MI CREACION

Where’s The
What’s The
Is this The
Wildest Flight? Top Resort?
P.38
Best Sand?
P. 41 P. 30
®
Burning
Caribbean
Where
Can You
Wake Up To
this
view?
P. 39
Ques∏ions
HawaiI
“Toughest Photo
Shoot Ever”
Vietnam
“Indulgent &
Unpolished”
Bahamas
“You Call
This a Getaway?”
What
are the
top 5
all-inclusives?
P. 69
November 2011 u.s. $4.99

28
steve simonsen

Burning
Caribbean
Questions
If you wet your
pants when landing
on a Caribbean
island, does it
mean you’re excited?
Not always.
Is it
Care-uh-BEE-un,
or is it
Kuh-rib-ee-un?
The indisputable answer is ... Caribbean. The pronunciation is
optional, like “potato,” a word that originated
in (yep) the Caribbean. And by the way, this photo is of the
USVI’s Waterlemon Cay, not Watermelon Cay.

Burning
Caribbean
Questions
what’s the wildest flight?
By Edward Readicker-Henderson
Here’s how it was explained to
1 me: When flying out of Saba
(see p. 42), the plane does not
so much take off from the runway, but
simply goes straight off a cliff, 100 feet
or so above the booming ocean. And
then, if all goes well, it keeps going.
Oddly enough, learning this does
not fill me with confidence. It only adds
fuel to the claims that Saba’s Juancho E.
Yrausquin Airport is the world’s most
terrifying to leave. ∏he shortest commercial
runway in the world — just 1,300
feet — has only one side not hanging
near a cliff, and that one ends in buildings
that don’t look particularly soft.
Oh, there’s one more thing: I’m told
that the landing in St. Barts at the other
end of the flight is even worse. It will
make flying off a cliff look almost sane.
I’m not a nervous flier by any means.
I’ve been in floatplanes that landed
Planes fly in to
St. Barts so low that
cars beneath
practically lose
paint from their roofs.
near whales. I’ve taken off straight into
clouds full of mountains. I’ve been at an
airport where the terminal was a hodgepodge
of disused truck campers.
But this flight is enough to make me
swear my feet will never leave the ground
again. At least not in the Caribbean.
Because never mind flying straight off
a cliff. (“∏hat actually makes things a
little easier,” a pilot later tells me. He
says with such small prop planes, pilots
could probably, maybe, perhaps restart
the engines and pull up before splashdown.)
Instead, think for a minute
about the St. Barts landing. Planes fly in
so low that the cars beneath practically
what’s the weirdest …
2
view of a landing
At Maho Beach on St. Martin,
you have the sand, the sea and
the occasional 747 coming
in for a landing on your towel.
Bring quality ear plugs.
3
airport welcome
After touching down in Utila,
your pilot will most likely
maneuver around donkeys and
cows that frequent the tarmac.
Terminal? What terminal?
4
airport bar
The rum punch is OK at Jet’s
Bar in Belize. Most memorable
is Jet himself. He’s 4’4”
and has only stopped once (for a
heart attack) in 40 years.
lose paint from their roofs. ∏hey have
to fly over a mountain like it’s a speed
bump, fly straight down the other side
of the mountain and level out to land.
Maybe on a skateboard that’d be
OK. But in a plane going more than
100 miles an hour? I suddenly understand
why rum is cheap and as common
as water on these islands. You won’t
be ordering it from a flight attendant,
though. Not on this flight. ∏akeoff and
landing are only 15 minutes apart.
Only a few aircraft, all S∏OL — “short
takeoff and landing” special designs —
have been approved for Saba. Oh, we’re
told that three of them are broken today.
“We’ve never had a plane crash,”
says Saba hotel keeper Wim Schutten.
“Never. What, you think they’re going
to risk a whole plane of people?”
Finally, an unbroken plane appears
out of a cloud. One moment, it’s 100
feet over the ocean. ∏he next, it’s on
the tarmac, still 100 feet over the ocean.
No margin for error there. One misjudgment
of altitude, and the plane
would have tripped like a kid trying to
run upstairs in wooden shoes.
∏he passengers walk out, looking
slightly stunned. And then you can
almost see that moment when their eyes
focus again and they see how the island
towers above in a thousand shades of
green. A few nerves are a small price to
pay to arrive somewhere this beautiful.
But I’m going the other direction. I’m
leaving Saba in the pre-stunned phase. I
climb into the plane, wondering whose
bright idea these airports were: Saba’s,
built like a tightrope, and St. Barts’,
built like a ski jump. I pray that the
rum punch lasts me another 15 minutes.
And then the words of a Saban come
to mind: “It’s not scary. It’s exciting.”
I’m sure I’ll agree when we land in St.
Barts. For now, it’s time to buckle the
seat belts. | what about landing a job? >>
from top: photolibrary.com; jon whittle; zach stovall; opposite: papix/sipa press
30

