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Caribbean Travel RoundupNewsletter - Paul Graveline, Editor |
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It was the usual Cartagenian sunny day as we boarded a slick motor boat on our way to Rosario Islands - the playground of the Colombians. As our boat noiselessly slipped away from the old city walls, I looked back at these massive ramparts, fading into the distance. As I gazed at these defensive works built by 300 thousand slaves of whom 200 thousand died, there formed in my mind a picture of Cartagena of the Indies where the legend of El Dorado was born. The Indians rolling their chiefs in gold dust had given rise to this myth which drew the Spaniards by the thousands. Even though these men of fortune did not find the fabled land of gold, they found enough of that precious metal to satisfy some of their greed. It was not too difficult to visualize this battle-hardened fortress- city - the best preserved Spanish colonial town in the Americas - as it was when the Conquistadors made it a storehouse for the treasures they had plundered from the Indians. I could almost see the towering Spanish galleons loaded with gold, silver and jewels, quietly slipping out of the harbour and heading eastward to enrich the treasury and churches of Spain - that is - if they ever reached that country. Many times the Indian loot would in turn become the prize of English and French pirates. One of these galleons, the San Jose, the richest to ever travel the Spanish Main, was sunk by the British off the Rosario Islands. Its three billion dollars of treasure is today being searched for in waters 213 m (700 ft) deep. As the tops of Church of San Pedro and the Cathedral, dominating the skyline disappeared from view, my fantasies evaporated with the vanishing of the lofty domes and oriels. Our motor launch replaced the galleons and dreaming of coral reefs replaced the thoughts of gold and silver. Like a rope-skipping child, the launch skimmed across Cartagena Bay at exhilarating speed. Soft sprays from the churning waters washed our faces and relaxed our bodies. The coolness was conducive to forgetting the heat and humidity of the city and I soon felt serene and content. Looking around, I saw that about half the male tourists had their arms around beautiful young Colombian lady friends - not too difficult to find, especially by those who are fluent in Spanish. The remainder were other tourist couples, except for myself. I felt odd being the lone male in the midst of a romantic atmosphere. Past Caño de Loro, a very poor looking village which was once a leper colony, we hugged the coast of Isla de Tierra Bomba, shielding Cartagena from the sea. Soon we were gliding by the village of Boca Chica edging the huge-majestic San Fernando Fort which with its twin , San José, once, like two lions, guarded the passageway through the small Boca Chica Channel to Cartagena Bay. Passing through the channel, we entered the wide expanse of the Caribbean Sea. Turning back to take a photo of San Fernando, I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Why are you interested in the forts built by the greatest mass murderers in history? Their traces should be wiped from the face of the earth!" From his dialect, I gathered he was from the West Indies. I looked at him and smiled, "We cannot rewrite history." I was studying the dark Caribbean waters, when suddenly past a reef, the sea, as if by magic, turned to a clear turquoise colour. Looking up, I saw looming before us La Grande, the largest of the 27 tree-covered islands which are known as Islas del Rosario - the whole island chain has been declared a national treasure-park. Surrounded by coral reefs, this archipelago, 39 km (24 mi) from Cartagena, is encircled by waters which range from crystal blue to shades of purple, appearing like shallow pools, hemmed in by the surrounding reefs. Colombians, mostly young couples, and endless tourists come to enjoy to their hearts' content the prolific underwater life in the coral reefs - a fantastic world for divers and snorklers. These attributes of the sea added to the magic scenery of the islands and the charming beaches have given these islands the label 'Paradise Isles'. We landed on a tourist spot which had all the amenities of the 20th century. It was a pleasure to spend hours, literally rejuvenating in an exquisite salt-water pool, crowned by a thatched roof bar. When one of us would tire of the pool and bar, she/he would walk a few paces to fetch some fruit or dip in an edging clear coral water pond, fenced off from the sea. Its white sand bottom could be seen clearly - unlike the somewhat black sands of Cartagena's beaches which now seemed a world away. After feasting on fried fish, I was dozing by the pool when a young man next to me asked, "Where are you from?" Introductions were made, after which we had a pleasant long conversation. Roberto, a native of the country, spoke perfect English. He was a storehouse of knowledge about Cartagena. It would have taken me a week to gather all the information he freely passed on about the tourist facilities in Cartagena. Like the vast majority of Colombians, he was always smiling. His company, enhanced by the breathtaking surroundings, added much to the pleasures of our island trip. In the late afternoon we were back in the launch sailing the blue waters around a number of the islands. Some were dotted with cottages and luxurious chalets, built by the country's opulent. The guide pointed to one, once owned by the mayor of Bogotá, Columbia's capital, and another where the country's presidents come to relax. It was dark when we docked by the ramparts of old Cartagena - known to many as the 'most beautiful city in the Americas'. Leaving the ship, I was as if in a dream - thinking of our day's excursion from the city of the Conquistadors to Colombia's 'Paradise Isles'.
