Got a beach blanket? Bingo! Few Caribbean destinations can claim as many pristine strands as the TCI. Every inch of the islands’ coastline seems to be dusted with sand as fine and impossibly white as confectioners’ sugar, in many spots interrupted by nary a single footprint. A 12-mile-long sunbaked stretch lined with plush resorts, Provo’s [...]
Ritz-Carlton’s Dorado Beach, Puerto Rico Property Conjures Up Its 1920s Past
December 12, 2012 | Posted by
To reach Ritz-Carlton’s newest and most opulent resort, you drive through a forest of coconut palms, swamp bloodwoods and flame of the woods flowering shrubs until the road ends at a wall of water. It’s a fountain of a sort, and behind its soft gurgle stretches Dorado Beach, a $342 million hotel built along three [...]
U.S., Caribbean Nations To Work Together To Stem Arms Trafficking
December 5, 2012 | Posted by
Interim executive director of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) Francis Forbes described the illicit trafficking of small arms and the growth of gangs in the region as “disturbing.” “Our borders are targets for drug traffickers, people trafficking and, most disturbing, illicit trafficking in small arms and ammunition,” he was [...]
Dominican President Danilo Medina Proposes New Path for the Caribbean
November 30, 2012 | Posted by
President Danilo Medina said Thursday that the Caribbean region needs, despite the difficulties, to start to define its social conventions, and its economic and cultural identity to accompany its development. He said the Caribbean needs to seek alliance mechanisms as the nations of Europe did some time ago. “If with linguistics and cultural differences, with [...]
Aruba: Finding Good Uses for Its Many Qualities
November 25, 2012 | Posted by
Believe it or not, the Spanish colonists who settled in Aruba and her sister islands of Bonaire and Curaçao in 1513 nicknamed them the “Islas Inútiles,” or Useless Islands. They couldn’t have been further from the truth. Centuries later, this southern Caribbean cluster is using an arid climate and minimal rainfall in their favor; Aruba [...]
The Random Magic of Grenada
November 24, 2012 | Posted by
In Grenada, I really never know what I’m going to find when I leave the house. Sometimes it’s the most amazing sunset, sometimes it’s a local child who smiles and jumps into my arms. On this day, it was a random street parade, with dancing, music, and levity. Just before sunset (which arrives around 6pm [...]
Parliamentary Assembly of the 79-member African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of States
November 22, 2012 | Posted by
THE 30th session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the 79-member African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states is scheduled to take place in Paramaribo, Suriname over two days this coming weekend. This meeting of the tri-continental group’s parliamentarians will precede the ACP’s Seventh Summit of Heads of State and Government, scheduled for December 13-14 [...]
Jamaica Bans Preaching on Public Buses
November 14, 2012 | Posted by
Jamaica‘s public transport authorities have banned lay preachers from addressing commuters in public buses. Jamaica is a predominantly Christian country, but many passengers have complained about the noise and disturbance. Drivers have been instructed to politely warn religious ministers that they are no longer allowed to evangelise fellow passengers. Preachers say the decision infringes freedom [...]
St. Lucia: How to Do It Affordably
November 8, 2012 | Posted by
Often overlooked by Caribbean-bound travelers, low-key St. Lucia has all the makings of a tropical paradise: tawny, palm-studded beaches, sheltered coves, a lush interior replete with rain forests and waterfalls, and helpful locals who seem happy (if amused) to wave you in the right direction when the curvy roads fork off in three vertiginous directions. [...]
Curaçao Political Parties Locked in Protracted Struggle to Form Coalition Government
November 8, 2012 | Posted by
WIllemstad, Curacao — Well over two weeks after general elections in Curacao and some five days after the newly elected members of parliament were sworn in, the island’s political parties are still struggling to form a coalition government. Initially, three of the parties, Pueblo Soberano (PS), Movimentu Futuro Korsou (MFK) and MAN, indicated a willingness [...]