Landing on St.
Barts tingles the
necks of plane passengers,
pilots and
bystanders. Ferry
service to the island
is also available.
31

Burning
Caribbean
Questions
What’s The Best Job In …
the bahamas
5 The sun shines more than 300
days a year here. So, to be a
lifeguard, you’re required to sit under a
thatched umbrella on some of the world’s
purest beaches. And sometimes nobody is
even using the beach you guard over.
barbados
8 Those oak barrels are loaded with
what many call the best rum on
the planet — straight from the sugar-cane
fields near the Mount Gay distillery. Jobs
range from cleaning the barrels with fire
to sit-down management positions.
guadeloupe
6 It started with dreadlocks. But to
be a hairdresser now in the islands
means you can turn any locks into
braids, weaves, interlocks, microbraids,
silky dreads, flat twists or invisible braids.
Do they look good on tourists? Um ...
turks and Caicos
9 Before turning a conch shell into
a napkin holder, this guy uses a
pick, a brush and some baby oil to make it
pretty. He feels good about working on the
region’s only conch farm, which keeps the
wild conchs from being overharvested.
st. lucia
7 It takes strength to climb 20-foot
coconut palms with no branches
to grab. These guys don’t cheat by sliding
back down, either, and they sometimes
have run-ins with rats. To stay fit, they
drink what they reap: coconut water.
trinidad
10 The world’s best cocoa beans —
pure Trinitario — need a special
touch. This man, Mr. Felix, is roasting
beans over an open fire to bring out the
flavor before they’re ground. It could very
well be the best-smelling job around.
11. Jamaica: Poling a raft on the Rio Grande has its benefits.
The water is cool. The pace is leisurely.
And the tips from guests include cash and Red Stripes.
clockwise from top left: peter adams/alamy; iris kuerschner/alamy; david stuart/getty images; jen judge; peter frank edwards; zach stovall; opposite: jon whittle
32

You’re traveling
into rarely visited
territory, secure
in the hands of
an island guide.
But what if you
were truly left
alone? All alone.
33

To lord over the
water, beach and
vistas of Thomas
Cay seemed like
a fantasy. Finding
shelter and food
posed the problem.
matthew miller (2)

Burning
Caribbean
Questions
Want
an
island
all to
yourself?
by Matthew Miller
It sounded great. A chance
12 to have a Caribbean island
(∏homas Cay in the Exumas)
all to myself. Unlimited sand, sun and
sea for my exclusive use. No iPhone,
∏V or Internet, no world financial crisis
or lawn maintenance. Count me in.
“Bring a mosquito net,” advised an
inhabitant of a nearby island. “And
have you thought about food?”
Actually, no. I hadn’t. And then David
Hocher, owner of Staniel Cay Yacht Club
— home of the Exumas’ happiest happy
hour, where I will not be drinking cold
Kaliks this afternoon — drops me off
on my island. Or at least close enough
so I can wade to it. In front of me is a
sun-blazed white beach straight out of
a middle manager’s corporate-office
daydream. David motors away, leaving
me standing in water up to my thighs
with the sun already burning my neck.
35

