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| Yes | 73% | 255 votes | Total: 347 votes | |
| No | 27% | 92 votes |
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Add to Favorites"Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take you..."
Wait a minute. Did I hear that right? Is the summer heat in the Carribean worth enduring for cheaper travel to the islands?
Wha...? Are you seriously asking this question? Okay, that depends really on the vacation that you want. If you are the "on the go" type, then I'd answer yes, this is your vacation. Having gone to Cancun, Jamaica, and Cozumel, I'll write about the virtues of my favorite; Cozumel.
From the moment we arrived, we were doing something active, something fun and we were in and out of the water up and down the island with each day.
Up early, yes early and into the clear azul water to snorkel, right outside the hotel room. For many hours we would marvel at the colorful sea urchins against the banks and then put some clothes over our suits and grab a taxi into town, our wet hair combed back to keep us cool. We'd go to El Centro and sit under the fans. Every restaurant seemed to have open doors and windows. Coffee and a light breakfast and we were good to go..... into the shops to find the greatest deals, or to peruse witchcraft or medicinal shops for the sheer adventure and uniqueness of it. We'd return to El Centro and eat award winning flan with coffee as the locals would siesta at lunchtime. Then, we'd grab a taxi back to our hotel or to the lagoon or the ruins. We might rent a jeep and go to the other side of the island, which is less populated, somewhat more primitive and untouched and strewn with beautiful and mysterious natural treasures.
This island hales some romantic settings and romance isn't absent from this vacation paradise. On the far side of the island, we found a volcanic rock arch with a private beach area and the water coming just to it. I imagined returning with a picnic basket and some wine with my love on the next trip.
The city, which in many parts is graffiti covered and questionable looking by day, is washed to charcoal gray anonymity with the setting sun and the candles lit attractively about. My favorite restaurant, "La Cabana del Pescador," is such a graffiti covered "hole" by day. On a return trip to this hotspot, while friends did initially raise eyebrows upon my insistence to stop in to the seeming Graffiti Paradise to make reservations, they thanked me for being "in the know" as we entered through that evening on a charming plank bridge with ducks quacking underneath, and then dined on lobster and drank cordial and soaked in the ambiance of the "perfect setting."
Similarly, in the evenings, the nightclubs and discotheques come alive. This group of local businesses will coax you to stay out all night long, and that will work, dancing 'til dawn, because you are on vacation in the hot summer sun, and just hours away from waking up and hitting the water yet again, witnessing more beauty under her depths.
On this island, the ocean is at every turn and it is clean and beautiful, so for an active person on an active vacation, the Carribean is perfect, and Cozumel, my personal fave is my boast. In the heat of the day, be prepared to go for a swim, or several. And drink; the drinks with the umbrellas.
Learn more about this author, Kathryn LaVon Davis.
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No
In the summer, the islands in the Caribbean are hot, humid, sweaty, bug-infested and run by resentful, unhappy people who can barely hide their hatred for North American tourists. In fact, those islands are like that at every time of the year. If that sounds too harsh, I'm truly sorry for those sincere folks there who try to do their jobs and keep the tourist industry going.
However, the still-unsolved case of the high school girl's murder on Aruba, and where the obvious killers were set free, is just one example of how corrupt the leadership of the islands is, and why I can't recommend anyone visit the Caribbean in the summer or any time of the year. My opinions are based on years of personal experiences.
Until I retired recently, my job was to set up and run annual recognition conferences for a major financial company. Over more than 30 years, I worked our programs, usually for six consecutive weeks each, in hotels and resorts on Bermuda, Aruba, Trinidad, the Virgin Islands and other Caribbean areas. I've also directed our conferences in Canada, Hawaii, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Monaco and France. In the U.S., our conferences were in Florida, Nevada, Colorado, California and resorts in many other states.
Of course, when I went into a facility with a crew of our own employees to set up for hundreds of delegates, including their accommodations, food, entertainment and awards programs, I often ran into problems. It was our prime responsibility to solve them quickly and effectively, so that our delegates and their families ... usually 1,500 adults and kids at each conference ... would have the maximum enjoyment and security. In my experience, our biggest task was dealing with the hotel staffs. We were definitely not arrogant nor abusive, but we were a prestigious company, we paid top dollar and expected no less than total cooperation and value for our money.
While hotel management always made promises of total cooperation, the attitude of the staffs could be an entirely different situation. Unfortunately, I found that our most prevalent problem was with the hotel workers in the Caribbean. I was certainly aware of the political and economic disparities and racism still existing in those islands since colonial days, but the hotel, transportation and restaurant workers always seemed to be in a constant state of resentment. Worse, they took out their anger on visitors, including guys like me trying to do my job.
I've never forgotten the deliberate lack of cooperation, and at times, outright verbal resentment, I experienced when I worked my assignments on Caribbean islands. Since I've retired, I've flown to and cruised from many places as a private citizen, including England, France, Scandinavia, Hawaii, Russia, Holland, Italy, Canada, Ireland, Mexico, South America and Alaska. However, I've never ventured back to the Caribbean islands.
Learn more about this author, Ted Sherman.
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