Posts Tagged ‘ecotourism’
This, was a mistake.
That rueful refrain kept racing through my head at the onset of my excursion into the Caroni Swamp in Trinidad a few weeks ago. It wasn’t fear of the Spectacled Caiman, or the “relatively aggressive” Cook’s Tree Boa snakes, both notable Caroni residents, that had me so unnerved either.
No, the real source of my trepidation was the young 20-somethingish kid sitting next to me on our tour boat. The problem: he was wearing nothing short of his Sunday best.
Admiring the view from atop Mount Scenery, the northernmost active volcano (last eruption: 1640) in the Caribbean, which at an elevation of 2,877 feet represents the highest point on the island of Saba, as well as the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands.
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Lots of properties throughout the Caribbean (and elsewhere) pay lip service to the whole eco-hotel thing, arguing in some cases that the mere presence of a recycling bin, or a conspicuous sign encouraging guests to re-use towels should qualify them as crusaders for environmental sustainability. Far be it from me to poo-poo any effort, no matter how small, to preserve the planet, but for places like Rosalie Bay Resort in Dominica, these half-measures must seem like a joke.
I mean, if you’re going to be serious, really serious about saving the earth, why not install the region’s largest wind turbine at your property, pair it with a bunch of solar panels and generate a good 70% of your own electricity?
Hiking through the Valley of Desolation in Morne Trois Pitons National Park, a World Heritage Site since 1997 located in the highlands of south-central Dominica.
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Hiking can be intimidating. Once you start down a trail, you typically have to keep going until you reach the end, which can be a problem if the knee sprain you sustained playing pick-up hoops starts acting up, or you haven’t been quite as diligent with your workout regimen as you’d like.
It’s easy to see how injuries and poor fitness can deter even the most ardent nature lovers from pursuing hiking adventures, but it doesn’t have to be that way… Not in the Caribbean, anyway.
Many destinations throughout the region offer a variety of hikes to suit all fitness levels.
While working on behalf of the Caribbean Tourism Organization way back at the start of my travel and tourism career, I was approached by a TV production company seeking advice on the best place in the region to film a commercial for a new car. Their criteria: excellent roads, uniquely scenic coastline and brilliant sunshine.
Now, we all know those last two are easily found anywhere in the Caribbean. That first one, though, is a doozy.
Pot holes are a part of life in much of the Caribbean, as are narrow and impossibly winding roads, many of them paved over trails blazed by wayward donkeys many, many moons ago.
Grand Cayman certainly has a lot to offer the active traveler, especially if you like water sports. SCUBA diving, snorkeling, sailing, windsurfing and other waterborne activities no doubt attract more people here than anything else. On my first visit to the island earlier this year, though, I found that there are a few terrestrial pursuits worth checking out as well. Take hiking, for instance…
Wait, wait, wait… hiking? In Grand Cayman?
Yeah, I was as surprised as anyone to find a viable hike here. What little I knew about Grand Cayman’s physical make-up prior to my visit was that it was flat (highest elevation: 60 feet) and dry – not an ideal combo for the Caribbean’s typically lush, tropical hiking areas.
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