I steal glances
at the next cay
north. Is that
island inhabited?
Maybe by chefs
and bartenders?
Is it worth
swimming over
to find out?
For the next 26 hours I’ll be alone
with a pocket knife, a fishing pole, a hammock
and no way home. I squint at the
beach and the boat’s disappearing wake.
What if he doesn’t come back? What if
I fall in a blue hole? Are there snakes in
paradise? But I have work to do. I have to
explore the island for the best hammockhanging
trees and set up a sun shade.
And I need to find something to eat.
Nine hours later I’m standing on a
tide-worn cliff, muttering. “∏ake the
hook. Please?” ∏here’s no one around to
hear me. I know there are fish. Earlier,
near my beachside campsite, a big parrotfish
swam past me without fear, along
with snappers, jacks and other delicious
creatures. I should’ve fashioned a spear
from a palm frond. Now the fish nip at
the bait — tap, tap, tap — teasing me.
∏he hook comes up empty again. I
pull another whelk (sea snail) from my
damp hip pocket and impale it on the
hook. All along I steal glances across the
channel separating me from the next cay
north. Is that island inhabited? Maybe by
chefs and bartenders? Is it worth swimming
over there to find out? I contemplate
what’s in the water and wonder if
it (whatever “it” is) is as hungry as me.
For a change of scenery, I climb the
cliff and peer over the sandstone cornice
at another wild beach beyond. Scrubpalm
jungle runs a mile down the length
of my island. Somewhere out there are
feral goats and pigs I might eventually
chase down and eat. ∏he incoming tide
below floods the pools where I found
the whelks. So the five I have left are it
for today. Back to the water.
“∏his is my last cast,” I swear to the
fading horizon. If the fish like the taste of
my whelks so much, I might just eat them
myself. But then I feel the taps again.
∏he line goes taut. ∏he rod wiggles in
my hands. “Oh!” ∏he gratitude hits me.
“I caught a fish!” I’m going to eat it.
∏he sun is setting as I run back to
camp, careful not to fall and cut my hands
on the jagged rocks. I build a quick fire
out of driftwood and long-neglected lessons
— teepee of twigs, cabin of kindling,
ignited with a waterproof match. ∏his is
fresh fish, five minutes from sea to coals.
I pull the meat loose with my fingers. It
tastes good. I try the whelks too, a cross
between clams and rubber bands. I have
no lemon sorbet to cleanse my palate.
As the daylight dies, mosquitoes and
sand fleas attack, biting me a dozen times
before I’m done eating. ∏he half moon
casts enough light to see by as I climb
into my hammock, unbathed. I wrap
myself in a sheet against the insects, covering
my face like a mummy. “Paradise!” I
declare, my voice muffled by surf crashing
on the shoreline — my shoreline.
Still, it would be sweeter if paradise had
chocolate-chip cookies and fluffy pillows.
| where’s the best place to sleep? >>
matthew miller; opposite, clockwise from top left: panoramic images/getty images; peter frank edwards;
jason de caires taylor (2); critsey rowe photography; mauricio handler/corbis
36

Burning
Caribbean
Questions
what’s in the water?
pufferfish
How cute. The little guy becomes
a big guy by drawing water into
his stomach, as if to say, “Go ahead. Mess
with me now.” Don’t. Some puffer species
can bite off toes. And if eaten, toxins
in the meat can be lethal within hours.
swimming Pigs
Bring lunch to Big Major Cay at
the southern end of the Bahamas,
and first the seagulls will appear. Then
come the pigs. Thought to have been left
here by sailors, the swine trot off their private
beach and swim out to meet boaters.
13 14 15
Faces of the stars
Dive down to 30 feet off Mexico’s
Isla Mujeres and you’ll think you
stumbled into a flash mob. More than 400
life-size statues were placed here to take
pressure from divers off the natural reef.
Marine organisms seem to appreciate art.
screaming sponges
Stove-pipe sponges have no
muscles and no nerves. What they
do have are rubbery filtering tubes that
sometimes take on strange shapes, like
this freak show off the coast of Curaçao.
Brides and Grooms
Destination weddings are trendy
in the Caribbean — literally in
the Sea. The Hotel Caravelle in St. Croix
even has an underwater wedding
package. Watch out for party crashers.
16 17 18
All but the kitchen sink
Off Grenada, snorkelers can find
a platter of fish and chips, a man
riding a bike, and a lunch table for visitors.
They’re among 65 underwater sculptures,
giving creatures new places to hang out.
19. Riches: ISLANDS contributor Jad Davenport has seen the original
account in the Archives of the West Indies that $3 million in Inca treasure
lies off the northern coast of Dominica. “It’s definitely there.”
37

