Adventures Aboard s/v Ally Cat
  • Meet Our Crew of Three
  • Our Plans
  • Blog Posts by Kimberly
  • Blog Posts by Ally
  • What We Are Reading
  • Recipe Blog

Introduction to the Caribbean

3/25/2015

0 Comments

 
If you are anything like I am, ‘The Caribbean’ was some lovely, slightly far-away place with pretty water, beautiful sandy beaches and perfect weather year-round.  I had heard of many of the countries that make up The Caribbean, but I had very little idea where exactly each of these exotic places were located and had no idea about their history.  All that is changing!

Picture
I know, it's a bit crude, but it has helped!
First things first: what is where?  The answer: my handy dandy post card to the rescue.  Don’t laugh, this has been VERY helpful.  Now some information that we have learned that has helped us to understand where we are going!

Despite similarities in their history and geographical location, the 7,000 plus islands that make up the Caribbean each have their own identity.  Fought over by European powers for hundreds of years, populated with slaves from African cultures, this conglomerate is known as the West Indies.  The islands are organized into sovereign states, overseas departments and dependencies.

The Greater Antilles in the northwest Caribbean, consisting of the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti on the western third of the island and the Dominican Republic on the eastern two thirds), and Puerto Rico, are closely associated with Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World in 1492.  The Cayman Islands are generally considered within this group, as are the Turks and Caicos, though not technically in the Caribbean.

The Virgin Island archipelago, to the east of the Greater Antilles, consists of the US Virgin Islands (USVI) and the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

The Lesser Antilles form a barrier against the Atlantic Ocean.  They consist of the Leeward Islands in the northeast Caribbean Sea and Wayward Islands, to the southeast.

The Leeward Islands span approximately 200 miles and include many islands operating as different nations.  Some are French, some Dutch, some British and some independent.  The Leeward Islands consist of: Anguilla, Saint Martin/Sint Maarten, Saint Barthelemy (aka, Saint Bart), , Saba, Saint Eustatius (aka, Statia), Saint Christopher (aka, Saint Kitts) & Nevis, Montserrat, Antigua & Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante, Isles des Saintes (aka, The Saints) and Dominica.

The Windward Islands are named for the fact that they face east into the trade winds.  They consist of Martinique, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines (including tiny Bequia, Mustique and Petit Saint Vincent), and Grenada, all a series of volcanic peaks that rise from an underwater mountain chain, as well as Barbados, far out to the southeast.

The Southern Caribbean, consisting of Trinidad & Tobago, plus Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao (aka, the ABCs), are in the south Caribbean Sea, to the north of Venezuela.

Some other terms you may have heard: 
French Antilles (Saint Bart, Guadeloupe and Martinique)
Islands that Brush the Clouds (Saba, Statia, Saint Kitts & Nevis and  Montserrat)

So was that at all helpful?


0 Comments

The Turks and Caicos Islands

3/18/2015

1 Comment

 
Picture
The Turks and Caicos Islands are part of the Lucayan Archipelago, just south of the Bahamas chain and to the east of Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic).  Technically, the Turks and Caicos Islands are located in the Atlantic Ocean, and not in the Caribbean Sea.

The Turks and Caicos Islands, or TCI for short, are a British Overseas Territory (formerly called Crown Colonies).  The capital is Cockburn (pronounced “Co’burn”) Town located on Grand Turk Island.  A governor is appointed by the Queen and presides over the Executive Council, which is made up of an elected local self-government.

Turks and Caicos Islanders are mostly descendants of Africans, who were brought in to work the salt pans or the cotton fields.  Today, only 8 of the 40 islands and cays. The islands are home to roughly 30,000 full-time residents.

The main islands of The Caicos are:
    
Providenciales (aka, “Provo”)
     N
orth Caicos    
     Middle Caicos
    
South Caicos
     Parrot Cay
    
Pine Cay

 The main islands of The Turks are: 
    
Grand Turk
    
Salt Cay

The TCI economy is dependent on the tourism and real estate development industries, in addition to seafood export. 

In an average year, TCI has 350 days of sunshine!  With average air temps of 80 to the mid-90’s and water temps from 75 to 85 year round, it is easy to see why more than 20,000 tourist visit TCI each year.

Picture
As a British Overseas Territory, TCI flies the flag of the United Kingdom.  TCI has a coat of arms shield, displaying a conch and a crayfish, representing the local fishing industry, and a flowering cactus, representing the local flora. 

The currency of TCI is the US Dollar (US$) and the official language is English.  As a British Territory, they drive on the left side of the road (“Keep Left!!”).  They observe Eastern Standard Time, adopting Eastern Daylight Saving Time from April to October.

1 Comment

    Authors

    Kimberly

    Categories

    All

    Archives

    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.