Showing posts with label Caribbean Sea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Caribbean Sea. Show all posts

1/18/2010

Travel Destination in Exotic Cayman Islands

National Museum Cayman Islands
National Museum Cayman Islands by Oarson

The Cayman Islands (pronounced /ˈkeɪmæn/ or /ˈkeɪmən/) are a British overseas territory settled in the western sea Sea. The territory comprises the islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, settled south of state and northwest of Jamaica. The territory is a major offshore financial centre in the Caribbean.

George Town Waterfront
George Town Waterfront by courtneyplatt

The Cayman Islands are located in the western sea Sea. They are the peaks of a massive underwater ridge, known as the Cayman Trench, standing 8,000 feet (2,400 m) from the sea floor, which barely exceeds the surface. The islands lie in the northwest of the sea Sea, southward of state and westerly of Jamaica.

They are situated most 400 miles (650 km) southward of Miami, 180 miles (300 km) southward of Cuba, and 195 miles (315 km) northwest of Jamaica. Grand Cayman is by far the biggest, with an area of 76 conservativist miles (197 km²). The two \"Sister Islands\" of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are located most 80 miles (130 km) east of Grand Cayman and have areas of 14 conservativist miles (36 km²) and 10 conservativist miles (25.9 km²) respectively.

white palms Cayman Brac bluff
white palms Cayman Brac bluff by courtneyplatt

All three islands were formed by large coral heads covering submerged ice age peaks of western extensions of the Cuban Sierra Maestra range and are mostly flat. One notable exception to this is The Bluff on Cayman Brac's eastern part, which rises to 140 feet (42.6 m) above sea level, the highest point on the island.

Cayman Blue Iguana
Cayman Blue Iguana by Don McDougall

Cayman avian fauna includes two endemic subspecies of Amazona parrots: Amazona leucocephala hesterna, or Cayman Brac Parrot, native only to Cayman Brac, and Amazona leucocephala caymanensis or Grand Cayman Parrot, which is native to the Cayman Islands, forested areas of Cuba and the Isla de la Juventud. Another notable fauna is the endangered Blue Iguana, which is native to Grand Cayman. There is also the agouti and the Booby Birds on Cayman Brac.

Cayman Dreaming
Cayman Dreaming by Kevin Eddy

Tourism accounts for 70-75% of the annual GDP of the Cayman Islands. Of the million+ tourists that visit the islands annually, 99% visit Grand Cayman. George Town also serves as a major cruise ship port, which brings in 4,000 to 22,000 tourists a day, five days a week, depending on the number of ships in port.

One of Grand Cayman's (GCM) main attractions is the world-famous Seven Mile Beach on which a number of the island's hotels and resorts are located. Seven Mile Beach is regarded by many as one of the best beaches in the world. Historical sites in GCM such as Pedro St. James Castle in BoddenTown also attract visitors. The Sister Islands - Little Cayman and Cayman Brac - also supply their own unique charm.

kayaks Smith's adj
kayaks Smith's adj by courtneyplatt

The Cayman Islands is regarded as one of the world's best scuba diving destinations because of its crystal-clear humour and pristine walls. Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are also selected SCUBA dive destinations. There are several snorkeling locations where tourists can move with stingrays including the popular Stingray City, Grand Cayman. Divers encounter two shipwrecks soured the shores of Cayman Brac particularly interesting including the MV Keith Tibbetts.

family at Stingray Sandbar
family at Stingray Sandbar by courtneyplatt

Stingray City is a series of shallow sandbars found in the North Sound of Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. It is a traveler attraction, as southern stingrays are found in abundance and visitors crapper feed, pet, and interact with the animals.

Stingray City is in the shallow waters of the northwest corner of Grand Cayman's North Sound. It is meet inside a uncolored channel that passes finished the barrier reef and consists of a progress of sandbars crossover the North Sound from Morgan Harbor to Rum Point.

Stingray City and a second place near Rum Point Channel titled Sandbar were featured on television documentaries and seen as underwater advertising backdrops.

