Farsighted Fly Girl

Barbuda The reports of Hurricane Irma's destruction across the Caribbean region   has left me worried and with my stomach in knots. After watching how Hurricane Harvey pounded Texas, and how Irma continues to menace Florida, it's doubly concerning because the Caribbean doesn't get the visibility or response that the U.S. commands. The islands of the Caribbean are more than just vacation spots, they shelter a people and a culture that I know and love. After hearing from friends and researching reports, it's clear that donations are needed more than anything else to start a rebuilding process that will probably take years. The most extreme devastation happened on Barbuda,  the tiny sister island to Antigua whose proud citizens and pink sand stole my heart years ago. The island has been almost completely wiped out, leaving Barbudans homeless and evacuated to Antigua. St. Thomas, Anguilla, St. Martin and parts of Cuba are also challenged with trying to recover fr...

I was shocked to hear about the plight of the six Brooklyn tourists in Antigua who have been detained and charged with the assault and battery of several police officers. My shock involved many levels of disbelief. Number one, Antigua a tiny 14-mile-long island, with a relatively stable economy and government, isn't the sort of place where brawls and fights thrive. Number two, who goes to another country and fights the law enforcement? But there it was, all over the national and international news. USA Today reported here that the six tourists blamed the undercover police officers for not identifying themselves and starting the brawl. Local Antigua newspapers say that the tourists used indecent language, were rowdy and generally disrespectful. The crux of the situation is that the young tourists left their Carnival cruise ship and hired a taxi driver to take them on a beach excursion, agreeing to pay $50. The driver insists that it was $50 each way and when he demanded $100, the t...

Although it's not the prettiest island in the Caribbean, tiny Antigua (108 sq. miles) is one of my favorites. The people exude the most genuinely warm spirits that I've ever witnessed and it's the birthplace of one of my favorite authors, Jamaica Kincaid. I spent my first hours in the capitol of St. John, scouring the streets for the library that Jamaica writes about so vividly in A Small Place . I found it in much the same cramped glory that she described almost a decade before but that wasn't one of the island's most memorable spots. That honor goes to Devil's Bridge. Located on the northeast side of Antigua, covered with sloping hills and luxurious vegetation, you'll find the eerily popular attraction called Devil's Bridge. A natural limestone arch carved from Atlantic Ocean breakers looms up from the water. Blow holes and whipping waves add to the daunting effect of the place. Screaming over the bridge delivers not just excitement but a watery rewar...