Posts Tagged ‘hiking’

Steve
Steve

Fit or Fat, There’s a Nature Hike to Suit You in Martinique

Jean & Nathalie via Flickr

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.

continue…
1 comment | , ,
Steve
Steve

On-Site Grand Cayman: Hiking With the Curious Animals Along the Mastic Trail

The road to the Mastic Trail/SBPR

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.

continue…
2 comments | , ,
Patrick
Patrick

Caribbean Wallpaper Wednesday: Concord Falls, Grenada

Concord Falls, Grenada by Patrick Bennett

I can still clearly remember staring at the gas gauge as we drove north along Grand Mal Bay on the southeast coast of Grenada.
The little, white arrow pointed squarely at the orange E.
This may have happened a couple months ago, but I remember feeling very uneasy about this discovery. You see, I had my wife and six month old with me on this little excursion, so the thought of finding ourselves along the side of the road with an out of gas rental car was weighing heavily on my mind.
“What’s with that face?,” I remember my wife asking.

continue…
0 comments | , , , ,
Patrick
Patrick

On-Site St. Martin: Happiness is Happy Bay

Topless? Happy Bay Beach, St. Martin by Patrick Bennett

Just a few minutes, over easy terrain…
The last time I’d told someone we should hike to a beautiful white sand beach and that it would only take us a few minutes to get there over some easy terrain… Well, let’s just say there were some issues. (Sorry, Dave!)
So, when I caught myself on the island of St. Martin a few months ago saying those exact same words to my wife as she carried my then 3 month old son in her arms, I immediately felt a moment of dread. It was one thing to torture Dave in our quest for the one and only white(ish) sand beach on Montserrat.

continue…
2 comments | , , ,
Steve
Steve

Saturday Video: Hiking Up & Around Buck Island

Buck

Regret. It’s a terrible thing. I try very hard to avoid having regrets about anything in my life, but there are a few things I missed out on while growing up in St. Croix that I wish I could go back in time to enjoy more fully now.
Take Buck Island, for instance. This small, (176 acres) uninhabited island located a mile and a half off the northeast coast of St. Croix is a prime day sail destination for visitors and locals alike. The whole island and its surrounding waters have been protected by the U.S. Government since 1948, so it’s all nature out here.

continue…
2 comments | , ,
Patrick
Patrick

On-Site Montserrat: Hiking to the Only “White Sand” Beach

Rendezvous Beach Montserrat

Montserrat, like many islands in the Lesser Antilles, is volcanic by origin. The interesting thing about this fact is that it was not the world famous Soufriere Hills volcano that initially created the island—that honor goes to a long dormant volcano on the north end of the island. Either way, the island’s features are those typical of a volcanic island: steep hills, rich soil, and something many Americans have never experienced, black sand beaches.
I myself had actually never seen (or at least remember seeing) a black sand beach until just six years ago, so they’re still fairly new to me.

continue…
9 comments | , ,
Steve
Steve

Saturday Video: Hiking the Waitukubuli Trail in Dominica

Waitukubuli

I wasn’t kidding when I wrote recently that Dominica is at the top of our wish list of destinations to visit next year. Today makes three Saturdays in a row that we’ve featured some aspect of the fabulous ecotourism adventure options available in the Nature Island in this spot, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we have even more to say about it in the coming weeks. There are just so many amazing things to see and do here, all of it decidedly uncommon.
Today’s video introduces the newest way to enjoy Dominica’s natural riches: the Waitukubuli National Trail.
A trans-island route running the entire south-north length of the island, the trail covers a total of 115 miles (184 km) in 14 segments.

continue…
7 comments | , ,
Web Analytics