Other Grand Cayman traveler attractions allow the Ironshore genre of Hell, the 23-acre (93,000 m2) marine theme park Boatswain's Beach, also bag of the Cayman Turtle Farm, the production of gourmet sea salt, and the Mastic Trail, a hiking trail finished the forests in the center of the island. The NationalTrust for the Cayman Islands provides guided tours weekly on the Mastic Trail and other locations.

Aruba is Funtastic Island in The World

Aruba
Aruba by Striderv

Aruba (pronounced /əˈruːbə/) is a 33-kilometre (21 mi)-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, 27 km (17 mi) north of the Paraguaná Peninsula, Falcón State, Venezuela. Together with Bonaire and Curaçao it forms a group referred to as the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain of the Lesser Antilles.

Natural Bridge - Aruba
Natural Bridge - Aruba by amataiclaudius

An autonomous region within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Aruba has no administrative subdivisions. Unlike much of the Caribbean region, Aruba has a dry climate and an arid, cactus-strewn landscape. This climate has helped tourism as visitors to the island can reliably expect warm, sunny weather. It has a land area of 193 km2 (75 sq mi) and lies outside the hurricane belt.

Big Bonsia in Aruba
Big Bonsia in Aruba by MatthewEGreen

Aruba is a generally flat, riverless island in the Leeward Antilles island arc of the Lesser Antilles. island is renowned for its white, sandy beaches on the Hesperian and southern coasts of the island, relatively sheltered from fierce ocean currents, and this is where most tourist development has taken place.

The Federal and eastern coasts, lacking this protection, are substantially more battered by the seafaring and hit been left largely untouched by humans. The hinterland of the island features some rolling hills, the prizewinning known of which are called Hooiberg at 165 meters (541 ft) and Mount Jamanota, the maximal on the island at 188 metres (617 ft) above seafaring level. Oranjestad, the capital, is located at 12°19′N 70°1′W / 12.317°N 70.017°W / 12.317; -70.017.

To the east of island are Bonaire and Curacao, two island territories which form the south part of the Netherlands Antilles; island and these two Netherlands Antilles islands are sometimes called the ABC islands.
Aruba Lighthouse
Aruba Lighthouse by jefg99

The isothermal temperature of Aruba's pleasantly tropical marine climate attracts tourists to the island all year round. Temperature varies little from 28 °C (82 °F), moderated by constant trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean. Yearly precipitation barely reaches 500 mm (20 in) (19.7 in), most of it falling in late autumn.

Aruba - beautiful Caribbean island
Aruba - beautiful Caribbean island by Travelling Pooh

Language can be seen as an important part of island society in Aruba. The cultural variety has presented uprise to a linguistic variety famous as Papiamento, the predominant module on Aruba. The two official languages are the land module and Papiamento. Papiamento is a module that has been evolving through the centuries and absorbed some text from other languages like Dutch, English, French, diverse African dialects, and most importantly, from European and Spanish. However, like some islands in the region, Spanish is also often spoken.

English has historical connections (with the nation Empire) and is famous by many; arts usage has also grown due to tourism. Other common languages uttered supported on the size of their community are Portuguese, Chinese, German and French. The latter is offered in broad school and college, since a broad proportionality of Aruban students continue their studies in Europe.

oranjestad, aruba in pastel
oranjestad, aruba in pastel by atomicshark

Aruba has two ports Barcadera and Playa (this one) which is located in Oranjestad, The Port of Playa welcomes all the Cruiseship Lines including Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Lines, NCL, Holland America Line, Disney Cruiseships and many more, there are an estimate of almost a million tourists enter in this port per year, island Ports Authority, owned and operated by the Aruban polity is the authority in these Sea Ports.

Aruba's Queen Beatrix International Airport is located near Oranjestad. This airport has regular flights to different cities crossways the United States, to San Juan, Puerto Rico; Miami, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; Philadelphia and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania; Houston, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; Washington DC; New York City; and Boston, Massachusetts.

It also connects island with Toronto, Ontario and South America, with regular flights to the planetary airports of Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Germany, France, Spain, U.K and most of Europe through the Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands. Direct flight from Italy started in November 2008.