Take an exclusive
video tour
of this room.
islands.com/jade
alison wright; from top: peter brown/courtesy
island outpost; jad davenport

Burning
Caribbean
Questions
What’s the best place to ...
Do absolutely nothing
20 “The architect must be a nudist.” My wife
declares this as if in a trance, floating on her
back in our infinity pool at Jade Mountain resort.
I remind her nudists are nude in public. Our sanctuary’s
wall-free view only feels public. “Nobody can
see us,” I tell her. No response. Her arms sway gently
from her sides. Ripples cascade over the pool’s invisible
edge. St. Lucia’s Pitons tower in the distance,
visible throughout our suite. “We could go for a hike
... or not,” I ponder. Silence. More ripples. I notice my
wife’s ears are submerged. Can she hear me? “Even
our bathroom has no walls,” she says softly. “The
architect must be a nudist.” She hasn’t heard a word
I’ve said. “Let’s stay right here,” she announces.
It’s a perfect idea. | can sand put your feet to sleep?
By Eddy Patricelli
Write Your First Novel
21 Ian Fleming once demanded twomonth
vacations to write at his estate
in St. Mary, Jamaica, now the jewel of
GoldenEye resort. Fleming’s writing desk
(007’s birthplace) still beckons. So do
villas Vesper, Honey Chile and Solitaire.
sleep over the water
22 The South Pacific’s over-water
huts have a luxurious Caribbean rival.
Belize’s Cayo Espanto offers a private
over-water bungalow off a private dock
on a private island. All of it a short flight
from, well, your not-so-private daily life.
39

Burning
Caribbean
Questions
We Gotta Ask About...
23
Small Cars
WHY ARE THEY so SMALL?
Rent a “full-size” car on a
smaller Caribbean island and
you’ll wonder who cut it in
half. Except on U.S. territories
like Puerto Rico, the cars
come from Europe, where the
concept of “small” rules. High
taxes and expensive shipping
are also factors — the more
cars you can fit on the boat, the
better. Add in the narrow roads
and limited parking spaces,
and micro-cars are the result.
24
Roosters
WHY ARE THERE so MANY?
Roll down the windows of
your little rental car out in the
Caribbean countryside and
you’ll hear the constant blaring
of fowl. Chickens, or pollos, are
a major food source. Anyone
can raise them, and they do.
Problem is, the best ratio is 1
rooster to about 15 hens. More
roosters than that, and the
hens die too young from stress.
And that leaves nothing but
roosters, roosters everywhere.
25
Smoked meat
WHY IS IT EVERYWHERE?
Yes, they’re smoking something
in the Caribbean. Chicken, beef,
fish and anything people in the
United States might otherwise
throw into a deep fryer.
Whereas Americans want food
and want it now, cooking meat
slowly fits the overall Caribbean
lifestyle. They started
the smoking process centuries
ago as a way to preserve food
in poor areas, with the added
benefit of warding off bugs.
Nassau
Facts
188 miles
to Fort
Lauderdale
300 miles
to The
Caribbean Sea
Caribbean
Sea
Nassau
Cuba
The
Bahamas
Hispanola
Atlantic
Ocean
26
The Bahamas
WHY ARE THEY considered part OF THE caribbean?
You can take a “Caribbean cruise” to the Bahamas. Dive guides here talk of exploring
“Caribbean water.” But the Bahamas are in Atlantic water. Nassau, the capital, is no
closer to the Caribbean Sea than New York City is to Ohio. A source at Bahamas Tourism
says, “Our cultural background in music and food is fully Caribbean. So is the vibe.
There are marketing benefits too. What good would it do to say we’re ‘in the Atlantic’?”
from left: istock (2); zach stovall (2)
40

