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The Caribbean
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A Virtual Dominica - Are you wondering how on earth to pronounce Dominica? (We were pronouncing it wrong!) You can find out this and a whole lot more. Here's a fact for you: There are 365 rivers on this island--one for each day of the year. But there is only one stoplight. Parrot-watching is popular, as are hiking, snorkeling, and other outdoor activities. See some photos and maps at this lovely site.
Accenting St. Kitts and Nevis - Official Travel Guide - These two islands look like a baseball and bat. Considering the colonial British history of this Caribbean nation, however, the residents would probably liken it more to a cricket ball and bat. This twin island nation became independent on September 19, 1983. At this site, you'll find more than just tourist information. There's a long article on Horatio Nelson, the famous British admiral, who married Francis Nisbet on Nevis in 1787. The Nelson Museum on Nevis has the largest collection of Nelson memorabilia in the Western Hemisphere. Information on the history and culture of Saint Kitts and Nevis is also available. Nature is held in high regard there--by law, no building can be higher than the palm trees around it.
Anguilla's Home Page - This small British dependency is located at the northern end of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea. It was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493 and was formerly the British colony administered as Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla. In 1982, Anguilla became a separate British dependent territory. Anguilla has beautiful island scenery with lots of beaches and coral reefs that are great for snorkeling. Stay away from the manchineel trees (the ones with the green apples). The sap can burn and irritate the skin.
Antigua & Barbuda - Official Travel Guide - These two West Indies islands are located about 250 miles southeast of Puerto Rico. Barbuda is known for its fantastic scuba diving, among other things. Most Antiguans are of African heritage, descendants of slaves brought to the island centuries ago to work the sugarcane fields owned by a British developer. According to the information on this page, "Antigua's history of habitation extends as far back as two and a half millenia before Christ. The first settlements... were those of the Siboney (an Arawak word meaning `stone-people')...whose beautifully crafted shell and stone tools have been found at dozens of sites around the island."
Aruba - Original Official Travel Guide - Aruba is a small, desertlike island just off the coast of Venezuela. Aruba is part of the Dutch realm. Formerly part of the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba was on its way to independence. However, in 1990, Aruba requested and received cancellation of the Netherlands' agreement to give independence to the island in 1996. Aruba's official language is Dutch. Its 85-degree weather and white sand beaches make it a favorite vacation spot. If you like sailing, scuba diving, or windsurfing, you'll love Aruba.
Bahamasnet: A-Z of The Bahamas Islands - The Bahamas refers to a group of 700 islands located off the peninsula of Florida. Of these, only 40 are inhabited! The Bahamas boasts the world's third largest barrier reef, built up from thousands of years of coral deposits. And there's more: you'll even find pine forests and limestone caves on some islands. The Morton Salt Company operates a salt factory on Inagua, producing over a million pounds of salt a year. Check out Abaco, where Disney has built a "fantasy island" for its new cruise ships to visit. If you want to learn how to take a vacation without impacting Mother Earth very much, look at the Eco-Bahamas area of this site for ecotourism ideas.
Barbados Tourism Encyclopedia - The Portuguese and Spanish traveled to this island as early as the 1500s in search of gold. However, no permanent settlements were there until the English arrived in 1625. Sugar production became the island's main industry. The work was done by slaves, starting in the 1630s, and the first slaves were white indentured servants who had somehow displeased the Crown and were "Barbadoed" from Britain. Barbados gained its independence from England in 1966.
Bonaire - Dutch Caribbean - The Antilles island group is a Dutch protectorate. It is made up of two island groups; the largest islands are Curacao and Bonaire. Papiamentu, the native tongue of many of these islands, is a mix of Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, French, English, Caribbean Indian, and some African. At this page, you can learn a lot about this language, plus find out what you can do for fun if you're ever in the islands.
BVI Welcome On-line - This group of about 50 islands is located about 60 miles east of Puerto Rico. Its subtropical climate and island environment make the British Virgin Islands a popular tourist resort. All the islands are volcanic except Anegada, which is a coral and limestone atoll. Visit this site and read about the history, the shipwrecks, the snorkeling, and all the fun you can have if you go!
CIA World Factbook--Virgin Islands - The Caribbean islands of St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix are known as the U.S. Virgin Islands, and residents are U.S. citizens. Columbus stopped there in 1493. Tourism has become a huge industry; there is a national park on St. John, an island famous for its coral reefs.
Discover Trinidad and Tobago - You're enjoying a holiday at a lush Caribbean resort, strolling through throngs of brightly dressed families playing music and singing and dancing. Suddenly you're doused with sprays of multicolored paint! Welcome to the Phagwa Festival, celebrated annually by the many Hindu residents of the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. This site explains many of the holidays celebrated in the region. Also, check the Reference section for basic facts, maps, and photos.
Discover Trinidad and Tobago 2000 - The locals call it "T&T," and everyone knows this dual island nation as the birthplace of calypso and steel band music. The islands are among the largest producers of oil and natural gas in the Caribbean. But with the festive and bustling cities of Trinidad and the quiet, unspoiled beaches of Tobago, they are a haven for tourists the world over.
Ever Radiant Welcome of Martinique - Martinique is a popular vacation destination in the Caribbean Sea. In fact, many Web sites about Martinique are produced by commercial travel agencies. This colorful site includes a picture- and music-filled guided tour in which flowers, rain forests, and sandy white beaches are featured. You can sit back and tour while listening to Caribbean music! There are also brief overviews of history, geography, climate, and population. Travelers may be interested to learn about shopping and food on the island. Some commercial promotions are found at this site, but they are nicely mixed with some Web-based Caribbean fun. This site is available in English and French, since the island is an overseas department of France.
