Tourists love them. Residents hate them. They are pests – – cute, furry-faced, little pests. Green vervet monkeys are known for entertaining tourists, but also for their destruction, causing islanders to ponder the best way to preserve one of Nevis’s biggest attractions, while at the same time protecting their island’s ability to prosper. Green vervet monkeys are believed to come with slaves to Barbados, St. Kitts, and Nevis from West Africa in the late 1600’s, with large populations developing by the early 1700’s. Their appetite seems to never be satisfied, and they’ll munch on a farmer’s crops if opportunity arises. Their path of destruction extends beyond consumption of the island’s…
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Note: Links in this post include affiliate links, and I receive a commission on purchases. Thanks! An important part of traveling for me is not only relaxing in some of the most beautiful places in the world, but also taking time for my primary hobby, photography. But I was stuck in a rut. I found myself shooting the same thing over and over again. My Canon 24-70mm/f 2.8 lens was on the front of my camera most of the time, and I found myself seeing and shooting the same compositions on nearly every trip. I needed to break out. When we last traveled to Nevis in 2011, 1745 of the…
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If you remember from our first post on our trip to Tortuga Bay, we were short on time for this trip. With a child in college, we had only a few days, leaving Thanksgiving Day and returning the following Monday. The fact that Punta Cana was a direct flight from Chicago made this trip work, but once we arrived, as guests of Tortuga Bay, we were treated to the VIP Service at Punta Cana International Airport, making it even quicker and easier to get from the airport to the beach and in record time. As soon as our plane landed in Punta Cana, we were greeted by a representative of…
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Sometimes you have to jump right in, even when you may not think you are experienced enough or talented enough. It was back in 2011 that my husband convinced me to enter the Caribbean Travel + Life Photo Contest, and it turned out that I won the grand prize. But that competition was primarily for amateurs. I was eager to get to the next level, but not sure I was able to compete. Last fall, I decided to take the plunge joining NATJA, the North American Travel Journalists Association, hoping to learn something from the talented people in that organization who make their living bringing you great travel articles and…
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Four years ago, I wrote “Taking Better Travel Photos” to provide helpful tips to improve your travel photography no matter what gear you use. I am excited to announce that I recently updated the book, including information on rules of composition, and providing additional information on “hot spots” for great photographs throughout the Caribbean. Some people say the rules are meant to be broken, but the rules are rules for a reason. They can help you find a shot when you can’t decide how to compose it. Knowing the rules will help you frame up better shots, and if you decide to break the rules for a particular effect, go…
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I was out of breath. Carrying an empty suitcase up one flight of stairs, and I was out of breath. I commented to my husband that we are really out of shape and have to get back to the gym regularly. I didn’t think it was anything more than being 51 and letting myself go. What I didn’t realize is that it could have killed me. It was mid-November. I had a trip to California on business, and as is my practice, I opted for the window seat for all my flights. I hate getting up during flights. I like to settle in near the window and try to forget…
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September is film month here at My Irie Time. We’re featuring our favorite film images on our Instagram feed all month. All images were shot with the Mamiya 6, the Mamiya 645 Pro TL, or the Canon EOS 1v, using Ektar 100, Fuji 400H, and Porta 160 or 400. Follow our Instagram feed all month! [instagram-feed] [the_grid name=”Film”]
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It was at dinner one night at Kamalame Cay that we ran into a gentleman we had met at the luncheon our first day on the island. He lived in the area, and asked us what we had done. I mentioned that we had taken a walk “into town,” and he laughed a bit and said, “Town?” I explained that if you have a grocery store, a school, and a church, you’re a town. And I told him about our walking tour of Stanyard Creek, Andros, Bahamas. After a few days on a private island, you get the itch to explore a bit more. We had taken some excursions,…
