’s Trumpet, and you’ll hear the Caribbean.</p> <p>Every November, the British Overseas Territory of Turks and Caicos, some 575mi (925km) south of Miami, Florida, celebrates its edible trumpets. Visitors and “belongers” (locals) conch it up at the Conch Festival, held at Blue Hills on the island of Providenciales. Festivities include a conch fritter-eating contest, a conch-knocking contest, a conch-peeling competition, and a conch-blowing tournament. The winner of this last, prestigious event must produce a recognizable tune. When I entered, I produced a plumbing anomaly. The judges also didn’t like my peeling productivity, and in the eating contest, four fritters at one sitting was considered second division.</p> <p>I left the cooking to the experts. Belongers at The Three Queen’s bar – the cradle of conch worship – told me where to get the best: Coco Bistro (ravioli), The Bay (crepes), Hemingway’s (chowder), and the shacks down Blue Hills Road for conch sautéed in rum.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/festivals-conch-salad.jpg" /><figcaption>Conch salad served in a conch shell. Image credit: Getty Images / Carlyle Sands / EyeEm</figcaption></figure> <p>The conch is known as Triton’s Trumpet after the Greek god of the sea. It's favored by merpeople – maids and men. Along with the spiny lobster and the flamingo, the conch is featured prominently on the islands’ coat of arms. It must be the world’s only heraldic mollusc. Conch is a cult.</p> <p>When Columbus discovered conch on Turks and Caicos in 1492, he described the shells as “the size of a calf head”. Today, Providenciales has the world’s only commercial conch farm.</p> <p>Having eaten conch (Strombus) in its fried, smoked, frittered, and pecan-encrusted form, I soon developed many of the famous attributes of the Caribbean marine snail. After conching it up, you don’t move very far. Or very quickly.</p> <p><em>The Turks and Caicos Conch Festival is held on the last weekend of November.</em></p> <p>Author: <a href="/about/contributors/kevin-pilley">Kevin Pilley</a></p> <h2 id="guna">Feria de Río Tigre, Guna Yala, Panama</h2> <p>Held on Isla Tigre, in the north of Panama’s Guna Yala archipelago, is Feria de Río Tigre, a four-day craft fair. As one of the last indigenous tribes of the Caribbean, the Guna gained independence from Panama in the 1925 revolution. They became the first autonomous indigenous group in Latin America, which has allowed them to retain their enchanting culture.</p> <p>Drawing Guna from their remote islands, the fair has an inclusive, community feel as they teach each other and visitors the craftsmanship of pottery, sewing <em>molas</em> – colorful appliqué clothing unique to the Guna – and geometric, beaded bracelets called <em>chaquiras</em>.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/festivals-guna.jpg" /><figcaption>Guna dancers at Feria de Río Tigre. Image credit: Lucy Pierce</figcaption></figure> <p>I’m treated to a magical Nogagope performance, an intimate, spiritual dance between couples to bamboo flutes and maracas. Dedicated to Mother Earth, the ritualistic dance is intended to keep evil spirits away. The couples line up to face each other, slowly hopping back and forth diagonally to the rhythm. Dressed in <em>molas</em>, the women begin to spin, with their flowing, dark hair echoing the sensual movement of the dance.</p> <p>Volleyball matches are also part of the festivities and are highly competitive, with players launching into action like springbok on the run. Despite their wide grins of encouragement for me to join them, the ball is tactically angled away from me after I make a few dud shots.</p> <p>The day wraps up with a feast of enormous, meaty lobster and delicate, sweet crab followed by fresh coconuts. No frills, just locally foraged foods as I discuss Guna traditions with my new friends.</p> <p><em>Feria de Río Tigre is held in mid-October.</em></p> <p>Author: <a href="/about/contributors/lucy-pierce">Lucy Pierce</a></p> <h2 id="podcast"></h2>Lucy Pierce 1 Lucy Pierce Guna women wearing traditional clothing in Guna Yala, Panama.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/caribbean/sint-maarten-on-a-budgetLearn how a family can spend a month on this notoriously expensive Caribbean island without breaking the bank.2024-10-03T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbean/sint-maarten-on-a-budgethttps://www.worldnomads.com<p>Is Sint Maarten expensive? Yes, but it is possible to travel on a budget! Learn how a family can spend a month on this notoriously expensive <a href="/explore/guides/caribbean-travel-safety-guide">Caribbean island</a> without breaking the bank.</p> <p>Almost as soon as I paid for the flights, I realized my mistake. While a month in Cambodia or Colombia can be enjoyed on a meager budget, no matter how cheap your tickets to the Caribbean are, 30 days of family accommodation will almost certainly turn an economical escape into an exorbitant one. Add on island taxis, imported food, and daily entertainment, and such a trip threatens to not only break the bank but also your nomadic spirit.</p> <p>After a small panic, I reasoned: we were not visiting <a href="/explore/caribbean/keeping-the-americas-cup-spirit-alive-on-st-maarten">Sint Maarten</a> for its mega-resorts nor its rib-eye steaks. The attraction was the unique 34mi<sup>2</sup> (87km<sup>2</sup>) isle, part of the Leeward Islands in the Northeast Caribbean. Divided in half and governed by two different countries – Sint Maarten by the Netherlands, and St. Martin by France – its fine-as-flour beaches and crystalline waters are complemented by arguably the world’s most famous landing strip. Given all three can be enjoyed for free, Sint Maarten on a shoestring should be possible… right?