Geographica Homepage - The Interknowledge Corporation presents this professional-looking site that contains country-specific pages on many countries around the world. Each country site is both a pleasure to look at and a treasure chest of comprehensive information. This is a don't-miss site for worldly info-seekers.
Government of Montserrat and Montserrat Volcano Observatory - Currently, this Caribbean island is in crisis. Montserrat's volcano explosively erupted on September 17, 1996, depositing 600,000 tons of ash on the southern part of the island. Volcanic activity continues today. You can read about the volcanic history of the island, scientific studies of the volcano, and daily reports on volcanic activity at this site.
Grenada - Official Travel Guide - Escaping to a tropical island can sound pretty good sometimes. Grenada is in the Caribbean. It's lush as can be, and no building may be taller than a coconut palm. Plus, it has an extinct volcano! The waterfalls will make you want to splash around underneath them. When Christopher Columbus sailed by this island, he named it something else. To find out this little tidbit and other history about Grenada, you'll need to go to the site.
Islands of the Bahamas - Bahamian culture is like no other. It has embraced a panorama of native customs of the indigenous "Indian" people who populated The Islands Of The Bahamas over the eons. Then Bahamian culture suddenly underwent an abrupt change beginning in 1648 when English Puritans settled on the island of Eleuthera. It has further evolved over the past four centuries, witnessing the arrival of Bermudan slaves and free blacks, British Loyalists fleeing America after the War of Independence, freed Africans from slave ships, Black Seminoles from Florida, people from other Caribbean islands, as well as Chinese, Syrian and Greek immigrants. These people -- with their different backgrounds, traditions and beliefs -- shaped Bahamian culture into the unique, colorful patchwork of life and lifestyles that it is today.
Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC) - The Institute of Latin American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin has compiled this site of information on and from Latin America. Browse through categories such as Countries, Education, Government, Science, and Society & Culture. Within Countries, each country is subdivided into additional sections. Within the remaining top categories, information is subdivided by country where appropriate. In all, this is a comprehensive collection of sites. There is also a search function which spans all collected resources. If it's Latin, it's in LANIC.
NAVASSA - The webmaster must be a fan of Navassa Island, because he's created a page with maps, photos, and information that rivals many. Gaze at the lighthouse, rising more than 160 feet off the hillside. View the lighthouse keeper's house, now abandoned and in ruins. Access to Navassa is hazardous (check the photos: rope ladders going up the rocky cliffs) and is allowed only by permission from the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Official Guide to Saint Lucia - Part of the Lesser Antilles, Saint Lucia has the Atlantic Ocean lapping at its eastern shores, while its western beaches touch the Caribbean Sea. The terrain includes rain forests and volcanoes. There's much to celebrate in Saint Lucia--they have Independence Day in February, Emancipation Day in August, and National Day in December. This island is truly multicultural: A visitor can drive on the British (left) side of the road to a French town for an Indian meal. And, although French was outlawed by the British in the nineteenth century, Creole patois is commonly spoken. According to this page, Saint Lucia is the site of the world's only drive-in volcanic crater (Diamond Head on Oahu may make a similar claim).
St. Vincent & the Grenadines - This island group lies about 1,600 miles southeast of Miami, Florida. At this Web page, you'll find out about location and climate, as well as other background information on this country. Sites and Side Trips offers interesting anecdotes about the history and culture of the islands. For instance, St. George's Anglican Cathedral, which was built in the early 1800s, has a red-robed angel in a stained glass window. "The stained glass was originally commissioned by Queen Victoria to honour her first grandson, who later became King Edward VIII. Although it was destined to hang in St. Paul's Cathedral in London, the venerable queen took exception to the scarlet angel, believing the Bible specified that all angels wore white. As a result, the window found its way to Kingstown as a gift to the bishop and the diocese in St. Vincent."
Travel - Dominica - Dominica is a Caribbean island; don't get it confused with the Dominican Republic, which is elsewhere. You'll find lots of natural attractions in Dominica, but you don't want to step in the Boiling Lake! The reason it's bubbling is because it's HOT. Since this is a volcanic island, you'll find other hot spots, too. Here's some trivia: Most of the beaches have a certain color of sand. Knowing it's a volcanic area, can you guess what color? You'll also find beautiful waterfalls in the mountainous rain forest. The "mountain chicken" on the menu is really " crapaud , the legs of huge frogs that burrow in the woods."
Travel - Grenada - Grenada is also known as the Caribbean "spice island." Lots of spices are grown here, including nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon. A nutmeg pod even appears on its flag! Perhaps you'd like a hike through the rain forest? Bring your machete along, because you'll need it to hack away the plants. Or, if you'd rather snorkel, the reefs are beautiful. Watch out for the jellyfish and other critters, though. This site offers basic information and a wealth of outside links.
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS - As the elected delegate to the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Christian-Green sits on several House committees. She holds a medical degree and works for many children's and environmental issues. At her site you can track her statements in Congress as well as learn more about the U.S. Virgin Islands. There is also a background history of the area illustrated with many beautiful photos.
Welcome to Turks & Caicos - Recent evidence points to Grand Turk Island as being the first place Columbus landed in the New World. Not too long afterward, the people who greeted Columbus vanished, and the islands were uninhabited for two hundred years. Pirates made the Turks and Caicos Islands their hideout for a long time. This site will provide you with a good overview of these Caribbean islands and why they are so popular with tourists and divers.
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