19 February 2016
San Juan, Puerto Rico: Hasta Luego.

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Hasta Luego.

That’s Spanish for (in rough terms), Arrivederci.

Until we meet again.

In my case I’m heading home for just a bit, and then joining Silver Cloud for voyages from Barcelona in the Mediterranean and then up to transcendent Venice and concluding with a passage through the spectacular Corinth Canal to reach the port of Athens at Piraeus.

I hope you’ll join me here, or there.

BLOG Key West Florida 27Jan2016_DSC3853

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Hudson Book Cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

18 February 2016
Road Town, Tortola

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

We’re back in Tortola, the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, which are neither large nor well-populated.

British Virgin Islanders are classed as British Overseas Territories citizens, and since 2002 have had full British citizenship. Although the territory is not part of the European Union and not directly subject to EU law, its citizens are deemed to be citizens of the EU as well.

Just to make things confusing—or easier, if you prefer—the official currency of BVI is the U.S. dollar.

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In previous posts about Tortola, I’ve mentioned that the Spanish–initially the most obvious of suspects, Christopher Columbus–were here first. Then came the Dutch, who named the place after an island in The Netherlands.

In the late 16th century, the English displaced the Dutch and established a sugar cane plantation colony on Tortola and the surrounding islands. Wherever there was sugar cane, there were slaves, because the industry was very labor-intensive.

In the late eighteenth century, new settlers arrived: Loyalists from the Thirteen Colonies after the American Revolutionary War who were given land grants by the Crown to encourage development. They brought their African-American slaves with them, outnumbering the British colonists.

The sugar industry dominated Tortola economic history for more than a century.

We are visiting Tortola three times this season. We came first on February 2, and again on February 11. You can read my posts for those days for more commentary and photos about Tortola.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

17 February 2016
St. John’s, Antigua

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Antigua, located on the major sailing route from Europe to the West Indies, was considered Britain’s “Gateway to the Caribbean.”

And it was for that reason in the late 18th century the Admiralty decided to beef up its resources on the island.

Young Horatio Nelson, later to become Britain’s most celebrated naval hero, was sent in 1784 to oversee the dockyards at English Harbour and enforce The Navigation Acts which dealt with commercial shipping.

Nelson did not much like Antigua, calling it a “vile place” and a “dreadful hole.” He spent most of his time in the cramped quarters of his ship, H.M.S. Boreas, during his stay from 1784 to 1787.

Serving under Nelson at the time was Prince William Henry, later to be King William IV of England; he had much nicer accommodations on shore, Clarence House.

Antigua English Harbor2

We were here most recently on February 10, and I invite you read that blog for more details of the sugar mill history of Antigua.

The dockyard was originally called “His Majesty’s Antigua Naval Yard.” Boats coming in for repairs sailed into the boat house, and their sails were hoisted up to the loft through a trapdoor.

The old Boat House and Sail Loft was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1843 and then by a hurricane in 1871. All that remains are the massive boat house pillars.

The Naval Officers House was put up in 1855. It has a small set of exhibits including some artifacts of the shipyard and some of the vessels and men who visited.

Antigua English Harbor1

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

16 February 2016
Castries, Saint Lucia

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Saint Lucia is a handsome island with a fairly typical Caribbean cultural schizophrenia: in its first 150 years of recorded history it ping-ponged back and forth between England and France 14 times.

Overlaid to that is a still-strong African influence, derived from the homelands of the slaves brought to work the island. You’ll find the influence in the patois, the cuisine, and music.

Lucians still use music as a way to convey political opinion. Among popular styles is soca.

Folk instruments include the bélè (or ka) drum; a long, hollow tube called the baha; a rattle called the chakchak; the zo (bones); and the gwaj (scraper). Various types of banjos and a four-stringed instrument called the cuatro are also native to the island.

And then there is another influence: gospel music, and particular a collection of songs called sankeys.

The name comes American singer and songwriter Ira Sankey, born in Pennsylvania in 1840.

Known back home as “The Sweet Singer of Methodism,” Sankey wrote many hymns and songs himself, including “The Ninety and Nine.” He also composed and arranged music for many more; more than 1,200 were collected in a booked called “Sacred Songs and Solos” which is still used today.