TRIP REPORT I got back last week from my wonderful honeymoon on St. Croix! I have no regrets about choosing that island, or the Sunterra Carambola resort, especially since we didn't get hit with a hurricane! thanks for all of your insights by the way! Here are some of my impressions: St. Croix: First of all, I felt 100% safe--while I'm sure there is crime on St. Croix, I didn't see any evidence of it, and I certainly didn't feel like I had to guard my person or possessions like I've had to do in places like Kenya and India. It was very relaxing in that way. One caveat though: driving through Fredericksted made us a little nervous, but we didn't walk around-- just drove though. Too many people just hanging out on street corners for no discernible reason. Once I got there, I wasn't even as nervous about possible hurricanes as I'd been when planning the trip. The island itself was very beautiful--laidback and yet not boring. We appreciated the different landscapes, the history, and the Cruzan rum! From what I've heard about St. Thomas and St. John, St. Croix seems like just the perfect balance. The Sunterra Carambola: Although people had said one drawback was its distance from other places on the island, that's one of the things we really liked about it! We drove by the Buccaneer and the Divi, and they looked fine, but we commented to each other how glad we were to be staying at the Carambola, which is so tropical and secluded and in the lush part of the island rather than the arid part. I couldn't believe how beautiful the flowers and trees were there! And to us, being from the Chicago area where you always leave a half hour before you need to be somewhere, it really didn't seem that far from Christiansted or other parts of the island. The more chance to see the island! We took the resort shuttle into Christianstead twice ($14 per person round trip) and rented a car one day. The resort itself was beautiful--I just loved the red roofs and the vaulted ceilings in our second floor room (someone on this board had advised requesting a second floor room)and the mahogany wood and the screened in porch and all the resort architecture. We had paid for a garden view but got an ocean view room that was practically ocean front! We bought snorkel gear at the Mile Mark shop under the bell tower and snorkeled at the beach most every day which was really fun--it is true that you can only enter into the water at the west end of the beach because of sea urchins on the other parts, but that was OK and not a big deal. Because it was summer, the only restaurant open was the Cruzian Grill, but that was fine with us, because the chefs were interns from the California Culinary Institute and made yummy bruschettas and crab cakes and sandwiches...we could have ordered steak, etc. at the grill, but didn't. We could eat for under $10 per person at the Cruzian Grill which was good. And if it closed, we could order food at the Flamboyant Lounge, the bar, or get room service. Every night from 5-6, the bar had a happy hour with finger foods and half price mixed drinks--we drank a lot of rum punch! Service was really good at the resort--we rented a video one night from the gift shop's limited collection--everything at the gift shop was really pricey--$10 for a small bottle of Solarcaine! We went to the resort's Pirate Buffet Friday night--$30 per person for all the jerk chicken and salads and pastas, and steak and mahi mahi and desserts we could eat! It was really worth the splurge and drew tourists and residents from all over the island. The other place we had lunch was at the Carambola golf course--there's a free shuttle from the resort--where my husband had the best meal of his trip--an omelet with crab and cheese and mushrooms and sour cream. Island restaurants: Since it was our honeymoon, we really stuck around the resort much of the time. The day we took the resort shuttle into Christiansted, we had lunch at the Bombay Club. I really liked the Bombay Club because it's in an old historic pub, and also because it had great food! We indulged in the yummy stuffed crab and each had one of their reasonably priced lunch specials--my beef stroganoff was scrumptious. The other nice restaurant we visited was the Waves at Cane Bay. We loved it more for the view than for the food, which was just OK considering how pricey it was. Still, it was worth it to sit under their canopy on the sand watching the sun set over Cane Bay, with the hotel pool (carved out of the coral on the shore!) just below us. Dinner at the Off the Wall beach bar may have been just as beautiful and less pricey. Things to do: Buck Island, of course. We went with Mile Mark on one of their trimarans--maybe 15 other people were on the boat--it didn't feel too crowded. We ordered a boxed lunch from the Avocado Pitt next door which was fine. They had drinks for sale on the boat- -mostly pop. The ride out to Buck Island was really fun--seeing the shoreline from that angle. We really enjoyed snorkeling the underwater trail as well--mostly because of the stunning and varied coral. Some coral pieces looked like someone had plunked a finished piece of pottery down on the ocean floor! Hanging out on the Buck Island beach was also fun and relaxing. We also went horseback riding at Paul and Jill's stable--Jill took us through the rainforest and pointed out termite nests and swinging vines and zebra butterflies. We also rode up a hill which overlooked the Fredericksted harbor. On the ride, Jill told us juicy tidbits about her neighbors. We cantered about 4 times--there were just 5 of us on the ride. It was fun, but I wish we could have ridden more where we could have viewed the sea--Equus rides at Cane Bay probably would have, but I couldn't reach them by phone. Walking around Christianted was fun--love the Danish architecture and the pastel colors! The day we were there it was rainy though so it got old, especially because we're not shoppers. When we rented a car, we drove the perimeter of the island, with our first destination Point Udall, most easterly point in the U.S. and territories. Good photo opportunity! We went to the Cruzan rum factory--the tour was OK-- kind of short but we didn't mind in the heat--but we liked the free rum drink and we bought a couple cheap bottles. We stopped by the St. Croix LEAP which wasn't fun at all--we didn't even feel like we should be there--I guess you're just supposed to look around at your leisure. We stopped by the Mount Pelier Domino Club and gave nonalcoholic beer to the beer drinking pigs for $4. It was an experience--I laughed as we walked toward the pen and said to Eric, "Did you ever think you'd be doing such a thing on your honeymoon?" Well, that's about it--my two cents, since I've been reading everyone else's for so long, I look forward to being able to answer people's questions from now on if I can. One final thing--reading James Michener's Caribbean, before and during the trip, really added to the experience--I recommend it, even if you don't read the whole thing.
The official The Caribbean Travel Roundup World Wide Web site is http://caribtravelnews.com. The CTR is also available on America Online. Contact: Paul Graveline, 9 Stirling St., Andover, MA 01810- 1408 USA :Home (Voice or Fax) 978-470-1971. E-mail via editor@caribtravelnews.com or CTREDITOR@aol.com
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