Category Archives: Caribbean

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Reuters

Cassandra Garrison and Sarah Marsh and Jake Spring

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PUERTO MORELOS As the sun rises in Mexicos Quintana Roo state, home to the white sandy beaches of Cancun and Tulum, Rear Admiral Alejandro Lopez Zenteno readies his sailors for another day of dragging rafts of brown seaweed to shore and out of view of cocktail-sipping tourists.

Zenteno heads the operation for the Mexican Navy, which coordinates with the state and local governments to protect an area visitor trade that was valued at more than $15 billion annually before the coronavirus pandemic hit, according to Quintana Roos tourism secretariat.

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When it washes ashore, the plant known as sargassum turns black and emits a sewage-like stench so powerful it has been known to make travelers ill. It attracts insects and turns the areas famed turquoise snorkeling waters a sickly brown.

And it just keeps coming. Since 2011, seaweed here and across the Caribbean has exploded for reasons scientists suspect is related to climate change but dont yet fully understand.

In Quintana Roo alone, Mexicos Navy since March has removed more than 37,000 tons of sargassum more than the weight of three Eiffel Towers from beaches and surrounding waters.

We dont expect this to end anytime soon, Zenteno said onboard a seaweed-clearing ship known as a sargacero, one of 12 deployed by the Navy.

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Entrepreneurs across the region, meanwhile, are searching for ways to monetize the muck. Theyre experimenting with seaweed-based products including animal feed, fuel, construction material even signature cocktails.

Sargassum is seen as a nuisance, said Srinivasa Popuri, an environmental scientist in Barbados with the University of the West Indies. He views the Caribbean as blessed with a resource that grows naturally and requires no land or other inputs to flourish.

Popuri is working on extracting substances from seaweed that could have applications for the pharmaceutical, medical and food industries.

Whether such efforts prove viable remains to be seen. Commercializing seaweed can be challenging given the expense of collecting it.

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Still, creativity is blossoming along with the seaweed.

SARGASSUM SOLUTIONS

One of the biggest potential uses lies in demand for so-called alginates, a biomaterial extracted from brown seaweed, which is a common ingredient in food thickeners, wound care and waterproofing agents for its gel-like properties.

The global market in 2020 was worth almost $610 million, a figure thats expected to grow to $755 million by 2027, according to consulting firm Global Market Insights.

Omar Vazquez, meanwhile, is building houses.

Vazquez, a nursery owner in the seaside town of Puerto Morelos near Cancun, for several years had used sargassum as a fertilizer. In 2018, he came up with the idea of turning it into a construction material. He said the resulting sargassum bricks, baked in the sun, allow him to build a house 60% cheaper than if he were to use traditional cement blocks.

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Now dubbed Seor Sargazo by his neighbors, Vazquez said he has built and donated 10 such houses to local families in need. He hopes to turn his now-patented Sargablock material into a for-profit franchise.

Everyone was complaining that sargassum was stinky, sargassum is a problem. What I did was find a solution for it, said Vazquez, 45, showing Reuters around Casa Angelita, the first house he built with seaweed and which he named for his mother.

The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Cancun found a tastier use for sargassum. For a time, it served up a cocktail made with tequila, vinegar, sugar, rosemary and a syrup derived from sanitized seaweed.

Some businesses are nervous about relying on a resource with variable supply: Theres no way to know how much might grow in a year.

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Others are concerned that large-scale harvests for business initiatives might lead to sea turtles and other endangered creatures being scooped up indiscriminately.

Still other efforts are waiting on scientific testing for safety. In Jamaica, entrepreneur Daveian Morrison is building a processing plant to scale up his experiments, including turning seaweed into charcoal for people to burn in lieu of firewood. He said his recipe for animal feed made from the protein-rich plant proved a hit at a local goat farm, but it needs more testing to ensure the seaweed doesnt contain dangerous levels of arsenic or other harmful substances.

In Barbados, a University of the West Indies research team is distilling sargassum along with waste from a rum distillery to make methane, which can be turned into compressed natural gas to power transportation across the island.