Sankey did make several visits to the United Kingdom, but apparently not to Saint Lucia. But his book made its way to Saint Lucia with Methodist missionaries and took hold here quite tenaciously.

LUCIA (c) Sandler-1 Castries St Lucia 24Jan2015-1100073 Castries St Lucia 24Jan2015-1100071 Castries St Lucia 24Feb2015-0440 LUCIA (c) Sandler-2

We also visited Saint Lucia earlier this month, on February 9, and in that blog post I wrote about the Pitons.

And then there is Calypso, which originated on Trinidad amongst African slaves as a way to communicate with each other without overseers understanding the words. It still is popular on Saint Lucia, sometimes called by an even older name, Kaiso, from a Congolese word meaning “go on.”

And there is the St. Lucian kwadril, a popular traditional dance. Based on the French quadrille, it is a complicated dance with five distinct parts.

It is also worth noting that the talented but bedeviled singer Amy Winehouse seemed to find a connection to Saint Lucia.

At the time of her death she reportedly was working on an album that would have used Lucian themes and instruments.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Hudson Book Cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

15 February 2016
Bridgetown, Barbados: Rum and Spirits

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

There are about 1,800 Rum Shops (you can call them bars if you prefer) and about 500 churches on the island of Barbados. So, one way or another, the spirit is with many of the islanders and visitors.

We went for a visit to St. Nicholas Abbey, one of the reminders of the once-immense wealth of the British sugar mill and plantation owners of the island. It was never an abbey, just a great house, and well-preserved as a glimpse into the past.

BLOG Barbados 8Feb2016_DSC4051

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George Washington, commander-in-chief of American forces in revolt against the British and later the first President of the United States was born to a well-off family in the Virginia Colony in 1731 or 1732.

But before the revolution, in 1749, George’s half-brother Lawrence fell ill with a cough. By 1751 the illness was tuberculosis.

Several unsuccessful trips to the hot springs at Berkeley, Virginia and the prospect of another winter at Mount Vernon pushed Lawrence to explore other options.

He was advised to go to Barbados, which had a reputation for treating lung diseases. Lawrence asked his 19-year-old brother, George, to accompany him.

On November 2, 1751, the Washington brothers arrived in Bridgetown.

It was, we believe, the first time George Washington had ventured more than 200 miles from his place of birth. And, also, the only time he ever visited a foreign country.

In traveling from the not-very-successful Virginia Colony to Barbados, Washington was going from an undeveloped country to a cosmopolitan place.

When the Washingtons visited, Bridgetown was one of the largest cities in the British Atlantic and Barbados one of its most profitable colonies, made rich–at least for the owners–by sugar plantations farmed by slaves and indentured servants.

It was in Barbados, according to his diary, that George saw his first fort, attended his first theatrical performance, and spent time in the first sizeable city in his life.

He also learned about forts and other military defenses.

The brothers stayed only six weeks. Lawrence did not recover; he died a year later of tuberculosis back in Virginia.

Bridgetown Barbados BLOG 25Jan2015-9452

A remembrance of British colonial past in Bridgetown.

We were here in Barbados a week ago; you can read a bit about the English history of the island in my post for February 8.

Although it is Carnival time in most of the Caribbean, here in Barbados, the big party is the Crop Over festival, a reborn remembrance of the sugar plantation history of the island.

Crop Over, held for most of the month of July into early August, features the island’s homegrown calypso and soca music for the year.

For music-lovers, of which we have several hundred on board ship for this cruise, you may well have heard of one particular singer born in Barbados.

Rihanna, born in 1988, grew up in a three-bedroom bungalow in Bridgetown and sold clothes with her father in a stall on the street.

Her hits have included “Good Girl Gone Bad” and “Umbrella.”

Whatever your knowledge of her work may be, Rihanna has sold more than 41 million albums and 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling artists of all time.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Hudson Book Cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

14 February 2016
Roseau, Dominica

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

We’re returned to the very green, volcanic island of Dominica, one of the more interesting and less-developed islands of the Lesser Antilles.

I wrote a bit about Dominica in a post on February 7.

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Roseau Dominica BLOG 23Jan2015-9443

On the current cruise, we are celebrating music. Dominica is most certainly off-off-off-Broadway, but like many of the islands of the Caribbean it makes its own important contribution to the background sounds and rhythms of the region.

