Marco has just brought the morning croissants and the espresso has heated up and the streets of Gustavia are still silent on a Sunday. 

It might even be the hour of the decollage, occasion for the French West Indies’ centuries-old rhum blanc, sugar and lime ritual, before watching the first flight make its way over the harbor back to San Juan. 

But here in the early hours of a St Barth morning, it’s the view that intoxicates. 

Because the greatest villas should always start with the view. 

Here at Villa ANG in the hills above Gustavia, you’re treated to what is one of the truly iconic panoramas, a window into a rarefied corner of the world. 

And like the the most legendary vistas, it’s one you can simply watch. 

By day, you get the romantic hum of the planes making their way in and out of Remy de Haenen Airport; the charming bustle of this wonderful old town. 

By night, it’s the dotted lights of the nearby hills and straight across from St Maarten, like fireflies in the heat of a French Caribbean evening. 

And while the energy is palpable, you’re also wonderfully removed; up here, it’s serene, it’s quiet and Gustavia is a painting on an unseen wall. 

It’s almost as if you’re floating. 

But when you turn around to gaze at Villa Angelina, you begin to appreciate the rest of the story. 

The four-bedroom property is at once a classic French West Indies villa and a sleek, contemporary estate, with an impressive indoor-outdoor layout that means you’re always looking at the view, always in nature, always reminded of the breezy, lush, carefree aesthetic that defines this island. (The airy, indoor outdoor layout is something that’s even more appealing amid the current realities of travel). 

Climb up to the hillside master suite, an architectural gem in its own right, and the view is enhanced; new corners of the capital emerge. 

Every inch of this property has been carefully conceived; from an indoor-outdoor entertainment room abutting the pool to spectacular art and photography all across the walls. 

And yet, all of the rooms come back to this view, to this marvelous, massive infinity pool, the latter the anchor to the home. 

Because there’s something special about this view in Gustavia. 

This is an island with no shortage of magnificent views, whether you’re look at the little islands in Anse des Cayes or the shimmering turquoise of Cul de Sac. 

But to be here, above one of the most exclusive, beautiful harbors in the world, to float above it, is something different entirely.

And then there’s the aforementioned Marco, our WIMCO Villas private concierge, who attends to every need of the week, whether it’s getting breakfast delivered, finding a table at Tamarin or even procuring the rum for an early ti’ punch. 

That’s the essence of the WIMCO difference, the detail-focused attention that turns a vacation villa into your own private home in St Barth. 

Of course, there are St Barth villas and there are St Barth villas. 

This is, decidedly, the latter. 

For more, visit WIMCO Villa ANG. 

See more in the latest CJ Video below:

— CJ

The post In St Barth, the Art of the Perfect Villa appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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St Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport is reporting “positive trend” for the upcoming winter tourist season, according to officials. 

St Maarten first reopened its borders for international tourism in July, and arrivals are seeing an uptick, airport officials said in a statement. 

Most airlines have already restarted their routes to the Dutch Caribbean destination “and indicated that the demand for St Maarten is high compared to other Caribbean destinations,” the airport said. 

Since reopening, visitor arrivals to the airport grew “from 12 percent in August to 20 percent in October,” according to the report. 

So far in November, PJIA said it noticed “continuous growth in recovery,” while acknowledging the the global travel station remains “fragile, with increased lockdowns in Europe and a rapidly growing outbreak in the United States.”

“The numbers are nowhere near the levels PJIA needs for its business recovery, however it is promising to see a positive trend in passenger numbers,” airport officials said.

Indeed, many Caribbean destinations are showing an uptick in arrivals as their reopenings continue.

“While PJIAE was in hibernation mode, we appointed a Covid-19 Taskforce. The objective for the Taskforce was to implement all the necessary prevention and control measures to keep staff, the airport community, and our visitors safe,” said Princess Juliana International Airport CEO Brian Mingo. “This allowed us to reopen and run the airport in a safe way, allowing PJIAE and Sint Maarten to start its road to recovery.”

— CJ

The post St Maarten: “Positive Trend” For Upcoming Tourist Season appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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If you can’t be in the Caribbean this holiday season, the new Christmas album by reggae star Shaggy will fill your stocking with island cheer.

The multi-Grammy Award winner and native of Kingston, Jamaica says the record was inspired by seeing so many tourists coming down to Jamaica for the holidays without necessarily getting introduced to the different Christmas traditions of the Caribbean, like drinking sorrel and kids shopping for toys at the Grand Market on Christmas morning.

“The Caribbean has a different vibe at Christmas than New York,” the artist said from his stateside home on Long Island. “It’s almost like a Carnival season — the family gathers, but there’s also back-to-back parties.”

Christmas in the Islands, released on Nov. 20, throws in a couple of sentimental favorites, with Shaggy taking a solo turn on I’ll Be Home for Christmas and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. But the bulk of the 15-track record are uptempo original holiday songs recorded in collaboration with more than a dozen other artists, from relative unknowns to A-listers like Beenie Man and Joss Stone.

“It’s a party CD,” says Shaggy, who said he enjoys collaborating with new artists who are unafraid to take risks — like doing a dancehall Christmas song, for example. “My collaborators are people I have a relationship with,” he adds, lending the sense of trust needed to make a record like Christmas in the Islands authentic and not just a walk-through.

If the title sounds vaguely familiar, it’s perhaps because Jimmy Buffett recorded the similarly titled Christmas Island in 1995 and, before that, a song called Christmas in the Caribbean.

Shaggy laughs at the Buffett comparison.

“Jimmy Buffett — that guy made an empire on one goddamn song,” he said. “He’s my hero.”

It’s no surprise that an artist whose biggest hits have included “It Wasn’t Me” and “Mr. Boombastic” readily shakes off critics and doesn’t hesitate to take chances that other, more image-conscious singers might not, whether that’s sampling the syrupy pop song “Angel of the Morning,” recording something as potentially uncool as a Christmas album, or unexpectedly teaming up with Sting for the surprise hit album 44/876 in 2018.

Shaggy describes his partnership with the former Police frontman-turned-ballad crooner as the result of a random encounter in the studio — the two share a manager — but said the artists bonded instantly over a shared love of reggae, ska, and calypso music.

“Sting is the brother I didn’t know I needed,” he laughs.

“My music is really a hybrid,” continues Shaggy. “I’m not going to say I’m going to [be] Bob Marley only better, so I have to do me.”

“I don’t take nothing about music too seriously,” he adds. “Some people say music is like birthing a child. That’s fucking bullshit. I can write a song every hour — it’s not a child, it’s a song.

“Every major artist you know, including Bob Marley and the Beatles, had more flops than hits. Nobody remembers the flops.”

Shaggy served in the United States Marine Corps during the Gulf War and shuttles frequently between New York and Jamaica, but leaves no doubt about where he considers home.

“I’m a Kingstonian,” he proudly declares, fondly recalling his grandmother — otherwise partial to Mahalia Jackson and Patty Page records — introducing him to the sounds of reggae pioneers Toots and the Maytals as a young child in the early 1970s.

Looking back at his grandmother, who Shaggy describes as a proper “church woman”, “I was like, how the fuck did Toots get into the middle of this?” He says. “When I did a record with Toots, it felt like I had made it — I wish she could have seen that.”

Whether it’s the music, or the food, or the people, “You should not come down here to a little resort and that’s it,” Shaggy advises Jamaica visitors. “If you come to Jamaica and you don’t experience the culture, you’re missing out.”

“This island of three million people, think about the impact it has had on the world,” he said, name dropping people of Jamaican heritage like Colin Powell and Kamala Harris. “It’s really amazing.”

“We’re the best of everything, whether we’re doing good or bad,” he says with a laugh while encouraging travelers to put Kingston, and especially Nine Mile and the Bob Marley Museum, on their vacation itinerary.

For the singer, some of the best of the Jamaica includes stopping at the fish fry at Screechies on Hellshire Beach in St. Catherine Parish or the Portland Jerk Center in Port Antonio.

And just like a lot of touristsH, Shaggy can sometimes be found rafting on the Rio Grande River.

“I go with a bunch of my friends,” he says. “One raft is the sound system, and the other is a bar. It’s crazy — we jump off into the river, stop halfway for lunch — it’s one of my favorite things to do.”

While you may or may not get surprised by Shaggy and his crew around the next bend on the Rio Grande, the Jamaican musical icon is sure to keep listeners guessing with every song he records.

“When you hear a Shaggy record you know what you’re getting,” he says. “Some funky, funky shit.”

The post Shaggy Is Spreading Caribbean Christmas Cheer in Jamaica and Beyond appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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The latest Caribbean Photo comes from Caribbean Journal reader Oleg Gutman, who sent in this lovely shot of the beach in Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera in The Bahamas. 

Have you taken a great photo in the Caribbean?

Send it to news@caribjournal.com with CPOTW in the subject line, including your first and last name and the location of the photo. 

It could be the next Caribbean Photo of the Week!

— CJ

The post Caribbean Photo of the Week: On the Beach in Eleuthera, The Bahamas appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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