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West Indies

The West Indies is a long string of islands that arc out from Florida to Venezuala, separating the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea. Often misunderstood, often falsely portrayed, the West Indies is a rich, diverse and huge region. Much of it still remains untamed and wild, and much of the West Indies is under threat from cruise ship and megadevelopment tourism. Follow me as I explore the islands of the West Indies.

 
   
       
  Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, Bahamas  

Micro update | West Indies | Updated April 22, 2011
Wreckers, Pineapples and Pirates

New Plymouth is one of the many settlements where Americans loyal to the British, living beforehand primarily in Florida and New York, came to escape their shunned existence in America. For one reason or another, they chose allegiance to the British crown over the new republic.

Green Turtle Cay

   
       
  Little Abaco, Bahamas   West Indies | Updated May 7, 2011
Little Abaco to Sandy Point

Just looking under our feet, we see bounding schools of minnows. Deeper, sharks and fish of every ilk breed their young here. It is the safest place in the sea. The mangrove gathers nutrients and the tide flushes all that into the seas. The mangroves feed the sea grass and form the breeding ground for the coral reef. Life in the West indies then, begins here..."

Abaco Islands
   
       
  Guana Cay, Abaco, Bahamas   West Indies | July 20, 2010
Wings to the Storm
It’s a small but well-stocked resort grocery which hasn’t changed a lick since I first came here at the age of five.  Even the grocery items don’t change much – Ritz Crackers, little cellophane wrapped pork cuts with green jelly mints, Goombay Punch, Conchy Joe’s Hot Sauce, and Bay Rum in plastic bottles.

Guana Cay Reef
   
       
  Bakers Bay: Eyes of the West Indies   West Indies | Updated May 26, 2008
Eyes of the West Indies

"I am on a boat, tied to a dock in a bay on the tiny island of Great Guana Cay in the Northern Bahamas. Troy Albury is untying lines and points out a Caribbean reef squid taking shelter under the dock...

Bakers Bay
   
       
  Soufriere, St. Lucia   West Indies | June
St. Lucia and the Botanical History of the Antilles

"Tupac Shakur lives on the other side of Mount Gimie," Philippe said, referring to St. Lucia's remote, largest mountain. "Some people in America think he is dead," but he added, "we know he is up there."

Soufriere, St. Lucia
   
       
  Disney's Strange History on Great Guana Cay   West Indies | June
Plastic Pirate Ships

The dolphins stayed, a man was hired to feed them. Beaten by the sun, bruised, first spit on by small kids with bags of Cheetos that would end up in the sea and float to Cuba, then submitted to quarantined loneliness in the baking sun of shallow, dredge-silt water. Some lived, and were eventually shipped off to Nassau.


Big Red Boat
   
       
  Elbow Cay, Bahamas   West Indies | June
Hopetown and the History of Island Settlement

The castaway does not intend his fate, I wrote in my journal, and in most cases, his predicament ends in death. For the settler, however, there is a choice, and the choice necessitates a variety of skills and plans set up beforehand to cope with and then prosper in the islands. What skill-set is required to prosper in a place like this, with poor soil and blistering sun?

Elbow Cay, Abaco
   
       
  Frog   West Indies | June
Leopards of the Atlantic

Most rays are bottom dwellers. The spotted eagle ray, one of the largest in the family, is more pelagic, and often swims in packs of two or more. The pacific leopard ray species is known to swim in packs of 30 or more...

Abaco Reef
   
       
  Dominican Republic Journal   West Indies | December
Dominican Republic Sketch Journal

But the longer we drive, the quicker my desire to look for a hispaniolan parrot gives way to pure, mad concentration. The Dominicans are driving on their mopeds and tiny little cars as if this is the last day of their lives.


Dominican Republic
   
       
  Green Moray  

West Indies | May
Chub Rock Wreck

I remembered the old days - the eight foot green moray - and the day Eddie and Cathy and I plunged off the Sea Queen near Chub Rock and visited the old sunken steamer to snap some shots for a dive shop promotion.

Chub Rock

 
 
 
 

 

 
 

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