Among the musical styles is Cadence-lypso, locally grown and now popular on Dominica and the nearby French islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe.

The other local music is called bouyon, which is a mashup of calypso, reggae, soca, zouk, and a bit of rock and roll.

And like other French and French-influenced islands, local folk dance incorporates a flirtatious version of the quadrille, usually accompanied by a musical ensemble called a jing ping band. A jing ping usually consists of a boumboum (boom pipe), syak or gwaj (scraper-rattle), tambal or tanbou (tambourine), and accordion.

A really hep group might add a double bass or a banjo.

DOMINICA (c) Sandler-1

BLOG Dominica Bois Cotlette 17Feb2015-0274

As a result of its history—just out of the mainstream battles of the Caribbean and hemmed in by sheer mountains—Dominica possesses what is probably the most pristine wilderness in the Caribbean.

The first people were the Ortoroids, about whom we know very little. We believe they came to Dominica and some other islands about 3100 BC, and were gone by about 400 BC.

The Arawaks moved in about 800 years later, roughly 400 A.D. and then came the Caribs—also known as the Kalinago about 1400 A.D.—just ahead of the European invasion.

Island by island, the Carib populations were killed, enslaved, or driven off. One of the few places where they were able to take refuge was this island we now know as Dominica.

The island was not considered a high priority for the Europeans and they mostly left it alone in the first century of colonization.

Dominica was the last of the significant Caribbean islands to be colonized by Europeans due chiefly to the fierce resistance of the natives. As a result, Dominica has one of the few remaining groups of Carib or Kalinago people, a population of about three thousand.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Hudson Book Cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

13 February 2016
Gustavia, Saint Barts

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

The tiny island of Saint Bart’s is an overseas collectivity, part of France but not fully ruled by the mother country.

It is, though, included in the European Union, and the official currency is the Euro.

That has worked out pretty well for the locals, as Saint Bart’s has become one of the essential party islands of the yachting and jet set. in the company of places like Saint-Tropez, Monte Carlo, and Nantucket.

STBARTS (c) SANDLER-2

There are lots of places to spend your Euros. The local merchants are also fully fluent in MasterCard, Visa, and American Express.

You will find all of the usual suspects for jewelry, clothing, and nicknacks. What you’re not likely to find are bargains.

Alas, we are just missing Carnaval on Saint Bart’s, which ran from February 7 to 10. It’s not a huge event, but the island’s unusual mix of cultures makes it a lot of fun; we’ve been here for the burning of Vaval, a straw man who represents–depending on who is doing the telling and how much wine has been consumed–moments to be forgotten from the previous year, or sins to be avoided (or sought) in the coming one.

BLOG Gustavia St Barts Vaval 18Feb2015-0351

BLOG Gustavia St Barts Vaval 18Feb2015-0337

We are arriving in Saint Barts on Silver Wind, which is one of the most luxurious ships afloat. We are, though, not alone.

There are megayachts in the harbor: some of the most magnificent and costly in the world. We have seen floating real estate owned by (among others) Russian oligarchs, Middle Eastern sheikhs, and American car dealership owners.

If you want to see some of them in a hurry, the 2016 Bucket Regatta is scheduled to take place March 17 to March 20. The first Bucket regatta was organized in Nantucket in August 1986.

There are fourteen significant beaches on the island, all free to the public. Nude bathing is prohibited, but your eyes may tell you otherwise. For better or for worse.

We tend to hide out at Shell Beach, within walking distance of town. There are more than enough bistros between the beach and the tender landing if one happens to develop a thirst.

STBARTS (c) Sandler-6

We’re visiting Saint Bart’s three times this season, first on February 3 and again on February 13. I’ll be posting more commentary and photos about Tortola on those days, and you can check back for more details.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

12 February 2016
San Juan, Puerto Rico

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Welcome aboard.

We’re sailing out of bustling San Juan tonight down the length of the Leeward Islands of the West Indies, and a bit below.

The Leeward Islands (pronounced LEW-word by most mariners, and LEE-word by landlubbers) are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. The group starts east of Puerto Rico and reach south to Dominica, and also mark the arbitrary line where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean.