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There is this beautiful coincidence that the ocean is producing all this biomass, said Legena Henry, a renewable-energy lecturer at the university. She said shell soon be converting her own car to run on the fuel, with the hopes of a wider rollout next June.

SEAWEED EXPLOSION

Sargassum is most famously found in the Sargasso Sea in the north Atlantic, where the seaweed has been documented for hundreds of years. How it traveled south to the tropical Atlantic is unclear.

Some scientists have theorized that the intense 2010 hurricane season may have carried a bit of it to the central western Atlantic, planting the seeds for a new sargassum belt that now stretches nearly 9,000 kilometers.

That seaweed explosion might just reflect the system going over some tipping point, said biologist Joseph Montoya at Georgia Tech University. We dont know.

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Also unclear is why the Caribbean sargassum blooms have grown to such monstrous masses. Scientists say climate change, water pollution, Amazon deforestation and dust blowing in from the Sahara Desert are all likely factors.

New research published in May in the journal Nature Communications points to another suspect: Major rivers including notably the Amazon are pumping more human sewage and agricultural runoff into the ocean, where the nutrients are likely fertilizing the sargassum.

The University of South Florida has been tracking sargassum since 2011 and it recorded a significant uptick in 2015. In May, a record 18 million metric tons were detected by satellite in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean. Thats up nearly 6% from the previous May record set in 2018, and up more than 800% from levels seen a decade ago, according to Chuanmin Hu, an oceanographer at the University of South Florida.

Mexicos coastline is especially vulnerable, thanks to an ocean current swirling in the western Caribbean Sea that pulls sargassum towards the nations beaches. A July 21 map by the Sargassum Monitoring Network of Quintana Roo, a non-governmental organization, showed that 28 of the states 80 beaches were experiencing an excessive amount of sargassum, the most severe grade.

(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison in Puerto Morelos, Jake Spring in Brasilia and Sarah Marsh in Havana; editing by Katy Daigle and Marla Dickerson)

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Besieged by seaweed, Caribbean scrambles to make use of the stuff - Financial Post

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is under development. There are now two versions of Pirates of the Caribbean 6 in the works. It looks like both of those movies will be a reboot versus a spinoff, with new and recreated characters. None of the films will be continued from the fifth movie (Dead Men Tell No Tales).

The franchise is one of the biggest selling chains of Disney over the past 20 years. Yet we have five movies, The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Dead Man's Chest (2006), At World's End (2007), On Stranger Tides (2011), and Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017). It is hard to imagine Pirates of the Caribbean 6 without Johnny Depp as the iconic antihero Captain Jack Sparrow.

Johnny's performance in the first movie of Pirates of the Caribbean made him an overnight star. And his popularity as Captain Jack continued to skyrocket over the next few 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movies.

But things came to an anticlimax for Johnny after his ex-wife Amber Heard had filed for divorce, accusing him of domestic abuse, following which Johnny would be expelled from the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise.

Recently, JOHNNY DEPP has spoken out about Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise at the San Sebastian Film Festival. He commented "I suppose this is the positive side of having, in a strange way, given life to those characters like Captain Jack or whatever character that I was lucky enough to locate and bring to life the beauty of Captain Jack Sparrow."

"I'll go to somebody's house, man, I'll perform at your kid's birthday party at this point."

He then seemingly hit out at Disney, saying: "I don't need a company to do that. I can just do that myself and nobody can take that away."

The 58 years old actor also added, "That's the greatest pleasure of Jack Sparrow. I can travel with Captain Jack in a box. Literally, Captain Jack in a box, and when the opportunity is right and I'm able to go and visit people and places where the smiles and the laughs and the things that are important, the most important things in the world are on the line."

Children's beloved Johnny Depp last played his iconic antihero character of Captain Jack Sparrow in 2017's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. He also reprised his role in the last four installments of Pirates of the Caribbean.

On April 16, the Spanish-language daily newspaper El Pas asked Johnny Depp if he misses playing Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean.

