Monthly Archives: February 2019

Puerto Rico emerges as 2020 campaign hotspot

… with stateside residents.
Campaigning in Puerto Rico is fraught with unique political … two: Cruz has advocated for Puerto Rican sovereignty, Rosselló for statehood.
So … status he favors, Castro praised Puerto Ricans “self-determination” and …

Powered by WPeMatico

This Island in The Bahamas Is the Blue Hole Capital of the World

 

By Guy Britton

“Beware the Lusca,” he said.

“What’s that?” I said.

The dive instructor smiled and slipped under the surface of the deepest blue hole on Andros Island in The Bahamas, the kind of deep, dark place where these half-octopus, half-shark creatures are said to live.

Blue holes are sinkholes or underwater caves, typically circle-shaped, always with dramatically steep walls. And there are more blue holes on Andros than anywhere else on earth, with 175 of them inland and another 50 scattered around the shallow waters offshore.

bahamas blue holes

The island even has its own Andros Blue Hole National Park, home to 40,000 acres and lots of deep, dark places.

It’s these kinds of unique blue holes and underwater caverns, streams and passageways that only add to the mystery of this island, a place filled with folklore and legend and, they, say, luscas.

bahamas blue holes

Much of this place is unexplored — and it was this otherworldly allure that drew Jacques Cousteau to the park in 1971, when he released a dye in a blue hole located miles inland and later recorded the dye offshore in the tongue of the ocean.

The famed oceanographer’s experiment proved that the blue hole caverns and passageways are connected to the ocean. 

bahamas blue holes

Cousteau’s Blue Hole.

Even today, the depth of Cousteau’s blue hole is unknown.

It’s a raw, natural and impossibly exotic landscape — but while Andros and its environment are at the edge of the frontier, they can be explored — and readily welcome the adventurous traveler.

For one, Andros’ Small Hope Bay Lodge offers guided blue hole adventures for exploration above and below the surface, with several close to the lodge. 

bahamas blue holes

The Rainbow Blue Hole.

Rainbow Blue Hole is the closest, accessible via a short hike though a well maintained nature trail.  Two of the blue holes in the park are equipped with a dock for access to water for those how feel the need for swimming — if you feel like exploring further.

Some people are drawn to swimming and diving in a blue hole; it makes others uneasy, overwhelmed by the mystery of them.

For those who are drawn to diving in these underwater cave entrances, Small Hope Bay has experienced dive guides and organized dive trips in the blue holes — but it’s not something one should do without a very experienced guide.

Because you never know what you may find inside a blue hole.

It could be a lusca.

See more in the latest CJ Video.

— CJ

The post This Island in The Bahamas Is the Blue Hole Capital of the World appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico

A New Couples-Only Hotel Is Coming to Mexico

 

By the Caribbean Journal staff

A new luxury couples-only hotel is coming to Mexico’s Caribbean coastline, Caribbean Journal has learned.

Original Group, known for its couples-only, adult-themed hotels, is expanding with a new boutique couples-only hotel on the Riviera Maya.

The company is perhaps best known for its Temptation brand, which has a property in Cancun.

It’s called Desire Mansion, and it will be set within the Desire Riviera Maya Pearl Resort.

The all-suite property, which will debut in the winter of 2020, will be set in a glass and crystal building with three floors and just eight suites.

Six suites will be “Mansion Suites,” all of which will have their own private swim-up pools; and two “Royal Suites” on the second level.

“We are thrilled to announce Desire Mansion as the latest addition to our growing brand and the place where opulence and sensuality will meet for couples seeking to indulge beyond pleasure,” said Rodrigo de la Peña, CEO of Original Group. “Desire Mansion will offer guests a more intimate and elevated setting within our spectacular Desire Riviera Maya Pearl Resort. The premiere resort-within-a-resort concept will provide a fantastic retreat from the ordinary in every way possible.”

Desire Mansion will also give guests access to their own “clothing optional” areas and an exclusive area on Desire Pearl’s private beach.

Desire presents a couples-only, clothing-optional, adult-centric space where vacationers can explore their fantasies away from home, doing so safely within their own limits, letting all their choices be their own,” Original Group said in a statement.

— CJ

The post A New Couples-Only Hotel Is Coming to Mexico appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico

Puerto Rico (The United States of America): Puerto Rico Gets Boost in Cold-Storage Capacity for Vaccines

… equipping 89 health facilities across Puerto Rico with 164 FDA-compliant, … and clinics approved by the Puerto Rico Department of Health to … come at the request of Puerto Rico’s Department of Health … Charitable Trust and the Puerto Rican Red Cross.

Powered by WPeMatico

The Caribbean’s Newest Floating Bar Is In St John

 

By Alexander Britell

The Willy T. Young Island. Angel’s Rest. D Boat.

They’ve long been in the pantheon of floating bars in the Caribbean: the standalone seagoing bars that take the beach bar to an entirely different level.

And now there’s another one.

The island of St John will soon be home to a new floating bar with a twist: it’s the Caribbean’s first floating taco bar.

It’s called Lime Out, and this solar-powered floating bar is opening soon on the waters of St John.

st john caribbean floating bar

The green focus will extend to the food, with all recyclable cups and biodegradable food containers. No straws will be available either.

If the Lime name sounds familiar it’s because the project is the brainchild of Richard Baranowski, who along with wife Chelsea are behind the Lime Inn bar and restaurant in St John’s Cruz Bay, Chelsea Baranowski told Caribbean Journal.

Owners Richard Baranowski, Dane Tarr and Dylan Buchalter “all grew up together in St John’s Coral Bay, and have always wanted to open a business in the area” — and the result is the Lime Out.

st john caribbean floating bar

The bar is managed by Buchalter, while the chef is Amaro Rivera.

The menu will be tacos and drinks, with specialty tacos like curry chicken and fresh tuna to short rib and even vegan tacos— and they’ll even be offering delivery to nearby boats.

st john caribbean floating bar

Tacos will be at the heart of the menu.

The cocktail list will feature drinks like the Coco Colada and the Harbor Cooler, all named after St John’s youngest generation.

Even better? Lime Out will also have a swim-up bar.

st john caribbean floating bar

Lime Out, which is set to officially debut in the next few weeks, instantly becomes a major new destination bar and another strong step in St John’s and the US Virgin Islands’ tourism recovery.

For more, visit Lime Out.

— CJ

The post The Caribbean’s Newest Floating Bar Is In St John appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico