Caribbean 2

I will be continuing my Caribbean observation. For me to go to a place for vacation includes being free to move around and discover whatever is there to discover. If I am restricted in my movements it is not worth the money to go there.

Restrictions can be caused by political, physical and sociological reasons. Political is in Cuba. But anyway, that place is not in my bucket list. Physical might be that the resort is so isolated that there is no place to go. Sociological is the poverty level of the local population. And this is the prevailing condition  that occurs in some Caribbean islands.

For me, to go to an island and being able to go around in a rented car and try various local restaurants and other things the island offers, like casinos, shopping is half the vacation. Sitting under the sun and enjoy the beautiful Caribbean sea is important but I want more. 

There are islands that are big with their all-inclusive resorts. These resorts offer a multitude of restaurants on premises, unlimited drinking, and good entertainment. They make want to make sure the people have no reason to go out of the boundaries. The main reason for not going out is that it is not safe.

Jamaica and Dominican Republic are two of these places that I know of. They openly discourage their vacationers against going out. In my opinion. when a tourist has more money in his pocket than the poor local makes in a year, he is a sitting duck for trouble. It is a very unfortunate situation because both of these islands are beautiful places but the majority of the vacationers have no opportunity to discover it.

I felt perfectly safe in Aruba, Curacao and St. Maarten. In these places I had rented cars and was able to go around freely and discover the natural beauties these island have to offer as well as their restaurants, casinos and shopping.

When I visited Aruba and Curacao the first time the Dutch influence was still there. In later years when Americans started to come this influence started to fade. MacDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken and others started to spoil the landscape. 

I love Dutch split pea soup. It is made with ham and tastes very good. I had it in Aruba and it was easy to find it there. I mentioned earlier that St. Maarten is totally Americanized. When I went there the first time I was hoping to get it there, too. But, no luck. They didn't even know what I was talking about. Sad!

But I had goat stew instead.

ricanized.  

I love Dutch split pea soup. It is made with ham and tastes fantastic. I had it in Aruba where it was easy to find. When I qwent to St. Maarten the first time I was hoping to get it there, too. 

Fr