"No, I don't miss it, because I have it every day, I always carry it with me, I travel with Captain Jack in my suitcase. I belong to Jack Sparrow and he is loyal to me," said Johnny Depp.

Explaining the reason for carrying the Captain Jack apparel with him, the Pirates of the Caribbean star said that he always wants to keep himself ready for kids who might want to see him as Captain Jack. The actor has a track record of entertaining children as Captain Jack. Here's one of his old videos where he can be seen entertaining kids as Captain Jack.

On his exit from Pirates of the Caribbean 6, a petition titled "We want JOHNNY DEPP back as CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW" was launched which is still active on Change.org, urging Disney to reconsider Johnny Depp's returning.

After Disney removed Johnny Depp from the sixth movie, Depp's fans are frustrated and many are saying they are not going to watch any film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise that doesn't include him.

To the fans' disappointment, however, Disney is making Pirates of Caribbean 6 without Johnny Depp. Currently, there is no release date for Pirates of the Caribbean 6. But the question remains, "Will Johnny Depp's fans watch (let alone enjoy) Pirates of the Caribbean 6 without their favorite star?"

Only time will know the answer. Till then, stay tuned to Devdiscourse for more updates on Hollywood movies.

Also Read: Joker 2: Updates on release status, retuning cast & more!

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Pirates of the Caribbean 6: Can it bring back Johnny Depps fans to cinema? - Devdiscourse

If youve been planning a retreat to the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, your trip is about to become more complicated. In response to surging COVID-19 cases, the government of Antigua and Barbuda just updated its travel requirements.

Beginning October 1, all tourists, as well as returning nationals and residents, need to have received at least one dose of a World Health Organization or Ministry of Health Wellness and the Environment approved COVID-19 vaccine to enter Antigua and Barbuda. Anyone under the age of 18 is exempt from this requirement.

There are a number of other new requirements, as well. Heres everything you need to know about traveling to Antigua and Barbuda.

Vaccination wont be the only requirement to enter Antigua and Barbuda.

Regardless of vaccination status, everyone arriving in Antigua and Barbuda must have a negative test result from a COVID-19 RT-PCR (real-time polymerase chain reaction) test that was conducted 4 or fewer days before their flight. Importantly, children under the age of 5 do not need to have taken the test.

Next, everyone arriving in Antigua and Barbuda must complete a Health Declaration Form, which will be distributed on the plane. Upon landing, all passengers will be subjected to screening and temperature checks conducted by Port Health Authorities. Passengers will also be required to present a copy of their official vaccination record card at that time.

Importantly, passengers who arrive in Antigua and Barbuda and have COVID-19 symptoms may be isolated by the countrys health authority.

For more on the restrictions going into effect on October 1, head to this PDF.

All guests traveling to Antigua and Barbuda on vacation are required to stay at a government-certified accommodation property. All of these certified accommodations will follow standards required by the Central Board of Health and the Ministry of Tourism. Whats more, no activities deemed high-risk will be permitted, and there will be additional focus on sanitization, and the utilization of contactless technology, the government explains.

You can find a list of certified tourism accommodations here.

Tourists will also need to keep in mind that a face mask must be worn in public spaces throughout Antigua and Barbuda, and social distancing must be practiced. That means guests at certified accommodations must wear a mask while walking the property when they are likely to be near staff and other guests. A mask is not needed on the beach if social distancing can be practiced.

Also on the topic of beaches, it must be pointed out that beaches can only be used for therapeutic purposes between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, the beach is only open from 5 a.m. to noon.

All bars in Antigua and Barbuda are currently closed. While restaurants are open, they are only serving take-out and delivery.

Antigua and Barbuda also has a curfew. The current curfew hours are from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. each night.

You can find all of the details and more information about visiting Antigua and Barbuda on their official tourism site.

According to data from John Hopkins University, almost 38 percent of Antigua and Barbudas population is fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

That said, 437 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Antigua and Barbuda the week of September 12, which was a record high for one week. On September 17 alone, 299 new cases were reported, which was a 1-day record high. There have been 888 new cases reported in September 2021, which is a 1-month high record of new cases in Antigua and Barbuda.