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Below Dominica, the Lesser Antilles continue into the Windward Islands. We will dip below Dominica to call at two of these islands, St. Lucia and Antigua, before returning to San Juan.

In the West Indies, the prevailing winds–known as the trade winds–blow from the northeast to the southwest. The windward islands were those closer to the direction of the winds.

Our ship, the appropriately named Silver Wind, sets out first for Gustavia on the French island of Saint Bart’s and after then to Roseau in Dominica (not to be confused with the much-larger Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola.)

After then to former British colonies of St. Lucia, Antigua, and Tortola.

I’ll be posting from each of our ports of call. Here’s our plan:

v2604 Map

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

11 February 2016
Road Town, Tortola

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

We’re back in Tortola, the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, which is a very relative term.

There are about 60 islands and rocks in the B.V.I., about 15 of them inhabited, and the total population is about 28,000 with nearly all on Tortola. We have come to the dock near the capital city of Road Town.

As recently as the last ice age of about 15,000 years ago, the sea level was 300 feet lower. No cruise ship was needed: you could walk to Puerto Rico.

Today, the British Virgin Islands stand as peaks of a drowned mountain range.

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The first European sighting of the Virgin Islands was by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. He gave them the fanciful name Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Vírgenes (Saint Ursula and her 11,000 Virgins), after the 5th century legend of the martyr Saint Ursula.

And the particular island we have come to visit was named Santa Ana.

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Dutch colonists who came later renamed it Ter Tholen, after a coastal island that is part of the Netherlands.

When the British took over, the name evolved to Tortola, which happens to mean “Turtle Dove” in Spanish.

We are visiting Tortola three times this season. We came first on February 2, and will be back again on February 18. I’ll be posting more commentary and photos about Tortola on those days, and you can check back for more details.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

10 February 2016
Saint John’s, Antigua

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Antigua is a mix of all things Caribbean, with a splash of celebrity and a tinge of scandal.

Slavery, sugar, young Lord Nelson, superstars in remote palaces, and an American import who played a version of Bernie Madoff’s game on some very undeserving islanders.

Antigua means old or ancient in Spanish, and that was the name bestowed upon the island by Christopher Columbus in 1493. He had in mind an icon in Seville Cathedral: Santa Maria de la Antigua (Saint Mary the Ancient.)

We will return to Antigua on February 17, and I invite you read that blog for more details.

Antigua English Harbor2 Antigua English Harbor1

English Harbor from the viewpoint at Shirley Heights, above. And part of Nelson’s Dockyard.

Antigua is the largest of the Leeward Islands, about 108 square miles or 281 square kilometers, and it has some of the most interesting terrain amongst Caribbean islands: hills and valleys and deep bays.

It is the more substantial of a two-island nation, and Saint Johns is the capital of the nation of Antigua and Barbuda.

The first permanent European settlement was in 1632. The colonists were led by Sir Christopher Codrington, an Englishman from Bristol in South Gloucestershire.

Codrington began development of a major sugar plantation, an operation continued by his son and grandson. The sugar crop was so successful that other planters switched from tobacco to sugar cane.

Growing, harvesting, and processing the cane was very labor intensive. At first, colonists tried to use natives as forced labor. Unfortunately, most succumbed to imported European diseases or malnutrition.

And so began the wholesale importation of African slaves, tens of thousands of them. The Africans had the misfortune of adapting well to the new environment.

By the mid-18th century the island had more than 150 windmills to run the machinery to process the cane. Today almost 100 of the stone towers are still standing, many converted to use as houses, restaurants, and shops.

Their picturesque remains only hint at the sad story of tens of thousands of slaves who once worked the fields and the processing mills.

And sadly, many hundreds or thousands of their descendants were among those who lost much of their life savings in an elaborate financial scheme orchestrated by American Robert Allen Stanford, who was arrested in 2009 and is currently a guest of the U.S. federal government at a resort in Florida from which he is unable to check out.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

9 February 2016
Castries, Saint Lucia: Ping-pong

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Like much of the Caribbean, it is easy to look at Saint Lucia and see only a pretty, green island fringed by sandy beaches and lorded over by some unusual geological formations.

