Monthly Archives: March 2019

FACT CHECK: Are 43 Percent Of Puerto Ricans On Food Stamps?

Puerto Rico,” said Cruz. As of Wednesday, 1.3 million Puerto Ricans … were enrolled in the NAP program, an official from Puerto Rico … of Puerto Rico. NAP is the Puerto Rican equivalent … additional funding for Puerto Rico, including infrastructure …

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In Cayman’s Bodden Town, a Classic Caribbean Beach Village

 

By Alexander Britell and Guy Britton

They came here for the water, for the fresh pond surrounded by maritime birds and and waving reeds.

The early settlers eventually built Mission House, a two-story wooden home, a place that became a haven for Presbyterian missionaries.

Today, the beautifully preserved home is a draw in Bodden Town, the first settlement in the Cayman Islands and its original capital.

caribbean beach cayman

They came here centuries ago, but the view is just as serene.

Bodden Town, on the southern coast of Grand Cayman, is a slice of the Old Cayman, a gentle, breezy village where history is served up with a side of sand.

Step across Bodden Town road from the wetlands and you’ll find a very pretty, very long, uncrowded stretch of beach that is a throwback to a different time in the Caribbean.

caribbean beach cayman

Mission House.

It is a place where you can discover another personality of Grand Cayman, where you can come for the day or for a week and experience a vastly different environment than the deservedly popular Seven Mile Beach corridor, and a place where, if you squint, you can see the early stages of a renaissance.

It’s where you’ll see the Turtle Nest Inn, Bodden Town’s charming little boutique hotel, a closely-guarded secret with a lovely sliver of beach and refreshingly warm, family-run service, equal parts English bed and breakfast and Caribbean beach retreat.

caribbean beach cayman

Travelers flock here for the soaps, made using local ingredients.

Look across the road and you’ll discover Beach Bubbles, a colorful shop run by Nina Squires that has people journeying from across the island to get their hands on her locally-made soaps.

Next door, there’s the new Cayman Cigar Company, a full-fledged cigar factory producing locally-rolled puros and soon, they say, cigars made from tobacco grown right here in the Cayman Islands.

caribbean beach cayman

That’s adjacent to new art gallery showcasing the best of Caymanian art, including works by celebrated local painter John Clark.

The plan is to turn this little mall into an artisan plaza, Squires says, and to help to transform Bodden Town as a tourist destination.

caribbean beach cayman

A torcedor rolls cigars at the Cayman Cigar Company.

“By next season, this place should be jamming,” she says, admiring a new sea turtle mural by local artist Carlos Garcia.

As one travels down Bodden Town road, the component parts of a vibrant beach town emerge: the weekly Grape Tree Fish Fry; the cheekily named Bodden Town Truck Stop and the fresh jerk at the Pirates Eatery.

There are no crowds here, just the kind of Caribbean beach village that’s rather hard to find these days.

caribbean beach cayman

You get your own beach at the Turtle Nest Inn.

Further up the road, Roxanne is serving up cold Caybrew and locally-made Governours Reserve rum at the White House, a new beach club, where the cruise visitors come several mornings each week.

caribbean beach cayman

In the late afternoon, it’s hard to beat the White House.

On the other days, though, or in the late afternoon, this place becomes your own private beach club, with an overwater bar and a restaurant and a pool, and some of the most sparkling turquoise shoreline you’ll ever see.

Because you still come to Bodden Town for the water.

– CJ

The post In Cayman’s Bodden Town, a Classic Caribbean Beach Village appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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Rum Journal: Martinique’s Trois Rivieres Cuvee du Moulin

 

By Alexander Britell

As you drive along the central highway toward the southern coast of Martinique, there are few notable views — save one.

There’s a stunning old stone windmill flanked by a few wooden buildings.

But this is not mere scenery.

It’s one of the oldest rum plantations in Martinique, the venerable Trois Rivieres, a rummaking operation that spans more than three centuries.

This windmill has become the signature symbol of this rum, of the terroir, of the history of the distillery.

And the company’s latest expression is a celebration of it.

It’s called Trois Rivieres Cuvee du olin, or the “Windmill Blend.”

It’s a blend of rhums agricoles that have been aged in both former bourbon and former cognac casks.

So what’s it like?

It’s got a robust aroma with notes of dried apricot, orange zest, dark chocolate and a hint of black pepper.

The flavor profile is marked by, pepper, nougat, orange peel, cacao and charred cane stalk.

The last is no surprise, given that this is a young expression by the standards of rhum agricole, but it also adds a kind of freshness to the taste.

But there’s also an elegance about this rum, one that makes it eminently drinkable and marvelously well rounded.

It’s smooth, it’s refined and it’s quintessentially Martinique. And the perfect rum to honor that wonderful old windmill.

Trois Rivieres Cuvee du Moulin

Rum Journal Review: 90 Points

The post Rum Journal: Martinique’s Trois Rivieres Cuvee du Moulin appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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Puerto Rico Gov. On Trump: ‘If The Bully Gets Close, I’ll Punch The Bully In The Mouth’

… criticism of the White House, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló vowed he … President Trump to stop treating Puerto Ricans as “second-class…

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Airbnb Experiences Launches in Bermuda

 

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Airbnb’s immersive “Experiences” program has officially launched on the island of Bermuda.

Airbnb Experiences now includes 15 experiences in Bermuda, thanks to a partnership between Airbnb and the Bermuda Tourism authority.

“Airbnb Experiences are designed to allow people to immerse themselves in local communities and participate in activities led by local experts, all while encouraging cross-cultural connections between guests and locals.” said Carlos Munoz, Airbnb Campaign Manager, Public Policy and Communications for the Caribbean and Central America. “As a people-powered platform, we are pleased to expand our footprint in Bermuda to now include one-of-a-kind bookable experiences in addition to the hundreds of unique homes to stay in throughout the island.”

The program sees local hosts taking visitors on different kinds of cultural excursions, from a food tour of Hamilton to a journey through a photographic journey through the Bermuda Botanical Gardens.

“Tapping the vast creative and entrepreneurial potential of Bermudians is a major plank of our National Tourism Plan. Airbnb Experiences effectively delivers on that strategy,” said Pat Phillip-Fairn, chief product and experiences development officer at the Bermuda Tourism Authority. “We are very proud of the passionate locals putting Bermuda’s legendary hospitality on display for the world and we encourage others to step forward with their ideas.”

Airbnb Experiences is now in more than 1000 destinations around the world.

— CJ

The post Airbnb Experiences Launches in Bermuda appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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