As you would expect, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a Level 4: Very High Level of COVID-19 alert for Antigua and Barbuda, cautioning U.S. citizens to avoid travel to Antigua and Barbuda. The U.S. State Department correspondingly issued a Level 4: Do Not Travel alert for Antigua and Barbuda.

While youre thinking about Antigua and Barbuda, be sure to check out all of our Mexico and Caribbean coverage. To stay up-to-date on traveling to Antigua and Barbuda, or anywhere else, be sure to read our travel news coverage.

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Popular Caribbean Island Nation To Require All Visitors Have One Vaccine Dose Starting Oct. 1 - TravelAwaits

There are plenty of reasons why you might want to visit the black sand beaches of Montserrat, with its stunning and varied terrain.

But unless you earn $70,000 a year, travelling to the Caribbean island currently isnt an option.

In a bid to keep COVID-19 out while maintaining some tourist revenue, Montserrat opened its borders in April this year, to only the wealthiest holidaymakers. Those who can afford the steep entry fee, and a two-month minimum vacation.

To date, only 21 people from seven high-flying families have met the governments selective criteria, the New York Times reports.

For the steep price-tag, they have got to experience an oasis from the health crisis still gripping the world. There have been only 33 cases and one COVID-19 related death on the island - which is roughly the size of Barcelona - so there are no visible measures like mask-wearing in place.

For Montserrats first tourists, this was a big part of the appeal. I remember toward the beginning of the pandemic, I was like, man, I wonder if theres places in the world that are not dealing with any of this craziness, Ms. Bajkor told the New York Times.

Theres nothing that can kill you here except the volcano, she said. The Soufriere Hills volcano last erupted in 1995, and a daily warning system continues to monitor its activity.

In order to make sure the tourists dont pose a threat to Montserratians, vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers alike must quarantine for two weeks on arrival and take a COVID-19 test.

Less than a quarter of the nearly 5,000 inhabitants are vaccinated, so an outbreak of the virus could be devastating. This week there are five reported cases on the Caribbean island, all of whom are in quarantine, according to a spokesperson for the Office of the Premiers Tourism Division.

Andrew Myers, a scuba shop owner, questioned why only people who made more than $70,000 were invited, as a lower barrier to entry could have drawn more trade.

Other Montserratians have reportedly lamented that family members couldnt visit from nearby islands, because the island has halted the ferry service.

The islands strict entry rules are about to change however. From 1 October, all vaccinated tourists will be welcome on Montserrat. The minimum stay stipulation has been quietly dropped too.

Given that COVID-19 is under control on the Caribbean island, most European countries should have no problem with nationals travelling there. The UK government has put the island, which is a British territory, on its quarantine-free green travel list.

The UK does have a warning for natural disasters, however, as two-thirds of the island are vulnerable to volcanic activity. There has been no major volcanic activity since February 2010, but it cannot be ruled out.

Montserrat is also currently in its hurricane season, which normally runs from June to November.

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Montserrat: This Caribbean island is open...but only to the rich - Euronews

Moskito Island, Richard Bransons even-more-private home away from his other private island home in the British Virgin Islands, has enjoyed the luxury of remaining pretty much under the radar. This is thanks to the fact that, until now, the only way people could stay on the 125-acre island was if they were guests at one of the 10 private homes (the owners of which who were, for the most part, invited by Branson himself) or if they managed to book the Branson Estate on one of the rare occasions the family wasnt in residence. But, as we teased in 2020, plans have been in the works to open up the place a bit, and Virgin Limited Edition has just unveiled the first phase of that project.

As officially announced yesterday, Moskito has introduced two new luxury estates available for private buyouts starting October 1. The Oasis Estate and the Point Estate will join Moskitos 19,000 square-foot Branson Estate as bookable options. In addition to the hyper-personalized service and exclusivity that comes with a stay at any Virgin Limited Edition property around the world, guests of these villas can expect a dedicated estate manager and full-service team of staff, including a private chef. All meals, drinks, watersports and a personalized itinerary are also part of the stay.

