Caribbean and Central America Travel

As an overseas territory of France, Martinique is “a little bit of France in the Caribbean Islands.” Martinique has a splendid blend of the French and the Caribbean in its culture, language (Antillean Creole or Créole Martiniquais), music and cuisine.

First sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1493, Martinique’s original inhabitants were the Carib Indians. It wasn’t until 1635 that the first European settled in the island, Frenchman Pierre Belan d’Esnambuc. It was d’Esnambuc’s nephew, Jacques-Dyel du Parquet who developed the island into a rich and wealthy colony. Martinique formally became a French colony in 1658.

During a string of wars and uprisings, Martinique fell into the British rule: during the Seven Year’s War, during the French Revolutionary Wars and during the Napoleonic Wars. Eventually, the island reverted back to the French crown.
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Dominica is one of the most unspoilt islands in the Caribbean. Covered by a lush rainforest, Dominica is a haven for nature lovers, with its many waterfalls, springs, rivers, and the world’s second largest boiling lake.

Not to be confused with the Dominican Republic, Dominica (pronounced Dom-in-eek-a) was discovered by Christopher Columbus on a Sunday – Dominica in Latin. For its Carib Indian settlers, however, the island is known as Wai’tu kubuli, which means “Tall is her body”.

Though history, the island has been claimed by the French, who eventually relinquished the island to the British. Dominica became a British colony in 1763, after hundreds of years of isolation. The emancipation of African slaves in the British empire gave way to Dominica having the first British Caribbean colony headed by Africans. The British took control of the country once again in 1896, but eighty years later Dominica finally became an independent nation.
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The country of Panama holds a unique strategic geographic location, and it has tried its best throughout the ages to exploit this to the full. From the time of the Portobello fairs to the first transisthmian railroad to the present waterway, often considered to be the eighth wonder of the world.

A canal linking the Atlantic with the Pacific oceans had been a dream since the first Spanish colonizations. In fact it was Charles V of Spain who first envisaged a shortcut through the Panamanian jungle to ease the difficult crossing. So in 1524 he ordered a survey of the land. However what inspired the king initially was not so much the possibilities for trade, so much as how to bring back to Spain with least difficulty the hoards of treasure recently discovered in Peru. Unfortunately for him, earth-moving techniques were to need major improvement before his idea could be undertaken.
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by: Sophie de Lagarde

If your idea was spending some time enjoying the Caribbean’s clear waters and warm sun your next vacation, Riviera maya is a good choice.

Playa del Carmen has now become one of the World’s most popular and sought after tourist destinations in less than a decade. Offering alabaster-white beaches, gentle surf, coral reefs, Mayan ruins and now the World famous 5th Avenue, Playa del Carmen has become the destination of choice for tourism from all over the World. Offering a strong European flare, Playa offers an abundance of fantastic restaurants and outrageous nightlife scene. Conveniently located 30 miles from Cancun International Airport to the North and Ocean Front Mayan Ruins in Tulum to the South, makes Playa del Carmen the central gateway to the great Riviera Maya. You can get a good glance at it through the Playa del Carmen video .

Now the place is set, but where should you stay? It probably depends of what kind of vacationer you are, if you are with friends, family, kids… all of this might also change your opinion on the kind of place you wish to stay at.

Anyways, to give you a better idea of what you can get, let’s study all the options Riviera Maya gives you for your stay:
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It was Christopher Columbus who first sighted the Cayman Islands, but it was Sir Francis Drake who was the first recorded visitor to the island. While Columbus named the islands Las Tortugas due to the number of sea turtles he saw, Sir Drake named it after the crocodiles.

The Cayman Islands fell under the British rule under the Treaty of Madrid, along with Jamaica. This happened as settlers from Jamaica came into Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. The islands became a strategic British base in the Caribbean, although it also became a hideout for pirates. Permanent settlement finally happened in the Caymans in 1730.

The Cayman Islands became a dependent of Jamaica, though it was effectively able to govern itself. After 165 years, the Cayman Islands became independent from Jamaica, though it acted like a Jamaican parish. When Jamaica became independent in 1962, the Cayman Islands sought for independence one more, and became a direct dependency to the British Crown.
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