Is This the Best Sand?
By zach stovall
I’m enthralled with Cabbage Beach on Paradise Island (Nassau) and Playa Zoni on Culebra. Same
27 with the beach in ∏ulum, Mexico. But Barbuda holds the title for the best sand, hands down. ∏he
sand used to be excavated from Barbuda’s inland deposits and sent on barges to other Caribbean
islands. It’s that perfect. ∏he first time I set foot on Barbuda’s 17-mile beach, I sank down almost to my calf. It
was fluffy, like the foam on a cappuccino. Strung in bands along the waterline were millions of tiny pink shells.
∏hey turn the Barbuda sand pink. Not the subtle pink like you find on Harbor Island. Vibrant pink, unlike any
sand I’d ever seen. ∏here’s no seaweed or beach wrack or footprints. ∏hat’s because there’s almost no development
and very little tourism on Barbuda. ∏he locals prefer it that way. So do I. Because the greatest part of
the Caribbean’s best sand is having nothing on it except my sinking feet. | But what if there’s no sand at all? >>
Shoot
This
Photo
p. 82

jochem wijnands/age fotostock

Burning
Caribbean
Questions
why live
on a
sandless
island?
By Edward Readicker-Henderson
I have come to what may be
28 exactly what you aren’t looking
for: a Caribbean island with
no beach. But wait. “We do too have a
beach,” protests Glenn Holm, director of
tourism for the island of Saba. We’re in
his car, going up a steep mountain. “Every
summer it shows up for a little while.”
Flying in, it’s impossible to figure
where a beach might go. ∏he island
rises almost straight out of the ocean, so
exotic looking, so dramatic, no wonder
it was used as Skull Island, home of the
big monkey in King Kong (the real 1933
version, not the computer-generated
abomination of a few years ago).
If Dr. Seuss designed an island, this is
exactly what you’d get. ∏rees growing into
the shape of a Möbius strip, a mountain
peak hidden in clouds and twee Dutchstyle
houses that have survived centuries
of hurricanes. ∏wo guys own really fancy
cars that they might get up to 20 mph
on abrupt downhills that end where
waves start splashing pavement. And
the island’s jail has three cells — they’re
used only when all the hotels are full.
Saba’s road took
ingenuity to build
and decades to
complete. It leads
to the island’s infamous
airstrip, with
no beach in sight.
43