The master bedroom at the Oasis Estate.Courtesy Virgin Limited Edition

Moskito Island is a one-of-a-kind luxury experience in the Caribbean offering something completely unique to neighbouring islands, Mike Sinesi, director of Dewing Schmid Kearns Architect + Planner, the firm responsible for the two new homes, told Robb Report. The best part of Moskito is that guests can visit time and time again and enjoy the luxuries of a private island while getting a completely different experience staying at the varying choice of estates.

The new Point Estate overlooks Manchioneel Beach, rumored to be Bransons favorite spot on the island.Courtesy Virgin Limited Edition

Perched along the highest point of the island, the Oasis Estate is a palatial, modern-nautical beach house thats been designed to resemble a yacht. The home seamlessly blends indoor and outdoor living and features 360-degree views of the Caribbean Sea, making it an ideal spot for entertaining. Spread across four stories that can accommodate up to 18 guests at a time, the 17,500-square foot abode includes nine guestrooms, including an over-800-square -foot master suite and five additional rooms in the main house, plus three individual poolside suites, each with its own kitchenette and living space.

Multiple bars (including a swim-up pool option), a billiards room, a movie room and a rooftop deck boasting panoramic views of the estates very own waterfall and out over the BVI are just a few of the property highlights.

The pool deck at the Point Estate.Courtesy Virgin Limited Edition

On the other side of the island, the Point Estate is built directly into the cliffside and separated by a series of pavilions, and is capable of accommodating up to 22 guests at a time. Ideal for families, the Points highlights include the stunning wraparound infinity pool and some of the best sunset views on the island, Sinesi says.

The eight bedrooms include an eight-bunk bedroom in the main house (perfect for sleepovers of all ages) and two master suites (the Hillside Master and Seaside Master). An open-air, ocean-facing dining area built along the side of the cliff, along with direct stair access to Manchioneel Beach (believed to be Bransons favorite spot on island) are other perks.

The Point Estates Great Room at sunset.Courtesy Virgin Limited Edition

While both estates offer all of the exclusivity and seclusion you could hope for, Moskito is also designed with a communal experience in mind. Game nights, guided hikes, beach Olympics and pizza-making classes for kids are a few of the activities that can be arranged, as are off-island excursions to the famous baths at Virgin Gorda or the unspoiled reefs and shipwrecks that abound around the islands.

Shared by all residents, the Beach House serves as the hub of the island. There youll find an infinity pool, tennis pavilion with two artificial grass courts, dining outlets serving up fresh, sustainable fare, a fully-stocked bar, lounge areas, a gym and a wellness space. The chance to hit the water for a day of sailing, kite surfing or stand-up paddle boarding is available through the watersports center.

A living area at the Point Estate.Courtesy Virgin Limited Edition

The recreational facilities and amenities on the island bring everything together through a community feeling, but if guests choose to be extremely private and only stay at their estate, they have everything they need right there, Sinesi says. And if they want to explore the island and take advantage of the beautiful communal recreational amenities, they have the opportunity to do that also. Rates for the Oasis Estate and the Point Estate start at $19,000 and $17,500 per-night, respectively, in the low-season. Rates include a dedicated Estate Manager, private chef and full staff ,as well as all meals, drinks and watersports.

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Richard Bransons Other Caribbean Private Island Just Got Easier to Book for Vacation - Robb Report

After Adam and Jill Stewart married in Jamaica in 2009, they packed up and traveled for more than 24 hours to have their dream honeymoon in an overwater villa in the Maldives. Thats not so shocking, reallythe Maldives collection of more than 110 luxury resort islands makes them a magnet for honeymoonersbut the Stewarts choice to fly to the other side of the world for their trip is surprising, given that Adam is the CEO of Sandals Resorts. Honeymoons are his bread and butter. The couples-only, all-inclusive resort chain averages 8,000 weddings and 75,000 honeymoons every year across its Caribbean properties. So what did the Maldives have that the Caribbean didn't? Overwater hotel rooms, says Stewart. He mixed romance with research as a plan to bring them nearer to home, and to American travelers, slowly moved forward. Finally, on December 1, 2016, Stewart cut the ribbon to open the Caribbeans first overwater villas, at the Sandals Royal Caribbean in Montego Bay, Jamaica, only a four-hour flight from New York City.