But it is also a place with a bit of history, an independent nation now part of the British Commonwealth that in its first 150 years of recorded history ping-ponged back and forth between England and France 14 times.

It has an English heritage now, but holds on to French influence in many place names: Soufrière, Castries, Piton, Gros Islet, and Vieux Fort. There’s also a French-based patois spoken by many islanders.

It went back and forth between admirers so many times that some early historians puckishly called it the “Helen of the West Indies.”

Helen of Troy on an English island with a French background and a name based on a Sicilian saint.

LUCIA (c) Sandler-5 LUCIA (c) Sandler-3 LUCIA (c) Sandler-2

Saint Lucia today is probably best known for its distinctive geological landmarks: the Pitons.

There are only two Pitons on Saint Lucia, and they are almost impossible to miss. They can be seen from almost everywhere on the island.

They’re on the flag, one of the more handsome standards I’ve seen. And they’re on the local beer, which naturally moves the Pitons onto billboards and t-shirts, and carnival floats.

The Pitons are volcanic plugs, remnants of huge collapsed stratovolcanoes, created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano.

These particular vents are believed to be dormant and over time the surrounding hill has eroded away, leaving only the plug.

Gros Piton is 771 meters (2,530 feet) above sea level, and about 3 kilometers or 2 miles in diameter at its base. Petit Piton is 743 meters, (2,438 feet) tall, and just one kilometer or two-thirds of a mile in diameter.

Below the pitons is the Soufrière caldera. Nearby you’ll find the Sulphur Springs at Qualibou, an active geothermal field with sulphurous fumaroles (steam vents), hot mud pools, and hot springs.

And below the island is a tectonic plate, a subduction zone, which extends about 700 kilometers or 450 miles through the Lesser Antilles. This is the source of the volcanic origin of most of the Caribbean.

We will be returning to Saint Lucia on February 16, and I welcome you to consult that day’s blog entry for more details.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Hudson Book Cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

 

8 February 2016
Bridgetown, Barbados: Tea and Cricket

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Barbados, along with Jamaica, is one of the most English-like islands in the Caribbean.

That stands to reason, since its first permanent settlers arrived from England in 1627 and to some extent never left although the population today are mostly descendants of African slaves or indentured servants from India.

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Bathsheba Beach on the east side of the island, among the more dramatic pieces of coast in the Caribbean

We will be returning to Barbados on February 15, and I invite you to visit my blog posting for that day which will concentrate on the music of the island, and a bit about George Washington, who slept here for a few weeks.

From the arrival of the first English settlers in 1627 until independence in 1966, Barbados was under uninterrupted English and later British governance and was the only Caribbean island that did not change hands during the colonial period.

Queen Elizabeth II is still the constitutional monarch.

And so on Barbados they love their cricket and their rum, often combining the both under the Caribbean sun.

And you can enjoy a cuppa tea in places like Greenwich, Chancery Lane, Newbury, Hastings, or Marlowe.

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Aboard the Atlantis submarine, which offers a glimpse under the sea offshore of Barbados.

BLOG Bridgetown Barbados Atlantis SANDLER 23Feb2015-0432 BLOG Bridgetown Barbados Atlantis SANDLER 23Feb2015-0426 Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

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————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Hudson Book Cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

 

7 February 2016
Roseau, Dominica

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

We’re docked  at Roseau, the not-all-that-handsome capital of the island nation of Dominica. (Not to be confused, although it often is, with the Dominican Republic, the comparatively huge country that occupies about half of the island called Hispaniola near Jamaica and Cuba.)

Dominica sits midway along the Eastern Caribbean archipelago, just a few miles from the French islands of Martinique to the south and Guadeloupe to the north.

It holds a relatively small population of about 72,000 people spread over about 290 square miles or 750 square kilometers.

It’s a volcanic island, very green, with tropical forest covering two-thirds of the land. There are relatively few beaches, and they are not blessed with acres of pillowy white sand.

There’s a lot of rain, which means many waterfalls, rivers, and lakes.