</p> <ul> <li><a href="#accommodation">Accommodation</a></li> <li><a href="#transport">Transport</a></li> <li><a href="#food">Food</a></li> <li><a href="#entertainment">Entertainment</a></li> <li><a href="#trip-notes">Trip Notes</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="accommodation">Accommodation</h2> <p>A cursory search online highlighted the hazards of long stays in the West Indies. All-inclusive was out of the question, but even two-star hotels were charging US $3,000 for the month. Airbnb averaged US $445 a night. Eventually, after digging with all the determination of our toddler daughter and her bucket and spade, we happened across a yacht support center on the French side of the island.</p> <p>Such centers are designed to offer assistance to crew members temporarily forced ashore. We had stayed in similar in <a href="/travel-safety/caribbean/antigua-and-barbuda/crime-in-antigua-and-barbuda">Antigua</a>, and found them both excellent and economical. Our St. Martin lodgings included a laundromat, engine repair shop, and no-frills waterfront cabins for US $30 per night. We fell asleep each evening to the calming sound of the sea and used the free Wi-Fi while we sipped our morning coffee. Its location was not ideal, but with a car it was no problem. And in the Caribbean, it’s almost always best to rent a car.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/st-maarten-road.jpg" /><figcaption>Island road, St. Maarten. Image credit: Getty Images / Danita Delimont Getty Images</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="transport">Transport</h2> <p>All around the Caribbean, island taxis cater almost exclusively to visitors, and the prices reflect that. Arriving at Sint Maarten’s Princess Juliana Airport, we were quoted US $30 for an 11-minute drive to our digs. Instead, we got a free shuttle to a nearby rental car office and booked a Hyundai i20 for US $25 a day.</p> <p>The other obvious benefit of a car is that it opens up the entire island. In the town of Swetes on Antigua, that had meant a spontaneous stop opposite the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, where a temporary roadside barbecue sold US $10 lobster lunches. In Sint Maarten, it meant <a href="/explore/caribbean/saba-an-island-packed-with-characters">lying under incoming airplanes</a> on Maho Beach, but also visiting various others, such as Orient Bay, Cupecoy, and Mullet Bay. On the way, we stopped at a local market and filled a small thermal bag with drinks, rather than splurging at the beachside bars.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/st-maarten-town.jpg" /><figcaption>The "Old Street" Shopping Arcade, Philipsburg. Image credit: Getty Images / Bob Krist</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="food">Food</h2> <p>Sometimes it seems if you want to eat cheap in the Caribbean, you’re stuck with fast food. Thankfully, that’s an illusion – you just need to <a href="/explore/caribbean/tasting-my-way-around-the-caribbean">eat like a local</a>. Visiting The Bahamas a year earlier, we discovered if you eat under the bustling bridge at Potter’s Cay, rather than at the tourist haven of Arawak, you can save more than 50% on your conch salad or jerk chicken.</p> <p>In Sint Maarten, it’s a similar story. We avoided the beachfront cafes that unashamedly charge US $15 for a simple omelette, and headed to Dish D’Lish, a family restaurant in the Simpson Bay neighborhood not far from Princess Juliana airport, where we heaped our plates with seafood pasta at the US $10 gourmet buffet. <em>(Note: Dish D'Lish has since closed.)</em></p> <p><strong><a href="/travel-insurance/destinations/caribbean">Traveling soon? Learn how travel insurance could help your trip to the Caribbean.</a></strong></p> <h2 id="entertainment">Entertainment</h2> <p>November, when we were there, is at the tail end of hurricane season, meaning low-season rates for high-season weather, but you should expect at least a couple of tropical downpours. In Sint Maarten, you’ll find casino flyers everywhere that include US $5 or $10 vouchers – no purchase necessary. We spent a rainy evening taking turns playing 50 cent blackjack with free money. Whoever said the house always wins probably also believes it’s impossible to do Sint Maarten on a shoestring. They’re wrong.</p> <h2 id="trip-notes">Trip notes</h2> <p>The official currency of St. Martin is Euros, and the official currency of Sint Maarten is Antillean guilders, but US dollars are accepted on both sides of the island.</p>Getty Images / Sean Pavone 11189969264 Getty Images The island of St. Maarten in the Caribbean.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/caribbean/beyond-reggae-the-caribbean-music-sceneThe islands may be famous for calypso, salsa, and reggae, but they've also put their own spin on jazz, electronic music, and dancehall beats.2019-12-05T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbean/beyond-reggae-the-caribbean-music-scenehttps://www.worldnomads.com<ul> <li><a href="#jazz">Caribbean jazz</a></li> <li><a href="#dancehall">Gospel dancehall in Jamaica</a></li> <li><a href="#electronic">Electronic music in the Caribbean</a></li> </ul> <p>The islands of the Caribbean have proudly claimed ownership of their native styles of music, flavored with North American and European influences. Jamaican ska, reggae, and dancehall, Trinidadian calypso and soca, as well as French-Caribbean’s cadence and zouk, have all been major exports and festival draws since their inception. But starting in the 1980s, jazz, electronic music, and Jamaican gospel dancehall have also entered into the Caribbean music circuit.</p> <h2 id="jazz">Caribbean jazz</h2> <p>In 2006, I was working at my aunt’s restaurant in <a href="/explore/caribbean/tasting-my-way-around-the-caribbean">Nevis</a>. I had just graduated music school, and was keen to utilize my new skills and contacts. While getting to know the local bar and restaurant owners, it struck me that the island was ripe for a blues and jazz festival, as it attracted an affluent traveler demographic I felt would enjoy world-renowned artists in a tropical setting. Many scoffed at my youthful idea, reminding me that <a href="/explore/caribbean/tasting-my-way-around-the-caribbean">St. Lucia</a> already had a world-renowned jazz festival, but some encouraged me to pursue it.</p> <p>Sadly, Nevis was hit by a hurricane in 2008, knocking out the Four Seasons, one of the main hotels on the small island and a major draw for tourist dollars. I shelved my idea and pursued work in North America. But I must have been onto something. Less than a decade later, the Nevis Blues Festival debuted in April 2015 and lasted two years, until another hurricane hit in 2018. Now, blues and jazz performances are scattered throughout the island at various resorts and hotels.</p> <p>But as early as the 1980s, jazz music started to gain popularity throughout the Caribbean. The softening of intra-Caribbean musical barriers allowed an influx of musical styles to infiltrate the region through global radio stations, visitors, and youth who attended college abroad and brought new styles of music back home. Such is the case with Arturo Tappin, a Barbadian saxophonist first exposed to jazz music when his son attended university in North America. Apparently Tappin’s Barbadian manager, Scofield Pilgrim, then introduced many Trinidadians to jazz when he lived in Port of Spain, <a href="/explore/caribbean/trinidad-and-tobago/indo-caribbean-culture-in-trinidad-and-tobago">Trinidad</a>. And in turn, Trinidadian Gene Lawrence later became chairman of St. Lucia’s jazz society.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/music-jazz.jpg" /><figcaption>St. Lucia Jazz Festival. Image credit: Getty Images / Earl Gibson III / Contributor</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1986, Aruba’s Jazz and Latin Music Festival debuted, running until 2001. It was the Caribbean’s inaugural jazz festival. St Lucia’s Jazz Festival followed in 1992. Paxton Baker, a young American who would go on to become a philanthropist, organized and booked award-winning international talent for both festivals, as well as Trinidad’s Pan Jazz Festival, celebrating the rising popularity of this Caribbean music genre, which features jazzy arrangements of popular tunes on the steelpan.</p> <p>The success of these early jazz festivals inspired 30 more annual festivals throughout the Caribbean by the mid-90s, along with an influx of jazz clubs scattered throughout the islands. Many festivals eventually merged to soul, pop, R&B, and reggae headliners, including the late Amy Winehouse. But strictly jazz-programmed festivals are still running in Haiti, Barbados, Havana (Cuba), and <a href="/stories/connection/meeting-my-past-at-bermuda-cup-match">Bermuda</a>; the latter two run every two years. Year-round, Havana hosts amazing jazz at various hotspots around the city, including Jazz Club, La Zorra y el Cuervo, and Miramar Jazz.</p> <h2 id="dancehall">Gospel dancehall in Jamaica</h2> <p>When I visited Kingston in 2010, the Jamaica Family Festival was on. It was a beautiful outdoor concert with delicious jerk food, smiling kids, and live music. When local singer Kevin Smith took the mic and began to sing the gospel over dancehall riddims, I did a triple-take; I had never heard dancehall praise God before!</p> <p>Gospel dancehall emerged in the early 1990s, around the time the original down an’ dutty dancehall was making a global impact in music. With a similar reaction to the “rude boys” of early reggae music, many church-going Jamaicans could not embrace dancehall’s explicit lyrics and raunchy dance moves.</p> <p>Given the popularity of gospel pop music in Jamaica since the 1980s, gospel dancehall was a natural evolution as a cleaner, family-friendly (and Christian) spin on an otherwise popular dance genre. Gospel reggae would quickly become interchangeable with the genre. Lady Saw, Papa San, Goddy Goddy, DJ Nicholas (who converted to singing the gospel after a dream), Prodigal Son, Lt. Stichie and Kevin Smith are a few of the artists to emerge.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/music-lady-saw.jpg" /><figcaption>Lady Saw, Reggae Sumfest, Montego Bay, Jamaica. Image credit: Getty Images / Shelby Soblick / Contributor</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="electronic">Electronic music in the Caribbean</h2> <p>Given the French and Dutch Caribbean ties to the European club scene, and Rihanna hailing from Barbados, it was only a matter of time before the Caribbean became the new host for various underground electronic dance music (EDM) festivals, featuring DJs performing long before the genre caught hold.</p> <p>EDM festivals in the Caribbean started with Aruba’s long-running Love Festival. Its demise in 2014 paved the way for SXM Festival, a boutique music festival featuring international DJs such as Dubfire and Nina Kravitz that debuted in 2016 across the Dutch-French island of <a href="/explore/caribbean/sint-maarten-on-a-budget">St. Martin-Sint Maarten</a>. Given the Dutch ties to club culture, Sint Maarten already had a thriving techno scene and nightlife. The festival brought new, international DJs to these clubs.</p> <p>I was fortunate enough to attend the festival during its first two years. Dreamy music by DJs Behrouz, Chaim, and The Doctors flowed all afternoon from a treetop booth, overlooking infinity pools hugged by the thumping dance floor. Festival goers splashed about in sunglasses and on unicorn floaties. The intimate setting was pure bliss, refreshingly free of bros, muscle t-shirts, and obnoxious attitudes.</p> <p>In April 2018, Vujaday Festival arrived in Barbados with a sunrise party, featuring headliner Moses, over the breathtaking cliff of Bathsheba Beach, and YookO’s album release aboard the pirate ship, The Jolly Roger, where partiers swung out on a rope into the Caribbean waters over lush electronic music beats. When the festival isn’t running, electronic music fans flock to the sultry Nikki Beach bar, with its signature orange lounges and splash pool.