Overwater rooms are suites on stilts, private pavilions for vacationers to quite literally surround themselves with ocean and sky. The more elaborate bungalows have terraces with infinity-edge pools, hammocks, glass floors with a view down to schools of fish and, wonderfully, no views of anyone else. All this luxury comes from a humble beginning, however; overwater rooms debuted nearly 50 years ago in French Polynesia, with a trio of American entrepreneurs who copied the design of traditional stilted coral homes for four barefoot casual resorts scattered across three islands. The trend spread, the Hotel Bora Bora added overwater suites in 1970 for an extra $10 per night on top of its $55 landside room rates, and an article in the Chicago Tribune the same year introduced over-the-water bungalows as the newest gimmick.

Each overwater villa is angled for prime sunset views.

In the decades since, overwater villas have spread to the Maldives and Malaysia, to Cambodia and the Philippines, but the Caribbean lagged behind. French Polynesia had a history of stilted dwellings to give birth to the style, but both regions where the overwater trend took offFrench Polynesia and the Maldiveshave the natural environment to thank for providing the perfect conditions. Resorts on land could branch out easily, into the calm waters of natural lagoons formed by atolls, where islands and their surrounding waters are protected by barrier reefs and other, smaller islands. The Caribbean, on the other hand, has no large atolls. Combine this with the regions colonial past, and you have both nature and bureaucracy as roadblocks to overwater development.

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In Jamaica, where the seabed in many places is still property of the Crown, Sandals made the structures work by positioning its first overwater villas within the protection of an outer reef, branching out from its private island, a five-minute boat ride away from one of its landside resorts. "The major obstacle was that Sandals was the first to conceive and build over-the-water accommodations and facilities in Jamaica, so there was no legislation in place to consider legalities of what would be required," Stewart tells Cond Nast Traveler. "We did copious due diligence from other jurisdictions, pulling principles and laws from places such as the Maldives as examples for review with the government. Ultimately, our work in concert with Jamaica established a new set of carefully considered criteria that put safety as well as long- and short-term environmental impact at the forefront."

Thanks to the high concentration of underground limestonewhich acts as a natural filterthe rivers surrounding the Brazilian municipality of Bonito are exceptionally clear and vividly blue. (So blue that the region has been dubbed Caribe do Centro-Oeste, the Caribbean of the Central-West). Rio da Prata is one of the most dramatically blue rivers in the region, and is popular with snorkelers thanks to its water clarity and plentiful marine life.

Lampedusa is the largest and most stunning of the Italian Pelagie islands in the Mediterranean Sea, and so far south that its actually closer to Tunisia than mainland Italy. All of those are very valid reasons to pay a visitbut what youre really here for is that famous water: shimmering, crystalline, and electric-blue. Rabbit Beach is the islands most popular swimming spot, offering blissful shallows to splash around in, framed by gently sloping limestone cliffs.

If Moraine Lake looks familiar, its probably because youve seen it before: the lake is so picture-perfect, its used as the default backdrop for Windows, Blackberry and Palm softwares, many Android products, and even the old Canadian $20 bill. Located in Albertas Banff National Park, the lakes startling shade of cyan is thanks to the glacier sediment deposited by melt-water from the surrounding glaciers. Though Moraine is often overshadowed by the larger and more touristed Lake Louise, we think its just as pretty (and infinitely more peaceful).

