If you are visiting the island of Tortola, make a point of visiting Aragorn’s Studio, located in Trellis Bay and the adjoining Beef Island. Aragorn is best known for his brilliant metal sculptures called “fireballs.” Fireballs are made from large steel buoys that have reached their useful life on the ocean. The buoys are then carved by Aragorn with elaborate designs, filled with wood and paper, and then ignited for a spectacular display. The fireballs are central to monthly full moon parties on the island. Although we were not there during the full moon, at least one fireball was lit each night we visited. Stop in for a “Dark and…
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Eleuthera, one of the out islands of the Bahamas, is our next destination. In preparation for our trip, I have begun doing some research on the island, which includes reading a well-regarded history of the islands by Mrs. Everild Young, later known as Mrs. Everild Helweg-Larsen (1909-1992), a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Mrs. Larsen, a native of England, lived on Eleuthera nearly 20 years while researching the island’s history. Her book, “Eleuthera, An Island Called Freedom,” was originally published in 1966. My copy is from the third edition, published in 1996. Although there were many significant events which post-dated this book, including Bahamian independence in 1973, the book…
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No list of anything in the Caribbean is complete without a mention of Dune Preserve, Bankie Banx’s place on Rendezvous Bay, Anguilla, voted the #1 Beach Bar in the World. Perhaps it’s the great music, the gorgeous views of St. Martin, or the friendly people, but we never miss a visit there on our trips to the island. Click here to read more about why Dune Preserve is one of our favorites, and a favorite of beach bar connoisseurs around the world. For the whole series of “The Caribbean from A to Z,” click here!
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I cannot think of a better combination than our images and Tim Cotroneo’s words. Tim is the man behind Travel Dreams Magazine, and he featured our photos from our trip to Anegada in his piece. Read his great story about Anegada’s The Big Bamboo here! SaveSave
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There is no shortage of churches in the Caribbean. You will find houses of worship for many faiths in the islands, although Christianity predominates, likely due to the influences of the European explorers (or “invaders” depending upon your perspective). The mural above comes from the Marigot Catholic Church, which sits atop a hill on the road to Fort Louis on the French side of the island. The church was built in 1842 by Jacob and Benjamin Gumbs. The Gumbs family owned sugar plantations in Anguilla and Dutch Ste. Maarten. For more of the many churches we explored in the islands, read our journal entry, “Sunday Morning in the Caribbean.” For the…
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One down, 25 to go. I even have one for “X!” Stay tuned! Taken on Meads Bay, Anguilla, November 2010, and Grand Prize photo in the 2011 Caribbean Travel + Life Photo Contest. For more information about Anguilla, check out our blog posts and photos of the island here. For the whole series of “The Caribbean from A to Z,” click here!
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If you happen to be flying out of Canada, and happen to be flying West Jet Airlines this month, check our our images, included in features on the Queen Conch and Anguilla. You will see our image of a conch salad from Da Conch Shack, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands, and our image of SandBar, Meads Bay, Anguilla. If you won’t be flying West Jet this month, check out our images online here: up! Magazine – March 2013 Hint: Take a look at pages 22 and 60!
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Travel writer and teacher, Kristin Mock, author of the insightful travel blog, kristinmock.com, interviewed me for her new feature, “One Question.” Kristin’s question for me was the topic of photographing people. You can read the feature on Kristin’s site here: http://kristinmock.com/one-question-with-wendy-gunderson-photographing-people/# As a photographer and a woman, how do you best approach people you’d like to take pictures of when you travel? And do you think being a woman affects the way you interact with people you’ve never met before, and if so, what advice would you give to budding photographers? One of the hardest things to do is to approach a stranger to take their photograph. Photography often attracts…
