YARRR! Ahoy matey!Today be international talk like a pirate day – and how appropriate that Lonely Planet’s Caribbean Islands 5 is about to hit the shelves. As you may recall I did a fair bit of work on this project researching and writing about The Turks & Caicos Islands, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines and Grenada. I traveled to something like 16 separate Caribbean islands, saw some amazing things, met some super-cool people and had a great time doing it. It took much work, not just by me but by my 11 other co-authors, commissioning editors, cartographers, copy editors, layout people, several hundred Oompa Loompa’s behind the curtains and countless others to produce what is an absolute kick-ass guide to the Caribbean! We are all really proud with how it turned out – so if you’re looking for some info about heading to paradise be sure to check it out.
And now for the not so nice news… on the night of September 7th Hurricane Ike swept through the North Eastern Caribbean and lay waste to whatever was in its path. The islands of Grand Turk and Salt Cay (in the Turks and Caicos) took a direct hit and I’m saddened to hear the news that 80-90% of building have been destroyed. On my research trip to the region earlier this year, those two islands in particular were real highlights for me. Not only were they stunningly beautiful, with some of the best beaches I’ve ever found (and I’ve sampled a fair few…) but I was also embraced by the local community like no other destination I’ve ever visited. If you recall one of my more memorable posts from the trip where I ended up at the Governor General’s Christmas Party – that all happened on Grand Turk.
before...
after...
When I was on Grand Turk I met a fellow named Neal Hitch – he is the guy that took me to the big party. He’s an American ex-pat who moved to the island a year ago with his wife and three kids – really lovely people. Neal runs the museum on GT and is a really interesting and articulate guy – he has a blog that I’m a regular reader of which tells his story of moving to the Caribbean and starting over. I was really sad to read that Neal’s been impacted by this hurricane as much as anyone on the island – his house that he’s spent the last year fixing up, took a direct hit and was totalled. In the blink of an eye the roof was ripped off and all the contents of the house destroyed. Luckily everyone on both islands survived and there were few injuries of any sort.
This is a part of the world that comes to expect big tropical storms – but nobody expects a category 5 hurricane with winds of 430km/hr to come knocking on the door. Have a read of Neal’s Blog - http://hitch-n-tci.blogspot.com/ although the ordeal that they are going through right now is pretty tough to read about – his strength, honesty and commitment to stick it out is truly inspirational. Also have a read of Porter’s blog over on Salt Cay http://experience-it--island-thyme.blogspot.com/ there is some good up-to-date information on the damage plus the opportunity to dig deep and help out a little island that got flattened.
The Caribbean is a part of the world that has always been near and dear to my heart – and this double-shot of news, both good and bad, only helps to strengthen that bond…
SK
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