Caribbean and Central America Travel

When Christopher Columbus first set eyes on these islands, he named it Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Vírgenes or Saint Ursula and her 11,000 Virgins. He named it after the legend of Saint Ursula, who set sail from England with 11,000 virgin handmaidens to join her future husband, Governor Conan Meriadoc of Armorica. The name was later shortened to Las Vírgenes (The Virgins).

The Virgin Islands archipelago is divided into two: The British and the US virgin islands. The British Virgin Islands is comprised of the islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke, along with over fifty other smaller islands and cays.

While Christopher Columbus is the first European who’ve seen the islands, it was the Arawak Indians from South America who were the first settlers in the island. They were later replaced by the Caribs, a tribe from the islands of the Lesser Antilles.
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When people are asked where their dream vacation is, they would say the Caribbean. And when they say The Caribbean, the first to come to mind is the Bahamas.

Sprawling in a 100,000 square mile archipelago, Bahamas offers travelers 700 islands to choose from. Each island offers something different from the one before, thereby assuring travelers that there’s something for everybody.

Christopher Columbus was the first European to arrive in the islands. He dropped anchor in San Salvador in 1492 and encountered the Arawaks, the native island people. He called them “indians,” thinking that he docked in the West Indies. The Arawaks or Lucayans as they are also called, were taken as slaves and their population began to decrease. Eventually, the islands became uninhabited.
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One of more popular Caribbean vacation destinations, Aruba certainly lives up to the hype. Bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to its east, crashing unto dramatic cliff face and the Caribbean Sea lapping in gently on its western beaches, this island is the perfect destination for sun and sea lovers.

First discovered by the Spaniards in 1499, they deemed it useless and was left to the native people of Aruba. During the war between Spain and Holland, Aruba was seized by the Dutch in 1636. The Dutch settled in the islands soon after. It wasn’t until the 19th century though, that gold was discovered in Aruba. This brought on a new surge of immigrants, mainly from Europe and Venezuela.

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Then people talk about the Caribbean, images of fine white sand beaches, clear turquoise waters and hammocks tied to palm trees first come to mind. It is indeed, one of the world’s primary vacation destination.

Located in the Americas, it is bordered in the north by North America, in the east by Central America and in the south, South America. The Caribbean is composed of over 7,000 islands resting on the Caribbean Plate.

Also known as the West Indies, this region comprises of several territories and countries. The United States, United Kingdom and other European countries like the Netherlands and France have territories in the Carribean.
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Sharing the island of Hispanoila with the Dominican Republic, Haiti lives up to is Tainos name, Ayiti, which means “mountainous land.”

Like the other Caribbean islands, Haiti was discovered by the Italian explorer, Christopher Columbus on his voyage to the Americas. Also, like the other Caribbean islands, Haiti had its share of slavery, rebellions and finally, freedom. Modern day Haiti is poverty-stricken, and has fallen victim to urban overpopulation. Though there is unrest in the country, Haiti’s culture remains vibrant with colorful art, sensational music, beautiful nature retreats and passionate people.

As typical in the Caribbean islands, Haiti enjoys a mild tropical climate with only two seasons throughout the year. Haiti, however, has two rainy seasons: from April to May and from September to October. June to September is the hurricane season in the region, though hurricanes don’t last the entire 5 months, it’s up to you if you want to risk vacationing in Haiti during this time.
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