Rumor has it that the original Caribbean settlers were cannibals. It is also thought that the Caribbean’s earliest settlers were from the Yucatan pennisula.
The Caribbean should be its own continent. It’s a collective of countries and territories all on islands. The Caribbean is a very large area. There are some sixteen different countries. The US, UK, Netherlands, and France have fifteen territories.
It stretches from Cancun (at the west) to the Bermudas (at the northeast) to Trinidad & Tobago at the southeast. There are big islands like Cuba, Haiti/Dominican Republic, and there are tiny islands.
Having been there for business, NGOs (non-government organizations, typically non-profits), and pleasure, we’ve discovered there’s a lot to see. It’s a vacation paradise where there are many opportunities to expand your horizons with a journey. From rest and relaxation, to food, history, the water and all it offers, jungle hiking, tropical fruit, and of course, lots of drinking.
Below are some of the places in the Caribbean we’ve been to.
Cancun
Our trips to Cancun have been for fun. Lots of fun. Staying at All-Inclusives can be relaxing. Snorkling, sailing on a Catamaran, or simply sitting by the pool. Good stuff. You can also go to Cirque du Soleil JOYÀ for a reasonable price.
Bahamas
Admittedly, we weren’t unhappy being able to travel to the Bahamas for business. We decided to spend a few extra days and enjoy the weather. We traveled with a friend and work associate whose family lived there. Going to Graycliffe restaurant in Nassau where the guy up front was rolling cigars. He had been Castro’s private roller for twenty years. The most expensive wine there was over ten thousand dollars (you read that correctly). While at the same time, you could eat there without breaking the bank.
Haiti
This is the most depressing place Gary has ever been to. Seeing the tent city of forty-thousand people first hand is sobering, depressing, shocking. Gary was called to be on a team assessing the Port au Prince utility infrastructure six months after the massive earthquake in 2010.
Dominican Republic
Engineers Without Borders (EWB) can take you all sorts of places. When it took Gary to the DR as a scoping effort for a water treatment facility, everyone’s first thought is “I’d love to do that”. Until they hear that you’re staying in a house with no air conditioning, lots of mosquitos, and cold “showers”. The electricity only ran approximately two hours per day. The shower was more like dipping a bucket into a tub of cold water to pour over yourself.
So, definitely not a resort atmosphere. Up in the mountains where the real people live. Repurposed metal roof being used as siding for a shack with a dirt floor.
And yet the one great thing there is that the people are amazing. They’re good people.
Every time a host country finds out that Gary is coming, someone inevitably wants him to evaluate or assess something for them. In this case it meant going further up into the mountains where the village depended on streams.
Trinidad & Tobago
Dianne went on a mission trip. She hates heat, bugs, and food cooked by others. She absolutely loved being with the island people. The mission involved working for the local people getting some larger tasks accomplished that they were not able to either afford or were physically capable of.