After refining proprietary construction techniques for the Caribbean and doing environmental studiesthe latter seeing acres of sea grass transplanted and not merely trashedthe Caribbeans first overwater suites took form. Sandals villas also claim another title: At $1.7 million each, these are the most expensive individual hotel rooms ever constructed in the Caribbean. When the going got tough or pricey, social media bolstered the project. The image of a thatched-roof villa casting its shadow over a calm cerulean sea is Instagram catnip, and the rising popularity of personal photography drones has only increased the appeal of overwater suites. It's a trend Sandals has taken to heart, literally; Stewart told Cond Nast Traveler that the next 12 bungalows will be arranged in the shape of a heart, saying that "everything we dothe roof finishes and everythingis built with photography in mind."

Guests pay upwards of $2,700 per night for two people, all-inclusive, to enjoy one of the five villas, each 2,000 square feet with one bedroom, one bathroom, kitchen, infinity pool, two outdoor showers, indoor shower and soaking tub, direct ocean access, outdoor deck, overwater hammock net for two, pour-your-own cabinet of top-shelf liquor, unlimited scuba diving, ultra-fast Wi-Fi, and, of course, butler service. Later this spring, the 12 smaller overwater bungalows will join the villas at the Sandals Royal Caribbean before theyre followed by more to debut at Sandals South Coast, Sandals Montego Bay (the original Sandals),

Sandals Royal Plantation, Ocho Rios

, and at Sandals Grande St. Lucian on the island of St. Lucia. Mexico has already jumped on the trend too with the Palafitos at the

El Dorado Maroma

on the Riviera Maya, and work is under way for the 2019 debut of 42 overwater villas at The Viceroy Bocas del Toro, in Panama.

It may have taken half a century for overwater hotel rooms to open in the Caribbean, but the struggle is already paying off. Honeymooners who don't want to spend their first 24 hours as a married couple on airplanes have booked the Sandals villas clear through the middle of 2018.

Originally Appeared on Cond Nast Traveler

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Why the Caribbean's First Overwater Bungalows Were 50 Years in the Making - Yahoo Lifestyle

The Caribbean island of Montserrat is known for its scenic beauty, black sand beaches and now, for its rich-only tourism policy. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the tourism sector across the world buckled. In an attempt to keep Covid-19 at bay while also maintaining some revenue from tourism, the Carribean island opened up to vacationers, but only the wealthiest. Montserrat is open to only those travellers who can afford the entry fee and a minimum of two months to stay on the island. The requirement entails that the allowed tourists should have an income of $70,000 per year. Since April, only 21 people from 7 high-flying families qualified to enter the island, as per a New York Times report. As of September 24, there were only 33 cases of Covid-19 and only one such death in the island, and consequently, wearing masks is not a norm there, Euronews reported. Moreover, both vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers there have to quarantine themselves for two weeks, in order to protect the near-about five thousand residents of the island. Less than a quarter of Montserratians are vaccinated against Covid-19, so an outbreak could have potentially dangerous outcomes.

Ironically, however, families of Montserratians from neighbouring islands have been largely unable to visit because the island stopped ferry services, the Euronews report said. However, from October 1, the rules are set to change and all vaccinated travellers will be able to enter the island. The two-moth stay, too, will no longer be necessary. One of the tourist attractions of the place is the Soufriere Volcano, which last erupted in 1995 and continues to be monitored. However, the island is potentially susceptible to volcanic activity. The hurricane season, which spans from June to November, is also currently on.

World Tourism Day was recently celebrated, on September 27. The day was first proclaimed in 1970 and United Nations World Tourism Organization declared it as an international observance. The day is observed to raise awareness about the importance of tourism and its effect on social, cultural, political and economic values globally. With travel restrictions easing in many countries around the world, the travel freaks are all set to venture out and complete their pending bucket list.

Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here

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Caribbean Island Montserrat is Currently Open Only to the Rich, Here's Why - News18

Caribbean: Tourism is the major economic booster for many countries around the globe and has expanded tremendously over the years. Tourism has experienced extensive diversification and has become one of the fastest-growing economic sectors in the world.

World Tourism Day aims to create awareness internationally of the significance of the sector and its impacts on the social, cultural, political, and economic values of various societies.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) chose September 27 as the date for World Tourism Day because it coincides with an important milestone in world tourism, which is the anniversary of the adoption of the UNWTO Statutes on September 27, 1970.