</p> <p>Jamaica also started the small but growing Tmrw.Tday Festival, featuring a blend of electronic music and a Saturday night reggae showcase that brings out many locals. Traditionally, electronic music in Jamaica has been heard in its native genres: dancehall and dub music. Lee “Scratch” Perry was an innovator and pioneer in dub music due to his remixing, studio techniques, and production style. Dub, in turn, inspired electronic music genre dubstep.</p> <p>To some purists, Jamaica rivals Germany for creating new synthesized genres. In any case, the Caribbean influence on these music styles can’t be denied – and the music world is much richer as a result.</p> <h2 id="podcast"></h2>Getty Images / Bim 1609823776 Getty A trumpet player in Jamaica.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/caribbean/dominican-republic/the-hidden-dominican-republicFar from the resort towns, Lily Girma discovers a world of locally run accommodations, immersive community tours, and breathtaking island scenery.2019-12-05T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbean/dominican-republic/the-hidden-dominican-republichttps://www.worldnomads.com<ul> <li><a href="#barahona">A rural adventure in Barahona</a></li> <li><a href="#wildlife">Offshore escape to a wildlife refuge</a></li> <li><a href="#valle">Overnight in Valle Nuevo’s cloud forest</a></li> <li><a href="#trip-notes">Trip notes</a></li> </ul> <p>When I was writing a guide book on the Dominican Republic, located between <a href="/explore/caribbean/cuba">Cuba</a> and <a href="/explore/caribbean/puerto-rico/7-things-to-know-before-visiting">Puerto Rico</a> in the Greater Antilles, I traveled around the country for a year. My mission was to unearth immersive experiences, away from the DR’s resort towns. Over the months that followed, exploring the country south to north and center, I stumbled on a world of locally run accommodations, community tours, and breathtaking island scenery.</p> <h2 id="barahona">A rural adventure in Barahona</h2> <p>My explorations lead me to <em>Cooperativa para el Desarollo de la Ciénaga</em> in the southwestern province of Barahona. Aurelino, the cooperative’s tour guide, gives me specific instructions to reach their community center: catch a Caribe Tours bus from Santo Domingo to Barahona town, then transfer to a <em>guagua,</em> or local bus. I’m to tell the driver to drop me off <em>“donde la cooperativa de La Ciénaga,”</em> another hour east.</p> <p>The first three-hour ride takes me into the campo, or countryside, past vast plantain fields and roadside fruit vendors, until we enter bustling Barahona. The second chicken-bus ride takes my breath away as it winds down a narrow, coastal highway flanked by green hills and an iridescent blue sea.</p> <p>Aurelino and two of the cooperative’s women – including my host for the night, Dona Paulina, and her daughter – welcome me off the bus.</p> <p>“The house isn’t far, we can walk there,” Paulina’s daughter says. We descend a small hill into a neighborhood. I spot a yard filled with white plastic chairs and children running around screaming, balloons in hand.</p> <p>“It’s my goddaughter’s birthday. We’ll stop by for a few minutes,” says Dona Paulina.</p> <p>Directly across is her single-story house, where I leave my bags. At the birthday bash, Latin tunes blast while the kids show off their moves. Strangers kiss me hello on the cheek, and I’m handed a plate of food. I don’t understand their rapid-fire Dominican Spanish, but I feel as welcome as a neighbor.</p> <p>At sunset, La Ciénaga’s tiny waterfront fills with residents. Fishermen canoes are parked on the beach, and families swim or play basketball. Aurelino takes me on a quick boat ride along La Ciénaga’s scenic coastline under an orange sky.</p> <p>The next morning, over breakfast, Dona Paulina and I talk about the cooperative life, and the sustainable income they’ve generated for the community from the restaurant, homestays, a marmalade-making venture, and selling adventure tours.</p> <p>At 9am, Aurelino picks me up to begin our adventure to Balneario La Plaza – a three-hour <a href="/travel-insurance/activities/hiking-travel-insurance">hike</a> along the Bahoruco River. A bumpy safari truck takes us into a thick, humid forest to the river entry point. I can’t take my eyes off the water: it’s a crystalline turquoise more striking than the Caribbean Sea. Climbing over rocks, and cooling in fresh water pools, we eventually reach a massive canyon. I gasp looking at a secluded turquoise pool a few feet below. Aurelino smiles ear to ear and leaps into the water, screaming: <em>“¡Paraíso!”</em> Paradise!</p> <h2 id="wildlife">Offshore escape to a wildlife refuge</h2> <p>My journey continues to the DR’s northwestern edge – past cactus-lined roads, salt ponds, and goats grazing off the highway. I know I’ve reached Monte Cristi when I spot El Morro – the town’s 700ft (213m) limestone mesa overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Locals flock there at sunset for its golden, sand-and-pebble beach at the base of the mesa. I do the same, before I make way back to the waterfront area where roadside bars blast music and serve cold beer, while kids swim off the dock.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/dominican-republic-morro.jpg" /><figcaption>El Morro, Monte Christi. Image credit: Getty Images / Jon Spaull</figcaption></figure> <p>In the morning, Soraya y Santo Tours, a husband-and-wife team native to Monte Cristi, take me on a boat trip to the <em>Cayos Siete Hermanos</em> (Seven Brother Cays), 1.5 hours off the shores of Monte Cristi, near the border with Haiti.</p> <p>As the boat captain explains, shouting over the motor, the major draw is Cayo Tuna. Every year from June to August, migratory birds nest in this wildlife refuge area – three species of seabirds known as the Brown Noddy, Sooty Tern, and Least Tern.