When we saw a tour that included a snorkel over a shipwreck in the St. Thomas part of the U.S. Virgin Islands, we were quick to sign up. It turns out this shipwreck, the "Cartanza Senora" has a story that includes illicit cargo and powerful hurricanes.The Cartanza was a 190 foot freighter that was originally used to transport goods during World War II. After the war, she served as an agricultural freighter transporting products from South America up the Caribbean...

Dominica has been called the "anti-Caribbean" island. It does not suffer as much from the mass tourism of many of the other islands. There are no flashy resorts in evidence. Most of the island is mountainous with untamed rainforests and only a few beaches. Cricket is the national passion here and hurricanes are a common occurrence. In 1975 Hurricane David wiped out 75% of the island's homes and killed 42 people and Hurricane Dean in 2007 destroyed 99% of the ...

 Ooh la la! The soft lyrical language of Martinique leaves us in no doubt of this island's history. It contrasts nicely with the "Britishness" of Barbados, our last port of call.A hot and sultry day greeted us as we left the cocoon that is our cruise ship. Walking into the city centre of Fort-de-France an American couple passed us returning back to the ship."It's a rubbish town!" the man panted, flushed from walking in the heat. "Don't bother goin...

Bridgetown, Barbados gets a gong for recycling and reusing. It had a huge historic parade ground. Called the Garrison Savanah, it was in use throughout the 1800's when the British army ruled the Winward and Leeward Islands from its massive base in Bridgetown. The Garrison Savanah is surrounded by ornate and stately colonial buildings and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing, but rather than just restore this area to its former glory for the benefit of tou...

St. Lucia - what a gem of a Caribbean Island.  From the first glimpse from our cruise ship window she had us in love with her beauty. Ports for cruise ships are generally the ugly side of town, but Castries was the exception being a pretty little inlet with sail boat moorings in our view and surrounding lush tropical hillsides with colourful houses poking out of the slopes. St Lucia is famous and has a UNESCO World Heritage listing for its Pitons which are drama...