Salt Dunes, Gray Flamingos and the Dutch West Indies

You would never expect to encounter pyramids down in the Caribbean, but these mysterious pyramids do exist (also known as sea salt mounds). Contributing writer to GoNOMAD.com Toccoa Switzer paints a beautiful and endearing story about her discovery of the salt dunes, gray flamingos and other elements that crave to be discovered in the Dutch West Indies. Enjoy the excerpts below!


"But it is what lies above the water that captures my attention. At the southern most tip of the island, I notice a range of cone-shaped mountains, the color of snow. They dot the barren landscape like pyramids in an Egyptian desert. "

"The expat explains how the island’s dry arid weather and steady trade winds make it an ideal location for solar salt production. The topography also plays a key role.

The flat shoreline allows the sea to fill shallow pools, known as salinas. As the salt water sits, the sun and wind evaporate the water, leaving the salt behind to crystallize."

"I also learn that flamingos aren’t really pink but grayish-white. The birds change color from feeding in the salt pans. As you drive south on the island past the dive sites you can see a series of ponds, some brown, some green, others coral red depending on their levels of algae and bacteria. The rosier colors reflect higher levels of saline."

Cruise Ships - Cause Commotion

I have written before about cruises and the benefits that arise from taking one. I have failed to write about the down side to cruises - especially the really big ones that go to the really big ports. An article I found on SmartMoney talked all about the effects that large cruise lines are having on the ports that they stop at and also the effects it's having on travelers who are not a part of the cruise. Read below for more from Cruise-Ship Gridlock at the Island Ports

With the cruise industry booming (even in this economy), port and resort towns throughout the Caribbean are facing a flurry of cruise crowds. Last year the Bahamas alone hosted more than 2.4 million cruisers, and George Town, Grand Cayman, is regularly visited by up to six ships a day, with a combined passenger capacity of more than 14,000 — well over a quarter of the 22-mile-long island's total population. The largest islands may be able to hold the vacationing masses, but stepping off the ship at smaller ones is "like stepping into a tidal wave of people,"

Caribbean remains the destination of choice for nearly half of the 12.8 million people expected to set sail this year. In addition to old standards like Cozumel and St. Thomas, little guys like St. Vincent, once just a blip on the radar, have seen cruise traffic spike by nearly 70 percent in the past year alone.

While the average Caribbean cruiser spends $98 per port, according to the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, bars and restaurants usually see less than $8 of that, since they're competing, in part, with the ships' free food. Hotels do even worse. And the size of the crowds alone can make doing business in the ports nearly impossible, turning off the onshore guests who pump money into tourism mainstays.

The cruise lines, for their part, say they're doing plenty of crowd control. They point to an increase in staggered scheduling, meaning ships leave their home ports on various days, avoiding the gridlock that results when everyone sets sail on Saturday and returns a week later.

For more of this article, visit SmartMoney