The Caribbean 🇰🇳🇦🇬🇩🇲🇱🇨🇹🇹
January 25th, 2023
My ultimate tour through the Caribbean
This might be the last Caribbean tour for a while. After visiting a good number during the TransAmerica2021 trip together with friends, this time I am back as a solo traveller exploring the islands I have not seen yet.
Saint Kitts & Nevis
As one could expect it is pleasant, nice and quite organised. This might also be owed to the fact that this tiny island is home to quite a few universities and colleges, mainly in hospitality amongst the usual ones. Students (thousands of them) come from neighbouring islands but also from the US and Canada as well as Asian countries.
Life otherwise is laid back and only interrupted by frequent visit of huge cruise ships, who’s passengers all end up in the same places. Besides nice views and beaches a worthwhile visit is the massive Brimstone Hill Fortress, sitting majestic atop a hill overlooking the island.
Antigua
Now this island feels like an upgrade to before, not always to the better. The population higher, the roads wider and the cars shinier which is a reflection of the luxury resorts al a Sandals. It’s also one of the non-volcanic island, meaning almost flat. Away from the herds one can find tranquil places (like my guesthouse) where “pot” smell is abundant and “male” life seems easy, the classic Caribbean stereotype. 🤣
Dominica
“The nature Island”. And it did not disappoint. Dominica doesn’t have the nicest beaches, is not easy to get to and looks rather simple at first sight. Well, Hurricane Maria unfortunately did an outstanding job 2017 while destroying or seriously damaging the majority of houses and structures. The island is still painfully, but determinedly recovering.
Being volcanic is has relatively high mountains resulting in ample rain and lush green vegetation including beautiful rainforests, lakes and waterfalls. The vibrant capital Roseau is noisy and chaotic, yet filled with life. And if you happed to be here Fridays and Saturdays you can indulge in great nightlife Caribbean style, whereas during the week the town pretty much shuts down after dark (around 6) as elsewhere in this part of the world. The locals for sure are very kind, helpful and their happiness despite all is infectious. Dominica certainly gets my vote for best place in the Caribbean (so far).
Saint Lucia
It was a short hop on a rather older turboprop plane over to Saint Lucia. The small airport in the North is only served by smaller planes, on the plus side its bistro is directly on the beach with very fine welcoming views.
Saint Lucia is very mountainous and the coastline mostly rough, meaning the roads around the island turn inland and over hills most of the time. It takes quiet some time so get around but at the same time offers great views of lush tropical vegetation and bays. I stayed around Souffrière which is towered by the Pitons, two very distinctive cone shaped mountains. It’s a small but vibrant community away from the large resorts dotted across the island, yet a perfect place to immerse into the Caribbean lifestyle with locals.
Trinidad & Tobago
Riding into Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad, does not feel very much Caribbean. 6-lane highways and US-Chains are omnipresent. Well, not only is this island much larger that the other ones, the population is manyfold higher as well. Noteworthy is also that the largest minority here is of (real) Indian descent, before Afro-Americans. This makes up for an interesting mix. The part of the city I stayed at might very well be labelled Indiatown, all the streets have Indian names together amongst everything else. As said before, this island lacks the easy-feel mentality, nevertheless makes up for an interesting mix of cultures. And since tourism is only number two after oil and gas, the business groove and accountability are on a different level than elsewhere in the region.
