Island Time!

Everyone who knows me knows just how much I LOVE the Caribbean!!! Sunny days, crystal clear waters, cool ocean breezes, warm sunshine and a relaxing atmosphere…. Who wouldn’t? Each year, I have been able to vacation and visit my favorite place. Our family cruises the Caribbean each fall stopping at several islands along the way. Plus, in February, we travel to Grand Cayman for our annual family SCUBA dive trip. Most recently, we have been very fortunate to be able to participate in several mission trips to Haiti. We are very blessed to be able to take such grand trips to such fabulous destinations.
I could not be more blessed with the opportunity to travel. I feel even more fortunate to be able to travel to such a wonderful place as the Caribbean. Take away the sunshine, cool breezes and blue water and I would be just as happy traveling there. Yes, the Caribbean is beautiful: full of gorgeous sights and tranquil settings. However, to me it is so much more! When I think of the Caribbean, I think of its BEATUIFUL PEOPLE! People vastly different from us in America ~ and it is that difference I love! These people come from all over the world; so very far away from home. They bring so much to the new land; so much for us to see, to learn and to explore. They make this new place a place of “pride” and a place of “home.” This pride they carry with them is for their families, their lives and the place they live. The are proud of their island and it makes me proud to be there visiting. Each time I step onto a different island, I enter a new culture and a completely different place of heritage. I just love that! There are several islands that even share two different countries ~ so cool. You walk down a street on the island of St. Marteen; one side is a French-speaking European territory. Across the same street you enter the world of the Dutch-speaking people who are governed by the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The same thing goes for the Island of Hispanola. One side of the mountain range is Haiti and the other side is the Dominican Republic. What a diversity of cultures so close to one another.
One of the greatest parts of island hopping to me is to visit all these different countries, meeting different people speaking different languages and living such different lives. Yet, while you travel among all the vast difference, you remain to be in the Caribbean. A place of sunshine, blue skies, relaxed living and BEAUTIFUL people. I have never met anyone who is more welcoming, so kind and proud-fully sincere than the people of the Caribbean.
So, to the Caribbean I will continue to travel. I will continue to learn about its beautiful people, their pride and the love they share. Each time I go, I hope to bring home with me this true sense of being. It is amazing and reassuring to know so many beautiful people live on “island time” living an “island life” while “loving life!”