And to their credit, the people of the Commonwealth of Dominica have decided that much of their future lies in eco-tourism. There are a lot of parallels to Costa Rica, and that is a meritorious comparison.  Roseau Dominica BLOG 23Jan2015-9450

Roseau Dominica 23Jan2015-9432 DOMINICA (c) Sandler-3 Roseau Dominica BLOG 23Jan2015-9443

We’re going to be returning to Dominica on 14 February, and I’ll have some comments about the music of the island in the blog I will post that day.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Hudson Book Cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

6 February 2016
Gustavia, Saint Barts: Swedish France, encore une fois

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

We’re back in Saint Barts, encore une fois, one more time. (And we’ll be here again in a week.)

Not complaining, mind you: the island is tres charmant (very charming) although the shops and bistrots are tres cher (quite expensive).

Saint Barts lies immediately southeast of Saint Martin and Anguilla, northeast of Saba and St Eustatius, and north of St Kitts.

The island is quite small, only 8 square miles or 21 square kilometers, with 8,500 inhabitants.

More than half of full-time residents are white, some of them distant relatives of the French colonizers and others more recent arrivals from France. Less than half are of African descent or mixed blood. The Swedish influence, which came after the original French settlement, all but disappeared after the French returned in 1878.

Until 2007, Saint Barths was a French commune and part of Guadeloupe, which is an overseas région and overseas département of France.

Islanders voted to break their ties with Guadeloupe and form a separate overseas collectivity or COM that took effect in both Saint Barts and nearby Saint Martin.

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Saint Barts is thus part of France but not fully ruled by the mother country.

It is, though, included in the European Union, and the official currency is the Euro.

In my post for our next visit, on February 13, I’ll explore some of the extreme examples of the expenditure of Euros and Dollars on the island.

We’re visiting Saint Bart’s three times this season, first on February 3 and again on February 13. I’ll be posting more commentary and photos about Tortola on those days, and you can check back for more details.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

5 February 2016
San Juan, Puerto Rico: Heading South

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Welcome aboard to guests joining us here in Puerto Rico. And arrivederci to those heading home.

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We head out of bustling San Juan tonight for a week-long loop down to Barbados and back, down the length of the Leeward Islands of the West Indies.

The Leeward Islands (pronounced LEW-word by most mariners, and LEE-word by landlubbers) are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. The group starts east of Puerto Rico and reach south to Dominica, and also mark the arbitrary line where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean.

Below Dominica, the Lesser Antilles continue into the Windward Islands. We will dip below Dominica to call at two of these islands, St. Lucia and Antigua, before returning to San Juan.

In the West Indies, the prevailing winds–known as the trade winds–blow from the northeast to the southwest. The windward islands were those closer to the direction of the winds.

Our ship, the appropriately named Silver Wind, sets out first for Gustavia on the French island of Saint Bart’s and after then to Roseau in Dominica (not to be confused with the much-larger Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola.)

After then to former British colonies of St. Lucia, Antigua, and Tortola.

I’ll be posting from each of our ports of call. Here’s our plan:

v2604 Map

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

4 February 2016
Gustavia, Saint Barts: France and Sweden in a Small Place

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Saint Barts is tres, tres French…in a Swedish kind of way.

That’s right: Swedish. That’s why the capital town and port is called Gustavia, as in King Gustav III of Sweden.

Its European history began, as much of this region did, with Christopher Columbus, sailing for the Spanish. On his second voyage to what he called the West Indies, Columbus sailed past—not landing—at an island he named Saint Bartholomew, one of the twelve Apostles.

The Spanish did not linger; they concentrated much more on places that might hold silver or gold or other treasure they could expropriate relatively easily.

The Carib Indians were still in control on the island, and were still there in 1648 when the French were on the prowl in the Caribbean and staked a claim.

They Gallicized the Spanish name to Saint Barthélemy.

It was not, though, one of the most important French possessions. They focused instead on other more significant holdings: New France which stretched from Quebec all the way down to New Orleans on the American mainland from roughly 1534 to 1763 and in the Caribbean their more profitable possessions of Martinique and Guadeloupe.

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The French also had other islands: Saint Kitts for a while, Saint Martin, and a few others.

In 1784, as France tottered toward Revolution, the French crown gave Saint Barts to Sweden in exchange for the right to engage in trade with the developing port of Gothenburg in the Baltic.

The Swedes wanted a foothold in the Americas as a place to sell iron ore and products. That brought Swedish governors and Swedish merchants and Swedish slave traders to the Caribbean.