Before the
road was completed,
trails were
the only way up
and down the
rocky island.
One trail, to the top
of Mount Scenery,
has exactly 1,064
steps. It’s a
three-hour hike.
As a crow — or, here, maybe a magnificent
frigatebird — flies, Saba is about as
close to the swank resorts of St. Barts as
the back parking lot at Disney World is
to Cinderella’s castle. But it might as well
be a different planet. When I check in
to my hotel, one of its patrons is making
good on a bet he lost to the hotel’s manager
— by doing belly-flops in the pool.
“∏his is a normal Sunday night on
Saba?” I ask the manager.
“Oh, it’s not even dark yet,” he says.
He’s right. So I stroll up to a perch in
Windward, the village closest to the top
of Mount Scenery — yes, that’s really
the name of the peak, and it fits. I watch
the day sink into the ocean, while below
me the mountain also drops into the
water. ∏here isn’t a grain of sand in sight.
∏he next morning I see the importance
of Saba’s only road, called,
understandably, ∏he Road. People can’t
walk along a beach, so they walk the road.
Hard to believe the Dutch government
spent 10 years trying to build it. ∏hen
it gave up, which is easier to believe. A
local man named Josephus Lambert
Hassell took an engineering course
by mail and figured out how to finish
it. ∏ook another 20 years because the
whole island is so steep, but he became a
local hero. Until he completed the road
in 1958, everything still moved on trails.
Not easy when the freshwater spring is at
sea level and your house is at 2,500 feet.
I notice nobody complains. Saba is
unto itself more than anywhere else I’ve
been. ∏he island is Dutch (technically,
Mount Scenery is the highest point in the
Netherlands) but they use U.S. dollars.
Development plans get nixed because
parents remember sleeping just fine on
banana leaves. “∏he leaves rustled,” says
Sandra Johnson, “so our parents knew we
couldn’t get into any trouble.”
Residents don’t seem to realize, or
care, that there’s no beach. Glenn and I
drive over the only flat land on the entire
island — big enough for a church, a couple
of tennis courts and a medical school
full of Canadians — and then it’s down
a steep, winding hill (“Yeah, we replace
our brakes a lot,” he says) to Well’s Bay.
Glenn has a surprise for me.
“∏he beach,” he says. So this is where it
is. Or was. Or will be. Right now, it’s wild
waves coming in over rocks.
“∏he sand is out there,” Glenn says,
gesturing at the ocean. “It all comes in
during the summer, and it’s a great beach.”
And how magical is that? A beach
that comes and goes with the season,
appearing and disappearing like the
world’s best slow-motion magic trick.
Nobody’s telling me when it will come
or how long it will stay. Like any good
magic trick, the beach is the island’s
secret, revealed only to locals, and the
select few who happen to be here when
it happens. | Caribbean food secrets >>
bradley smith/corbis; opposite, clockwise from top left: istock (4); neal peters collection; latitudestock/getty images
44

Burning
Caribbean
Questions
do you know this is ...
a sand factory
Some sand comes from crushed
shells. But loads come from this
parrotfish. It can produce two tons of sand
in one year. How? The grains are undigested
coral that she excretes. Which explains
why we shower when leaving the beach.
the sea’s smartest life
If you’re looking for the brainiest
living creature in the Caribbean,
take a dip in the water off Little Tobago.
What is believed to be the largest brain
coral in the world lives here (10 feet by 16
feet, or 1,200 times the size of your brain).
29 30 31
baby turtle paradise
One in 1,000 green sea turtles (at
most) will survive birds, fish and
other perils on the way from the birthing
nest to adulthood. Odds are much better
at Grand Cayman’s sea-turtle farm, which
has released 31,000 turtles since 1968.
A lake hotter than soup
The island of Dominica is home
to the region’s warmest lake. No
swimming! It’s called simply Boiling Lake
for a reason: Water temperatures consistently
reach over 200 degrees.
not where you thought
The movie Pirates of the Caribbean:
On Stranger Tides was strange
indeed because only two scenes were
filmed in the Caribbean (Puerto Rico). The
others were shot on the Hawaiian Islands.
32 33 34
a very lonely place
There are 7,000 islands in the
Caribbean. Visit one every day
and it would take more than 19 years to
see them all. You’d be lonely too, because
only 2 percent of the islands are inhabited.
35. A stretch: Grand Cayman’s famed Seven Mile Beach is 5 1/ 2 miles.
36. A snow job: The closest thing to snowfall was a mix of snow and rain in Grand Bahama (1977).
37. Not so hot: It’s rare for the islands to reach 100 degrees. Dominica’s 10-year high is 95.
Take the Caribbean Facts Quiz: islands.com/caribfacts
45

Where is it from?
By Ramin Ganeshram
∏he Caribbean’s most iconic foods — those tasty nibbles that call to mind an island paradise
— aren’t really Caribbean at all. In fact, these beloved foods are an edible palimpsest, every
bite telling a nuanced story of history upon history: etched down, forgotten, rewritten and
embellished again and again. A story of native peoples, European conquerors, slaves and indentured
servants. ∏his pictured feast may employ cooking methods from native Caribs, Arawaks
and ∏ainos, but they’re mixed with cooking techniques from England and Spain, mixed with
ingredients from the South Pacific, Africa, India and Australia. All in one meal! We call it
Caribbean cuisine. But it’s really a taste of the world. | do you see what we don’t on the next page? >>
38
provisions // Pacific
Breadfruit, jackfruit, taro and
eddo (malanga) are known
as “provisions” — foodstuffs
of the poor. They’re easy to
grow and very filling. Cooked,
boiled, roasted, curried and
used in casseroles, stews and
breads, this Caribbean staple
comes from the South Pacific
— brought by Capt. Bligh
as belly fillers for slaves.
lori barbely: Food stylist: Holly v. kapherr
shot on location at luma, winter park, FLA.
Burning
Caribbean
Questions
38
39
42
46

