It seems like an event such as this should be an “international,” not just a “national,” celebration.  Oh well, here’s to National Margarita Day, with a margarita courtesy of Picante, one of our favorite restaurants in Anguilla.  For more on our visits to Picante, read on…

Makes you want to feel the sand between your toes.

A friend posted some amazing old photographs and postcards of St. Kitt’s and Nevis which inspired this image. I started with a shot of the view from Cote Mer, Island Harbour, Anguilla, and applied a few Photoshop techniques and a border in Alien Skin Exposure 4 to end up with my interpretation of the look of old photographs.

I have many times featured what’s cooking in our favorite restaurants in the islands.  Today’s snapshot is from our own kitchen.  These are Jamaican Meat Patties made from the recipe in Lucinda’s Authentic Jamaican Kitchen.  They are easy to make and so delicious!  We served them with Oxtail Soup, also from Lucinda’s book, into which I added kale, okra, and a bit of Thai Red Chile Paste from Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid’s Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through Southeast Asia to punch up the heat.  Try it!

…is because it is relaxing.  This video was shot on Pinney’s Beach in front of the Four Seasons Nevis.  You will see the resort’s dock off to the right, and St. Kitt’s in the distance.  It’s better than yoga for stress relief – - no downward-facing dog required.

If I’ve got my time zones right, it’s 5 o’clock in Nevis right now, where this ice-cold Carib was served up at Sunshine’s Beach Lounge.  Have a wonderful weekend! For more on our visits to Sunshine’s, read on…

Nisbet Plantation was the home of Fanny Nisbet, and is now a resort, the Nisbet Plantation Beach Club.  The views are gorgeous.  For more on the historical sites of Nevis, read on…

…is because they are spectacular.  This was taken while we lounged on the terrace at the Four Seasons Nevis.

The bar at Cabana, at the Four Seasons Nevis.

All over the news today was the story about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer being robbed at knife-point in his vacation home in Nevis.  Immediately, there were commentaries questioning the safety of travel to the Caribbean.  Having recently returned from nine days on Nevis, I have to say that I never feared for my safety or felt uncomfortable, and we traveled all over the island.  People should no doubt exercise caution for their own safety wherever they go, but it seems to be an over reaction to suggest that one should not travel there.  If that were the case, many U.S. cities would rarely see visitors.  Even Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which most people would consider safe, saw over 2600 victims of violent crime in 2011 and over 13,000 property crime victims, and those numbers are reportedly down from previous years.  Be appropriately cautious, but if you never travel because you fear the worst, you’ll lose so much more.