According to the island Airport Authority, in 2005 almost 1.7 million travelers utilised the airport, of which 61% were Americans.

1/11/2010

Dominica,Funatastic Caribbean Sea

Roseau, Dominica
Roseau, Dominica by Olga Melhiser

Dominica, (French: Dominique) officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. To the north-northwest lies Guadeloupe, to the southeast Martinique. Its size is 754 square kilometres (291 sq mi) and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of 1,447 metres (4,750 ft). The Commonwealth of Dominica has an estimated population of 72,500. The capital is Roseau.

A Pair of Ecuadorian Amazon Red-Lored  Parrots
A Pair of Ecuadorian Amazon Red-Lored Parrots by Crispin Swan

Dominica has been nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" for its seemingly unspoiled natural beauty. It is the youngest island in the Lesser Antilles, still being formed by geothermal-volcanic activity, as evidenced by the world's second-largest boiling lake.

The island features lush mountainous rainforests, home of many very rare plant, animal, and bird species. There are xeric areas in some of the western coastal regions, but heavy rainfall can be expected inland. The Sisserou parrot, the island's national bird, is featured on the national flag. Dominica's economy is heavily dependent on both tourism and agriculture.

Trafalgar Falls
Trafalgar Falls by globaltraveller

Dominica is largely awninged by rainforest and is home to the world's second-largest boiling lake. state has many waterfalls, springs, and rivers. The Calibishie area in the country's northeast has blonde beaches. Some plants and animals thought to be nonexistent on surrounding islands can ease be institute in Dominica's forests. The volcanic nature of the island has attracted scuba divers. The island has several protected areas, including Cabrits National Park. state has 365 rivers.

Morne Trois Pitons National Park is a tropical forest blended with scenic volcanic features. It was recognized as a World Heritage Site on April 4, 1995, a secernment it shares with four other sea islands.

Roseau, Dominica, The Caribbean
Roseau, Dominica, The Caribbean by DMF Photography

The Caribbean Sea offshore of the island of Dominica is home to many cetaceans. Most notably a group of sperm whales live in this area year round. Other cetaceans commonly seen in the area include spinner dolphins, pantropical spotted dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. Less commonly seen animals include killer whales, false killer whales, pygmy sperm whales, dwarf sperm whales, Risso's dolphins, common dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, humpback whales and Bryde's whales. This makes Dominica a destination for tourists interested in whale-watching.

Roseau, Dominica
Roseau, Dominica by Jasperdo

There are two diminutive airports on the island. The primary airport, Melville Hall Airport (DOM), is on the north coast and is about a 45-minute drive from Portsmouth. The second is Canefield Airport (DCF), about 15 minutes from Roseau on the south coast. Neither airport is suitable for advertizement jets cod to runway length, demand of runway lights, and demand of helper landing system, but Melville Hall currently has regular assist by American Eagle and LIAT using twin aeroplane aircraft same the De Havilland Dash 8. A runway spreading and assist raise send began at Melville Hall around 2006 and is still in advancement as of early 2009.

Dominica Street Musician
Dominica Street Musician by Serena_DeAzul 007

Music and dance are important facets of Dominica's culture. The annual independence celebrations show an outburst of traditional strain and dance preceded since 1997 by weeks of Creole expressions such as \"Creole in the Park\" and the \"World Creole Music Festival\". Dominica gained prominence on the international penalization initiate when in 1973, Gordon Henderson founded the group Exile One and an original musical genre which he coined \"Cadence-lypso\" which paved the way for modern Creole music.

Calibishie village beach
Calibishie village beach by OpenEnglishWeb

Dominican cuisine is similar to that of other Caribbean countries. Common main courses comprise of meat (usually chicken, but can be goat, lamb, or beef) covered in sauce. the sauces are either spicy pepper sauces, or concoctions made from local fruit. A huge variety of local fruit, from tamarind to passion fruit, are served on the island, usually in juice or sauce form. Soursop is peeled and eaten raw. Sorrel, a red flower that only blooms around Christmas, is boiled into a bright red drink.