Some of the products sold by the Swedes included the hardware of slavery: chains and anklets and weapons.

The Swedes sold the place back to the French in 1878, and the place began an inexorable march toward a party place in the Caribbean, a role it very successfully holds onto today.

Although Saint Bart’s still has significant elements of African culture, mostly in the remote villages away from Gustavia, it is now very French and a place where a party may break out at almost any moment. There’s not much left of the Swedish presence, although most street signs are marked in French and Swedish.

To our guests leaving us tomorrow in San Juan,  we wish arrivederci: until we see you again.

We’re going to be visiting Saint Bart’s three times this season, coming back again on February 6 and again on February 13. I’ll be posting more commentary and photos about Tortola on those days, and you can check back for more details.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

3 February 2016
Philipsburg, Sint Maarten: Both Sides Now

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

One island, two nations: we’re visiting the Dutch capital of Philipsburg (where they officially call the island Sint-Maarten.) There are no border guards a few miles away where the French side of Saint-Martin begins.

There are also four dominant cultural heritages: African, French, British, and Dutch. And a whole lot of Americans, Canadians, and Europeans who come to the island aboard jumbo cruise ships and jumbo jets.

Unlike Hispaniola, where the Dominican Republic and third-world Haiti are at nearly opposite ends of the economic spectrum, on Sint-Maarten/Saint-Martin both sides are relatively prosperous because of thriving tourism.

The dock at Philipsburg can accommodate at least six very large cruise ships including the most mega of the megaships. The entire population of the islands–both sides now–is about 75,000 and in the heart of the tourist season there could be 30,000 guests and 12,000 or so crew heading ashore for the day.

The harbormaster has to manage the arrival and departure times of the ships like an air traffic controller.

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(There’s also a port on the French side, at Marigot, but ships must lie at anchor and send guests in by tender boat, and the seas can be quite unpredictable. The island is small enough at about 34 square miles to allow visits to both sides quite easily, and so most cruise ships opt for the convenience of tying up to the dock in Philipsburg.)

Though he claimed it as Spanish territory, Columbus did not land on the island and the Spanish did not consider it a high priority for settlement.

On the other hand, both the French and the Dutch wanted the island.

The French saw it as a stepping stone in the Caribbean, part of their goal to colonize the islands between Trinidad and Bermuda.

The Dutch took a broader view, seeing Sint Maarten as a halfway point between their colonies in New Amsterdam (you may know the place today as New York City) and Brazil.

In a rare instance of diplomacy, the French and the Dutch signed the Treaty of Concordia in 1648 and divided the island into two sections. That’s not to say there weren’t occasional conflicts between the two sides, plus a bit of interference by the Spanish.

But in modern times the island has held on to its Dutch-French mix. There are, though, some real differences between the Dutch and French side.

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The shops and the restaurants on one side or the other are not the same. The Dutch side is bustling, with large resorts and chain stores. The French side is more laid-back, with exclusive shops and pricey bistros.

Philipsburg can be a bit of a madhouse when cruise megaships are in town. Marigot much less so.

There are beaches and resorts all around, and each has its own character; the Dutch side has a few casinos, if that’s where you want to spend your Guilders or Dollars or Euros.

Our goal each time we come to the island is to try and find a place where we can still glimpse some hints of what remains of the local culture.

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Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Hudson Book Cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

2 February 2016
Road Town, Tortola BVI: A Small Place with Big Plans

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Tortola is the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, which sounds very impressive.

Except that none of the islands are very large or have all that many people. Tis a pity, though, since they are very nice places.

Tortola is the largest of the British Virgin Islands, about 60 islands and rocks about 100 kilometers or 60 miles east of Puerto Rico. About 15 of the islands are inhabited.

Mountainous Tortola, formed by volcanic activity, is about 20 kilometers or 12 miles long, and 5 kilometers or 3 miles wide. Minor earthquakes are common.

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The islands—in total—have a population of about 28,000. Of that number, about 23,000 live on Tortola, many near the capital city of Road Town, which is where we arrived on Silver Wind.

The port has undergone rapid growth in the past few years,  with the installation of a large new dock,  capable of handling some of the biggest ships afloat. In fact, some cruise lines have begun moving away from nearby Saint Martin in favor of Tortola. It’s a matter–in terms of crowds–of a temporary respite, I expect.

