Late afternoon in Havana: Local schoolboys are playing soccer in the central square of the recently renovated Plaza Vieja. Colorful, historic buildings ring the plaza. A warm tropical breeze wafts through the air and the …
June 6, 2017
Caribbean travel reviews
Caribbean travel reviews
Another side of Havana
Cuba, at last
Are you a bit curious as to what Cuba is really like, now that we Americans can get there more easily since the U.S. embargo has been somewhat lifted? Having been to Cuba "illegally" a …
Exploring Virgin Gorda's Baths
Framing the aquamarine Caribbean along a pristine, white sandy beach, the British Virgin Islands' Baths invariably evoke a jaw-dropping reaction from those visiting this feat of Mother Nature. Located on the island of Virgin Gorda, …
November 14, 2015
Off-track in Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic
The easternmost point of the Dominican Republic is locked in a struggle between the lapping transparent waters of the Caribbean and the darker rough waters of the Atlantic. Throw in the mouth of a freshwater …
June 11, 2015
True-blue Bahamas
For most of its history, Grand Bahama Island only had a few hundred people and no development. In 1955, a Virginian named Wallace Grove, eyeing the tourism of nearby Cuba, created the planned city of …
April 3, 2015
Cayman Islands: from stingrays to tax shelters
Coral outcrops surrounded by coral reefs, the Cayman Islands are three tiny islands (Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, Little Cayman) comprising the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands in the western Caribbean. Just south of …
The "real" Havana
I was sitting on the sea wall with my friend Ben, watching the sun set over Havana Harbor, when I smoked my first cigar. And my second. And my ninth. During our sunset routine on …
October 3, 2014
I drank my fill in the Bahamas
The Caribbean and Atlantic islands weren’t the origin of rum – that was created in New England – but they were part of the trade triangle that included African slaves and island molasses. Any thought …
September 2, 2014
PriceSmart brouhaha in Jamaica resolved
Cubans working in Jamaica are again free to shop at membership retailer PriceSmart, according to the publication The Gleaner. Earlier this year, PriceSmart suspended accounts of residents and staff of the Cuban embassy on Jamaica. …
June 16, 2014
Better than Hawaii?
Puerto Rico offers a better travel experience than Hawaii - it is more accessible to visitors, more wildly beautiful, friendlier, less expensive, and has a rhythmic undercurrent that is infectious, lively, delicious and mindbending. San …
November 14, 2013
A Cuban love story: the summers of 1896 and 2012
In the summer of 1896, yellow fever, civil unrest, an independence war, collapsing buildings and general economic despair threatened the lives of the entire populace of Havana, Cuba. In the summer of 2012, cholera, civil …
August 5, 2013
Providencia, Colombia
Below us, the island came into view, encircled by a brittle ring of coral reefs made distinguishable by whitewater ripping at the edges. A turquoise iris skirted the white sandy edges of the Caribbean island …
June 18, 2013
Bridging the gap in Haiti
Only three hours in Haiti, I'd seen forms of travel that spanned hundreds of years – a woman on a mule, a man on a horse, people walking, riding bicycles and on mopeds, brightly colored …
Vacation Evolutis
The majority of non-business travel is for one special thing, “Vacation.” The word within the word vacation is "vacate" ("4. an act or an instance of vacating," Merriam-Webster), so by extension looking at it as …
April 8, 2013
En Route in Port-au-Prince
I stepped off the plane and onto the tarmac, directed toward a small white building with bright blue lettering: "Toussaint Louverture." The massive cracks in the side of the building were visible even before we …