In Old San Juan, Calle Fortaleza and Calle San Francisco have everything from T-shirt emporiums to jewelry stores to shops that specialize in made-to-order Panama hats. Running perpendicular to those streets is Calle Cristo, lined with factory-outlet stores, including Coach, Gant, Guess, and Ralph Lauren. On weekends, artisans sell their wares at stalls around Paseo […]
The tropical island of Puerto Rico is located in the middle of the Caribbean Basin, between the Greater Antillean island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic & Haiti), and a chain of Lesser Antillean islands to its east, such as the U.S. Virgin Islands. Puerto Rico (Spanish for “Rich Port”), was originally populated by Taíno Indians before […]
Jamaica, an island within the western Caribbean, is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles. Located 145 km south of Cuba and 191 km. west of Hispaniola (Haiti & Dominican Republic), it immediately became a Spanish possession after Columbus’ discovery of it in 1494. With the British’s growing interest in the Caribbean, they drove the […]
The eastern Caribbean island of Guadeloupe was first discovered by Christopher Columbus during his second voyage to America in 1493. He named that island Santa María de Guadalupe de Extremadura (which would later be shortened to Guadelupe). Although he himself never settled on the island, Spanish settlers eventually did make their way to Guadeloupe. With […]
The Cayman Islands are a British Overseas Territory located south of Cuba in the western Caribbean Sea. This territory, consisting of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, was first discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1503 (during his 4th and final voyage to the New World) – naming the islands Las Tortugas (The Turtles), due […]
The British Virgin Islands (BVI), located east of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, consist of the four main islands (Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke), as well as over 50 smaller islands and cays. The most populous of the major islands is Tortola (whose population is 23,908 – out of BVI’s […]
Barbados is an island in the eastern Caribbean (covering an area of 431 square kilometers) which was initially discovered by Spanish colonists toward the early 1500s, but was never officially claimed by any of the European powers until the British took possession of it in 1624. Unlike some of the other Caribbean islands (which was […]
Bermuda, despite travelers referring to this destination in the singular, is actually a chain of 181 islands with a total area of 53 sq. kilometers (20.6 sq. miles). Despite longtime international perception of its location within the Caribbean, Bermuda is actually located further up in the North Atlantic Ocean – some 1,000 km east of […]
The other thing that Puerto Plata is known for is rum. The city is home to the major Dominican rum label “Brugal” (started there by Catalonian Spanish immigrant Andrés Brugal in 1888). Even though the Brugal label was bought by the Scottish distilling firm, The Edrington Group, in 2008, the rum is still produced in […]
Aside from the Spanish colonial fortress and nearby beach resorts, Puerto Plata was known for two distinct things: one was the “Teleférico”. This Italian-made tram car, built in 1975 and carries 17 passengers, offering them a panoramic view of the Puerto Plata region. The Teleférico climbs over 2,500 feet to the top of a mountain […]