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Silver Wind at anchor off Road Town

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A pair of monster ships at the new pier

The other significant islands are Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost van Dyke. And then there are the lesser islands include Norman, Peter, Salt, Cooper, and Beef; some historians (and tourist bureaus) maintain that pirates like Blackbeard, Bluebeard, and Sir Francis Drake visited one or another of them.

Some would have you believe there is buried treasure here, too. For a small fee, they might even sell you a map.

More than thirty years ago, my wife and I visited the outlying islands. On Salt Island we found a tiny settlement, mostly made up of one extended family.

They had no interest in or need of our money or trinkets. But they deeply desired to have some of the glossy color magazines we had with us, with pictures of places that must have seemed like the moon to them. We gladly gave them the magazines; I sometimes wonder what dreams and wants we may have introduced, for better or worse.

We’re going to be visiting Tortola three times this season, coming back again on February 11 and again on February 18. I’ll be posting more commentary and photos about Tortola on those days, and you can check back for more details.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

1 February 2016
Samana, Dominican Republic: A One-sided Story

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Hispaniola is the second largest island in the Caribbean. Three-quarters the size of Cuba, it has about twice the population.

That make it the most populous island in the Americas, the tenth or twelfth most populous island in the world. About 20 million people live on the island, roughly the same as Mindinao in The Philippines, Madagascar, or Sri Lanka.

It has the largest economy in the Caribbean and Central America and the ninth largest economy in Latin America.

On the mostly lush and well-situated island of Hispaniola are two sovereign nations: the Dominican Republic, about 19,000 square miles or 48,000 square kilometers,

And Haiti, about half as large at 11,000 square miles or 28,000 square kilometers.

As I mentioned in my welcome to this cruise in my post of 29 January…and I discussed in more detail in my lecture aboard ship…the island of Hispaniola is fertile ground for anthropological, political, economic, religious, and just about any other form of social science analysis and argument.

The Dominican Republic has the most successful economy in the Caribbean and is on the cusp of first world status. While its neighbor Haiti is among the world’s poorest countries, and the poorest anywhere in the Americas, beset by corruption, lack of health care and education, and poor infrastructure.

We called at the tourist enclave of Samana, a fine port in a still-developing part of the island.

For most of its history, up until its independence from Haiti in 1844, the country was known as Santo Domingo—the name of its present capital. Both were named after the nation’s patron saint, Saint Dominic, the founder of the Dominican Order in the 12th century.

On this visit we went for a hike off the tourist path to see St. Peter’s Evangelical Church.

This church was brought from America in the early 19th century by freed and escaped slaves who were invited to resettle on Hispaniola by the government which was the first in the new world to throw off their slave holders.  There was also aid by American abolitionists who sought a place to resettle African slaves.

About 6,000 came to Hispaniola;  most did not stay,  but a community of descendants live in and around Samana.

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Los Haitises National Park is on the southern side of Samana Bay, about 15 kilometers or 10 miles from Samana. This is a protected virgin forest, accessible primarily by boat from Samana, with little road access.

Haitis means highland or mountain range in the Taino language, although the hills aren’t that tall: about 20 to 40 meters or 100 to 130 feet.

You’ll find many sea caverns, some with ancient pictographs and petroglyphs. The area was formed in the Miocene epoch, about 23 to 5 million years ago.

Included within the park is San Lorenzo Bay with numerous islets and mangroves.

The Cayo de los Pájaros, or Bird Key, is populated by frigate birds and pelicans. It is located near the enticingly named Boca del Infierno, or Mouth of Hell.

And the spectacular waterfall, El Limon, was used for the opening scenes of the original Jurassic Park movie.

We are arriving in the Dominican Republic during the humpback whale season, from January to March.

Now, please: no guarantees. These are live creatures and they do not consult the calendar…or the Silversea itinerary…before deciding whether to make an appearance. But we have good chance.

The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. Adults range in length from 12 to 16 meters, or 39 to 52 feet and weigh approximately 36,000 kilograms or 79,000 pounds on average.

That’s about the size of a tourist bus, with some added weight…and no tourists aboard.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS