 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
Because of my job, my world revolves around everything CARIBBEAN. Over the past 10 years of specializing in the region, I have grown keenly aware of all the great products the islands have to offer. After repeated trips to each island, my "little black book" of desirable Caribbean goodies is almost full. I always leave sacred space in my suitcase for local finds when traveling. I am not paid to endorse any of these products - I simply want to share the fun with you. In the same fashion that one simply can not visit Thailand without purchasing something from the famed Jim Thompson silk empire, the Caribbean has so many wonders worth sharing.
P.S. If you come across any cool Caribbean products in your travels, I would love to hear about them! Email me the details.
|
|
JAMAICA: Jamaica has so much to offer. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Starfish
Oil Candles sold in the Montego Bay Airport kiosk
- and elsewhere on the island. The scent of "LOVE" is
my favorite - it is woodsy, spicy, rosy, and everything
islandy. I stock up on the LOVE scented travel size candles.
|
 |
True art connoisseurs should keep their eyes open for any paintings by Barrington Watson. (A recent one just sold on EBay for $150,000.)
For a real Java Junkie, you simply can not leave the island without a pound of the Blue Mountain Coffee. It is the most expensive coffee in the world and in the US sells for about $45/pound. One of my first jobs was a Barista at a locally owned, Mom & Pop coffee shop, in the days before Starbucks. The owners named the cafe "Java Straight" because of their combined love of coffee and sailing the Caribbean. It was this combined passion that caused them to leave their corporate jobs and start their own Oasis in the Ozarks, per say. Anyway, their passions merged in every cup of Blue Mountain Coffee they served because it truly does combine the exotic richness of the islands and is still a great pick-me-up.
|
|
ST. BARTHS: One of my sweetest clients, Theresa Hartney, first introduced me to these products about 6 years ago. She picked up a few bottles of Ligne St. Barths on her trip and mailed them as soon as she returned home. It was love at first smell! The Cleansing Milk with Frangipani Flowers had me thinking I was in my favorite flower garden in Gustav, looking out at the harbour, and dreaming about my next meal because we all know St. Barths has FABULOUS restaurants. |
|
ST. LUCIA: I'll never forget my first trip "up the morne" in St. Lucia. I was visiting the island with some transplanted natives. I love a good view with my meal as I truly believe a great view can make any meal taste that much better. They said I must go "up the morne" to the Green Parrot. (Morne is Mountain in Kyewol.) The taxi ride nearly replaced my ravished appetite with complete nausea - the road was one of the steepest and curviest outside of San Francisco. Anyway, the restaurant was busy and I had failed to make a reservation, so instead of standing in line I decided to tour the property. I followed my nose to the Caribbean Perfumery, a small little shop tucked into a corner of the restaurants lobby. What a find! Some of the purest Caribbean perfumes ever made. I could close my eyes and think I was smelling the actual flower. I bought a bottle in each scent and moved on to enjoy my fabulous dinner and amazing view of the twinkling lights of Castries below. The best part was, I kept these perfumes for years, and they only seemed to smell better with age. |
|
ARUBA: Many first time visitors to Aruba are surprised to see that the island is more like an arid desert than the tropical islands one envisions when thinking of the Caribbean. Absent are lush green hills and dense rainforests but in their place is an amazing desert landscape that has its own bountiful offerings. One of those offerings is Aloe Vera. Since its inception in 1890, the Aruba Aloe company has been growing Aloe plants on the island. Recently the packaging and marketing caught up with the times and you simply should not leave the island without a few bottles of the lotion, sunscreens, or soaps. The lip balm rocks too! |
|
Beach, Blanket..... Novel:
For me, no trip to the islands
is complete without the perfect beach read. I am a true
believer of "when in Rome...". And since when I read, I
let the book carry me away and transplant me in the story,
I love to bring Caribbean themed books with me on my Caribbean
vacations.
Some of my favorites:
Caribbean
by James A Michener
An
Embarrassment of Mangoes by Ann Vanderhoof
The
Wine of Astonishment by Earl Lovelace
A
Trip to the Beach: Living on Island Time in the Caribbean
by Melinda Blanchard
Caribbean
Conspiracy by C. M. Jonnard
Bimini
Man by C.M. Jonnard
Living
on an Arc by Brent Wilson |
|
|
 |
 |