</p> <p>Anchored off Cayo Tuna, wading onto shore, my ears fill with piercing sounds. Thousands upon thousands of birds are perched on leafy bushes covering most of the isle – my sole companions on this deserted, white sand circle in the middle of the Atlantic.</p> <h2 id="valle">Overnight in Valle Nuevo<span>’</span>s cloud forest</h2> <p>Warming up by my cabin chimney, I chuckle that I’m experiencing cold weather in the Caribbean. I’m at Villa Pajón, a Dominican family-owned lodge tucked inside Valle Nuevo National Park.</p> <p>Perched on a plateau at 7,000ft (2,130m), near the center of the DR, and surrounded by dense pine forests, the warmest daytime temperatures hover at 70°F (21°C). Evenings drop into the 50s and can reach below freezing in December. For naturalists, Valle Nuevo is a paradise of plants and wildlife, including more than 70 bird species.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/dominican-republic-valle-nuevo.jpg" /><figcaption>Valle Nuevo National Park. Image credit: Getty Images / photofxs68</figcaption></figure> <p>I spend the day hiking with Seïor Guzmán, whose family has owned this property for generations. A short trail behind the lodge leads us through a maze of giant criollo pine trees, ferns, and bromeliads in a cloud forest. I feel transported into another universe, when my host tells me to stop.</p> <p>“You hear that alarm-sound? It’s the <em>jilguero</em>.” The Rufous-throated Solitaire, a tropical bird native to the region.</p> <p>A bowl of fresh <em>sancocho</em> – a hearty meat-and-root-vegetable stew – warms us up over lunch at the lodge. Walking back to my cabin for a nap by the chimney, I realize that I’ve succeeded – I had found the Dominican Republic I want others to see.</p> <h2 id="trip-notes">Trip notes</h2> <h3>Getting there</h3> <p>Fly into Santo Domingo, Puerto Plata, or Santiago international airports to make your way to Barahona, Monte Cristi, and Valle Nuevo, respectively. Major car rental offices are available on site; highways are modern and well indicated, but watch for speeding drivers. Regional bus service is available on Caribe Tours to Barahona and Monte Cristi, with scheduled daily departures listed online. Valle Nuevo in Constanza requires a four-wheel drive.</p>Getty Images / Fernando Bandini 11137916183 Getty Images The lush coastline of Barahona, Dominican Republic.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/caribbean/tasting-my-way-around-the-caribbeanCaribbean food is much more than conch fritters and jerk chicken – it's as varied as the region itself, combining local produce, spices, and seafood with influences from around the world. 2019-12-04T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbean/tasting-my-way-around-the-caribbeanhttps://www.worldnomads.com<ul> <li><a href="#barbados">Barbados</a></li> <li><a href="#lucia">St. Lucia</a></li> <li><a href="#nevis">Nevis</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="barbados">Barbados</h2> <p>Through a window hatch at the front of a brightly painted wooden shack, Cuz hands me a fish cutter, his face breaking into a giant smile. I’ve been waiting here, near Pebbles Beach in Barbados, the easternmost island of the Lesser Antilles, for one of its most famous sandwiches – cutters – a salt-bread roll filled with fried fish seasoned with Bajan spices. These are typically allspice, onion powder, chilies, thyme, parsley, nutmeg, clove, and black pepper.</p> <p>Cuz’s father, Cuz senior, began the business almost seven decades ago, and the family still sells around 500 cutters a day. Pointing to a stack of rolls, Cuz says: “When they’re done, I’m done; I pack up and go.” Inside, a radio blares and two large pans keep the oil sizzling as Cuz deftly fries fish and fires them onto buns, topping each with salad. The fish is soft, sweet, and so moreish I get back in line for seconds.</p> <p>Eating out in Barbados can be expensive – the west coast of the island is dotted with wallet-busting fine-dining restaurants – but when you seek out the local fare, you’ll find gems like Cuz’s. Food stalls and vans serving hot lunches out of their back doors cluster in beach car parks and “pon de roadside”: fried chicken or baked fish, accompanied by macaroni pie – known as just “pie”; it’s made with long tubes of macaroni, mixed with cheese, evaporated milk, Bajan spices, and hot sauce, all of it baked until crisp. These are cooked daily in homes across the island, loaded into silver chafing dishes, and driven out to meet demand.</p> <p>Stop by the wet markets in Bridgetown, Oistins, or Speightstown to see the abundant varieties of fish caught not far from shore: marlin, mahi mahi, and the ubiquitous flying fish, that shimmer when they swim in shoals and break the surface of the water. Upstairs at bustling Cheapside vegetable market you’ll discover tiny, hole-in-the-wall food stalls that fry doughy fish cakes made from salt fish, flour, herbs, and spices.</p> <p>On a Friday night, head to Oistins Friday Night Fish Fry for seafood, rum, beer, dominoes and dancing. There’s always a long queue at Uncle George Fish Net Grill, where the eponymous Uncle George, tongs in one hand, spatula in the other, flips tuna, swordfish, lobster, shrimp and “dolphin” (mahi mahi).</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/food/tasting-oistins-fish-fry.jpg" /><figcaption>Oistins Fish Fry. Image credit: Getty Images / Alan Copson</figcaption></figure> <p>Or take your own, self-guided local food tour by hopping on one of the souped-up vans (ZR buses) that pump out reggae music and beep their horns at potential passengers on the sidewalk. Costing $1 US a ride, they’re an ideal way to skip from rum shop to rum shop, sipping rum punch while you try Barbados’s national dish: flying fish and cou cou (cornmeal and okra).</p> <p>In Barbados, “having a lime” is to party and have a good time, and zipping around on “reggae buses” is just that.</p> <h2 id="lucia">St. Lucia</h2> <p>There’s nutmeg and cinnamon, soursop, sugar apples, limes, plantains – even cow’s milk in recycled glass bottles, all piled on top of wooden stalls. It’s a Saturday morning at Castries Market in <a href="/explore/caribbean/beyond-reggae-the-caribbeans-new-grooves">St. Lucia</a>, about 110mi (180km) northwest of Barbados. Chef Craig Jones – a big, white, Welsh Rastafarian – and I are picking our way around large, muddy puddles amidst a cacophony of cries and Creole sales pitches. I point quizzically to a large root vegetable, but before Jones can answer me, the stallholder is trying to tempt him: “Look at these dasheen, Ras, beautiful dasheen.” I am still puzzled so Jones – who has been cooking on St. Lucia for two decades now – explains: “Dasheen is like a dry potato, and it becomes sticky when you cook it.” All around us is the sweet smell of mangoes, laid in vast piles, all different shapes, sizes, and hues. “There are 30 to 40 different varieties of mangoes,” Jones tells me. “There’s mango Austin, which is great, but mango Julie is the sweetest and has the best texture and taste.”</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/food/tasting-market-stand.jpg" /><figcaption>Castries Market. Image credit: Meng He / Flickr Creative Commons</figcaption></figure> <p>But the most prolific fruit in St. Lucia is the banana. Like almost everything grown on this island – it’s a similar story across almost all of the Caribbean – it was imported during colonialist slave-owning times, replacing sugar cane as the cash crop. It features in the confusingly named national dish, green fig and saltfish: green fig is really just green banana. Full of iron, it’s boiled to make it more digestible and served with saltfish (salted white fish, often cod).</p> <p>It’s at roadside pitstop Red Truck that I find true St. Lucian cooking: stewed pork cooked in its own juices (no water), cloves, onion, chives, and seasonal peppers. There’s black pudding and a deep-flavored cow heel soup, thick in texture from split peas and okra – loved across the island, it often has dasheen or green fig added in.</p> <p>The cooks offer me a rum punch to wash down my meal. I take a big gulp – realizing too late it’s more firewater than cocktail; it leaves me choking and laughing. My St. Lucian friend Ulrich Augustin snorts: “It is more of a sipping drink.”</p> <h2 id="nevis">Nevis</h2> <p>Sunshine is holding two spiny lobsters in both hands and asking if I’d like one – of course I would. Freshly caught in the waters just off Nevis, a small island near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles, the lobster is grilled and served with butter and hot sauce. I must have it with his famous Killer Bee, says Sunshine (real name Llewellyn Caines: “My grandmother called me Sunshine from the day I was born, because I smiled and didn’t stop”). It’s a rum-based, spicy cocktail with some kicks so secret he’d have to “kill me” if he told me what they were. He boasts: “It’s so good, people come over from St. Kitts just to drink it.”</p> <p>On the tables at Sunshine’s restaurant on Pinney’s Beach are bottles of Nevis Hot Pepper Sauce. I discover they’re made by Llewellyn Clarke, an English chef who returned to his family’s Nevis roots to cook in a hotel, and set up a sideline making what I believe to be one of the finest hot sauces in the Caribbean.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/food/tasting-peppers.jpg" /><figcaption>Picking hot peppers on Nevis. Image credit: Getty Images / Monty Rakusen</figcaption></figure> <p>In his kitchen in Rawlins Village, known as the island’s breadbasket because of its abundance of fruit and fresh produce, the smell of sweet but punchy Scotch bonnet chilis fills the air as he boils the fiery red peppers down with vinegar, salt, sugar, thyme and garlic. “My bottles are filled with love and sunshine. I don’t do the final bottling until I think the sauce has matured enough – I am always tasting it, it is just like making wine. There’s a point in your memory where you know what something should taste like,” he explains.</p> <p>The national dish of Nevis is fried fish and johnny cakes, originally derived from the word “journey”, possibly because the balls of slightly sweet, crisp-fried dough are easily portable. Often, johnny cakes will be served at breakfast with stewed saltfish, tomatoes, lettuce and hard-boiled eggs. Also beloved is goat water – more like a cross between a soup and a stew – with hints of clove, black pepper, thyme, and Scotch bonnet in the sauce, cooked low and slow until the goat is meltingly soft. After only a few mouthfuls, I need a bottle of Carib beer, because goat water, like so many things in Nevis, has a bit of a kick.</p> <h2 id="podcast"></h2>Getty Images / Roberto Moiola / Sysaworld 11151798631 Getty Images A plate of grilled Caribbean lobster.

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/caribbean/the-bahamas/native-boat-regattas-in-the-bahamasRacing on locally built boats, the sailors in the annual National Family Island Regatta help keep The Bahamas' centuries-old seafaring traditions alive.2019-12-04T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbean/the-bahamas/native-boat-regattas-in-the-bahamashttps://www.worldnomads.com<p>In The Bahamas, the sea surrounds and nurtures each gem-like island. There are times when it tests a person’s mettle, tries their soul, and tempers both to produce a hardy breed of sailors who take pride in their power to live in harmony with the powers of the wind and waves. They are the Out Islanders. Here, seamanship is the measure of a person. They set out to sea in locally built boats of horseflesh (a strong local wood ideal for inner boat timbers), and heart pine. The tradition was born soon after The Bahamas were settled.