39
40
41
42
Patties // England
Jerk //Africa
plantains // Asia
flan // Spa i n
Most associated with Jamaica,
meat patties are stuffed
with beef, chicken, shrimp or
goat. Seasoned with African,
Indian and native spices
like hot pepper, curry and
annatto, the patty is actually an
English pasty — just like those
Charles Dickens would have
eaten on 19th-century London
streets. Well, almost.
Using spice and smoke to cure
game was a method of
preservation used by native
Tainos, Caribs and Arawaks,
who called the Caribbean
home before European colonization.
But it was 18th-century
Jamaican slaves called Maroons
who added their native
West African hot peppers to the
mix — and thus jerk was born.
These make a sweet treat
when ripe and fried, or a
starchy side dish when boiled
and mashed or roasted. Easily
one of the most beloved
Caribbean foods, this large
banana — like many provisions
and like all bananas — is
not Caribbean at all but native
to Southeast Asia, India, Australia
and Malaysia.
Flan de coco is a famed
Puerto Rican dessert found in
the Spanish Caribbean. Don’t
be fooled by its tropical tones
— it’s merely an island version
of the classic Spanish dessert
of sweetened egg custard with
a caramelized sugar base
that came with
Spanish conquerors
to the Caribbean.
38
Cook this meal
and find other
Caribbean
recipes from
Ramin Ganeshram.
islands.com/taste
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40
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41
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Shoot
This
Photo
p. 84
zach stovall; Opposite: jon whittle
48

Is there really a
Green fLash?
By jonathan whittle
I’ve never seen bigfoot, a unicorn
or the green flash. You
43
know the green flash. ∏hat
alleged burst of color (apparently
green) that shows up (supposedly)
for a millisecond as the sun vanishes
into the ocean. It’s the stuff of legend
among Caribbean travelers. As far as
I’m concerned, it’s a delusion.
∏hat said, here I sit on a beach in St.
Kitts. Next to me is a middle-aged couple
spackled with sunscreen. We focus on the
horizon, waiting for that micro-moment,
when the woman decides to tell me, “We
saw it on our honeymoon. It was magical!”
Her husband nods along in time
and describes it succinctly: “It was green.”
“Where were you?” I ask.
“At a beach bar in Jamaica,” she says.
I’ve found that most folks who claim
to have experienced this elusive event
have done so during or right after happy
hour. In fact, a good number of liquid
establishments lure in the island traveler
with a drink called the green flash.
If you listen to Mike Finneran, who
works for the atmospheric science division
of NASA, he’ll tell you that the
flash is an event caused by refraction and
scattering of light. In layman’s terms,
it’s said to be the process of atmospheric
particles bending the visible spectrum
of light, much like a prism, allowing all
other colors except green to fade first
from view. ∏his natural occurrence
Burning
Caribbean
Questions
leaves the impression that the top of
the sun has “flashed” into a green halo
before stumbling off for the night.
“I’ve never seen it,” Mike admits. “I
don’t even know anyone who’s seen it.”
I’m with him — not buying it. But
because so many Caribbean travelers
swear they’ve seen it, I’m here on St.
Kitts to make one final attempt.
So I freeze my face and strain every
tiny eye muscle to stay focused on the
sun as it drops. My retinas burn. And
then … the sun slips unceremoniously
into the sea. Nothing. I wipe tears
from my cheeks. “I saw it!” a man down
the beach shouts, spilling his drink in
the sand. Dammit. islands.com/caribbean
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