With a group of friends, we flew to Barbados where we boarded our cruise ship Oceana and immediately set sail to the various beautiful islands in the West Indies. Every island seemed a virtual paradise, but seeing the still very evident damage in Grenada from Hurricane Ivan in 2004, it was a reminder that this beautiful part of the world is still very much at the mercy of Mother Nature.
St Lucia was first visited by Europeans in about the year 1500 and first colonized successfully by France who signed a treaty with the native Carib peoples in 1660. Great Britain took control of the island from 1663 to 1667 then went to war with France over it fourteen times, and finally took complete control in 1814.
Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after a church in Spain, Santa Maria La Antigua — St. Mary the Ancient. It is the largest of the Leeward Islands, and the most developed and prosperous due to its tourism industry, offshore banking, internet gambling services and education services, including two medical schools.
Grenada is called The Spice Isle because it is a leading producer of several different spices. Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, mace, allspice, orange/citrus peels, wild coffee used by the locals, and especially nutmeg, providing 20% of the world supply, are all important exports. The nutmeg on the nation's flag represents the economic crop of Grenada; the nation is the world’s second largest producer of nutmeg (after Indonesia).
Catalina Island is a beautiful island located 1.5 miles from the mainland the Dominican Republic. The island itself is only 9.6 square kilometers in size
The Spanish named this island "Corazon", Spanish for "heart", for its heart shape, which later became "Curaçao", derived from the Portuguese word for heart, "Coração".
The smallest island in the world ever to have been partitioned between two different nations, St. Martin/St. Maarten has been shared by the French and the Dutch in a spirit of neighbourly cooperation and mutual friendship for almost 350 years.
This stunning little island is situated off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. Breathtaking scenery, excellent hotels, nightlife and duty-free shopping make this a must for tourists.