</p> <ul> <li><a href="#history">History of the regatta</a></li> <li><a href="#regatta">The National Family Island Regatta</a></li> <li><a href="#trip-notes">Trip Notes</a></li> <li><a href="#podcast">Listen to the World Nomads Podcast: Caribbean</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="history">History of the regatta</h2> <p>The boatbuilding traditions here are strong. Each island community takes pride in its own unique craft. They range from Bimini “bonefishers” to Abaco dinghies to single-masted sloops and twin-masted schooners. There are few plans for these vessels, the construction and hull forms are passed down through many generations. In the early days the boats shared much with the boat-building traditions of West Africa. There are many characters among the boatmen, notably Mark Knowles on Long Island. Mark is the man to beat on the one day above all others that is paramount in the demonstration of prowess under sail – Race Day. They say he builds the fastest sloops in the Bahamas.</p> <p>I witnessed my first race day many years ago off Mangrove Cay, Andros Island. I loved sailing, but I was more fascinated by an undercurrent that ran through the regatta. It was rumored that the islander's knowledge of the winds and waters came to them from an ancient and magical connection upwelling from their African roots. They called it Scratch. Elsewhere in the Caribbean it is called Obeah or Santeria, and its roots are in Nigeria’s Voodoo traditions.</p> <p>Before the regatta, I gently raised the topic with the regulars at McPhee's Diner. Contestants gathered in this ramshackle collection of huts to eat, drink, and measure up the competition. I was directed to a man who slept on the settlement beach. He had but one arm and one leg. I found him late in the afternoon under a casuarina tree and we talked well into night over a bottle of Mount Gay rum. From him I learned that there had indeed been some “spell casting” in the weeks prior to the race. I was told exactly which sloop would win by using an offshore wind that would arise exactly at 3pm. The prediction was eerily and absolutely accurate.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/regatta-boats-under-sail.jpg" /><figcaption>Traditional Bahamanian sailboats racing. Image credit: Getty Images / Jim Sugar</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="regatta">The National Family Island Regatta</h2> <p>Race Day is officially known as the National Family Island Regatta. The annual event began in 1954 with the intention of keeping Bahamian boat building and sailing traditions alive. The event has done its job. Mark Knowles learned boatbuilding from his grandfather and father. He’s typical of others who represent generations of local knowledge. More important still, many younger Bahamians are taking an active interest in the tradition, indicating that the future is pretty well assured.</p> <p>In August 2019, the impact of <a href="/travel-safety/worldwide/how-to-survive-a-hurricane">Hurricane Dorian</a> on the Abacos, especially Marsh Harbor, where boat building was centered for many years, put the viability of this tradition in question. But the storm was no match for the ongoing spirit of the regatta.</p> <p>There’s no better way to experience the breathtaking beauty of these semi-tropical waters, no better way of meeting the Bahamian Out Islanders and of getting to know their unique, seafaring culture than the regatta. Many will watch from the shore. Others will arrive early, get to know the regatta officials and the sailors – and perhaps get a spot on one of the fleet of official boats stationed on the start line. This is the best vantage point.</p> <p>Luckier still will be those cruising <a href="/travel-safety/caribbean/the-bahamas/adventure-tourism-in-the-bahamas">The Bahamas</a> in their own boats. Regatta officials often allow the visitor fleet to moor near the start line, in the very midst of the action. This is the single best way to enjoy the regatta. The event is a visual feast, a photographers dream, and a rare opportunity to experience a centuries-old tradition that is alive and well.</p> <h3>Getting there</h3> <p>Nassau, The Bahamas is served by major US airlines feeding into Florida and leaving from two major hubs, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. Airlines and smaller charter services fly directly into Exuma International Airport from these hubs for approximately US $600 round trip. Schedules run throughout the week. In addition, ferry services and charter boats travel from Potters Cay in Nassau direct to Exuma, 35 miles south of New Providence. The air-conditioned ferry service costs as little as US $50. Charter flights cost around US $200 round trip.</p> <h3>Being there</h3> <p>The 635 Cays of the Exumas offer a wide variety of modern, quality accommodations, at least twenty with excellent reviews. Most are centered around Marsh Harbor.</p> <h2 id="podcast">Listen to the World Nomads Podcast: Caribbean</h2> <p>Learn about safety in Jamaica, bomba dancing in Puerto Rico, the hidden Dominican Republic, and more.</p> <iframe width="100%" height="190" src="https://webplayer.whooshkaa.com/episode/545890?theme=light" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay"></iframe>Venture Minimalists/Flickr Creative Commons 0

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/caribbean/keeping-the-americas-cup-spirit-alive-on-st-maartenIn the 12 Metre Regatta, Tim Harper tests his mettle against Stars & Stripes, arguably the most famous racing yacht in history.2019-12-04T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/caribbean/keeping-the-americas-cup-spirit-alive-on-st-maartenhttps://www.worldnomads.com<ul> <li><a href="#yacht">Learning to sail a 12-metre yacht</a></li> <li><a href="#legend">Racing against an America's Cup legend</a></li> <li><a href="#trip-notes">Trip Notes</a></li> <li><a href="#podcast">Listen to the World Nomads Podcast: Caribbean</a></li> </ul> <p>It’s a good day for sailing off <a href="/explore/caribbean/sint-maarten-on-a-budget">St. Maarten</a>, one of the Leeward Islands in the northeast Caribbean – sunny and 80°F (26°C), with a fresh breeze. I join the crowd of travelers on the main pier at the capital city, Philipsburg.</p> <p>I have sailed a bit, but most of us are non-sailors who’ve heard about the St. Maarten 12 Metre Regatta – essentially a mini-version of the America’s Cup races that have long captivated an audience beyond hardcore sailors. The 12 Metre has won many awards for being one of the best “soft adventures” in the Caribbean. But it wasn’t so soft for some of us.</p> <h2 id="yacht">Learning to sail a 12-metre yacht</h2> <p>A handful of 12 Metre staffers work the crowd, dividing us into two crews of 15, with comparable numbers of young adults, older people, and children. Each crew boards a launch and is ferried to its yacht. My group steps onto True North IV.</p> <p>The yacht’s tanned young captain spots my triathlon t-shirt and assigns me the most physically demanding job on the boat, one of four “grinders,” furiously cranking lines in and out on big spools as the sails are re-set.</p> <p>Two other professional crew, equally young and tanned, give orders to the rest of us. Everyone has a task – one elderly lady was named timekeeper – and we realize it’s up to us to sail this very fast boat.</p> <p>Which is no easy job. The 12-metre yachts, historically “the greyhounds of the sea,” are beautifully sleek but finicky vessels built for speed, not comfort, nearly 70ft (21m) long with an 86ft (26m) mast, weighing 35 tons (31,750kg) and flying 1,700ft2 (158m2) of sail. (The “12 metre” classification comes not from the yacht’s length, but from an equation based on several measurements, including the distance from deck to water.)</p> <p>The 12s were the official boat of the America’s Cup until 1987, when the sports world was riveted by the dramatic races off Fremantle, Australia that resulted in a victory by the New York Yacht Club’s entry, <em>Stars & Stripes</em>, arguably the most famous racing yacht in history. For the 1988 Cup, the specifications were changed, and the future of the 12-metre yachts dimmed.</p> <p>Ivy, as our crew call our boat, was one of five 12s rescued by the St. Maarten outfitters and brought to the Caribbean to do what they were built to do: race.</p> <p>After more than an hour, we ragtag visitors feel like a real crew. It’s time to race the other 12, which has been zig-zagging across the harbor, training its crew, too. The course is five legs of about 1mi (1.6km) each, compared with the typical 22m (35km) America’s Cup race.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/americas-cup-wide.jpg" /><figcaption>Another of the 12-metre yachts sailing off St. Maarten. Image credit: Getty Images / Teacherdad48</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="legend">Racing against an America's Cup legend</h2> <p>As the yachts maneuver toward the starting line, the other 12 comes close enough to glimpse its name.</p> <p>Astonished, I look at the captain. “Is that…?” I ask.</p> <p>“Yeah,” he says. “That’s <em>Stars & Stripes</em>.”</p> <p>We help our timekeeper count down, and swoosh across the starting line seconds ahead of <em>Stars & Stripes</em>.</p> <p>After one tack (turn into the wind) about 30 minutes into the race, our captain frowns. “We’re behind,” he says. “They’ve positioned themselves to take our wind.” We can catch up only with a series of sharp tacks. “It’s a lot more work,” he warns us grinders.</p> <p>The next 10 minutes are a mix of concentration and perspiration as True North IV sweeps back and forth. In a decisive move, the yachts appear to be headed toward the same spot on the water from sharply opposing angles.</p> <p>Heeling at 15°, salt spray in our faces, our boat moving so fast we can hear the bow slicing through the waves, we cut in front of <em>Stars & Stripes</em> at a right angle, almost close enough to reach out and touch its bow.</p> <p>The good-natured jeers from <em>Stars & Stripes</em> fade as we move away. Another quick tack, and we glide across the finish line, half a length ahead.</p> <p>“We did it,” the skipper exults. “A slam dunk.” Our shipmates raise a round of cheers for us grinders. I close my eyes, savoring the sea and sun. When I open them, the young skipper is smiling at me. “Hey,” he says quietly. “We just beat <em>Stars & Stripes</em>.”</p> <h2 id="trip-notes">Trip Notes</h2> <p>The St. Maarten 12-Metre Regatta is based on the main pier at Philipsburg, near Bobby’s Marina, and at www.12metre.com.</p> <p>Races begin at 8:30am most days, and continue through the day with up to four additional races, depending on demand, at 10am, 11:30am, 1pm, and 2pm.</p> <p>The cost is US $90 for adults, and US $65 for children 9 and older. Reservations through the website are recommended, but walkups on the pier will be accommodated if there’s room. The yachts have undergone minor renovations for safety, but not comfort. There is no head (bathroom) on board. People with disabilities should inquire about accessibility.</p> <p>The typical race experiences takes two to two and a half hours, not counting a complimentary rum punch afterward in the 12 Metre Regatta’s club house.</p> <p><em>Note: Sailing can be a dangerous sport. Wear your safety equipment including a life vest, don’t mix sailing with alcohol or drugs, and stay aware at all times of your surrounds and the changing weather. Check your travel insurance policy for more details.</em></p> <h2 id="podcast">Listen to the World Nomads Podcast: Caribbean</h2> <p>Learn about safety in Jamaica, bomba dancing in Puerto Rico, the hidden Dominican Republic, and more.</p> <iframe width="100%" height="190" src="https://webplayer.whooshkaa.com/episode/545890?theme=light" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay"></iframe>St Maarten 12 Metre Regatta 1 St Maarten 12 Metre Regatta Retired America's Cup yachts race in the St Maarten 12 Metre regatta.