World Tourism Day was instituted in late September 1979 and was first celebrated on September 27, 1980.

The tourism sector holds significant importance for the Caribbean nations as it is the prudent instrument of the small island nations economies. Most of the Caribbean countries, including St Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, offers excellent holiday opportunities, including cruise rides.

The recent spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region has made the economies standstill as governments were forced to impose lockdowns to stem the virus spread. Travel and tourism sectors were amongst the most affected sectors with flights on the ground, hotels and resorts closed down and moreover, travel restrictions put in place that no person can roam freely.

Role of Vaccination

With the rollout of vaccines around the region, people imagine that recovery is now closer and most of the Caribbean nations will see a boom in tourism again. Unfortunately, this is not reality, most of the countries in the Caribbean are offering COVID-19 vaccine, but people refrain from taking the jab which makes the nations more vulnerable if they reopen for tourism. Public decisions may put many tourism workers at risk while affecting their businesses which entirely rely upon tourism. Many families are becoming poorer in the country and people are changing their jobs to survive.

However, frequent changes in travel restrictions are also putting the travel plans of visitors at risk. This also affects the confidence of travellers as they will have to change their plan or will have to cancel their vacation, so they are looking for other options.

In addition to that, travellers now have to get tested before travel and there is a big gap in coordination or clarity over regulations of the countries people are visiting. Flight cancellation and rescheduling is also a major concern that is making people wary of travelling.

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Tourism is a key to revitalize economic recovery of the Caribbean - WIC News

LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN: MIGRANTS & REFUGEES

MEXICOMexican officials report they will begin deporting detained Haitian migrants who have not yet applied for asylum on flights to Haiti, while also transporting those with pending asylum processes to Tapachula in the southern state of Chiapas on the border with Guatemala.The move follows the United States' recent expulsion of Haitians who crossed into the US from the city of Ciudad Acua in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila.Officials from the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR, per its Spanish acronym) report that some 19,000 Haitian have applied for asylum between January and August 2021, well over the combined number of asylum requests from Haitians in 2019 and 2020 that saw about 6,000 applications in both years. COMAR, who note that only Hondurans account for more asylum requests in Mexico, say that the 77,000 asylum applications fielded from January to August 2021 are already a 10 per cent increase from their previous record in 2019.

PANAMAPanamanian officials report that more than 20,000 people, mostly from Haiti, crossed into Panama through the treacherous Darien jungle in the eponymous eastern province on the border with Colombia in August 2021, accounting for almost a third of the record 70,000 crossings recorded so far in 2021.The growing number of migrants continues to lead to a rise in humanitarian needs. Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF), who are present in the Bajo Chiquito community in Darien where migrants often first arrive after leaving Colombia, report migrants are arriving with health needs related to fungal infections and gastrointestinal or respiratory ailments.Additionally, the presence of armed groups controlling drug trafficking routes is creating serious protection needs. MSF indicates at least 96 women were sexually assaulted in May and July while making the dangerous journey through the jungle.Colombia and Panama agreed in August to limit the number of daily crossings into Darien to ease the burden on shelters and services in Panama. While Panama is allowing 500 people to arrive via boat from the Colombian town of Necocl on the Caribbean coast,Panamas Security Ministry indicated on 20 September that the country is nevertheless seeing 2,500-3,000 daily crossings. Panamas efforts to limit daily entries continues to cause a bottleneck in Necocl, where authorities say there are about 14,000 people, mostly Haitian, currently stranded.

LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN: COVID-19

GUATEMALAThe Ministry of Health reports that 300 of Guatemalas 340 municipalities are under red alert due to an unabated spread of COVID-19 that continues to drive up cases, hospitalizations and deaths. The recent municipal alert designations, revised every two weeks, shows a slight decrease from the 305 municipalities under red alert on 4 September. No municipality in the country is under a green alert that indicates conditions for normal activity.While daily cases are slowly tapering off from an all-time single-day high of 5,800 in mid-August 2021, they are nevertheless still routinely surpassing 4,000. Daily death counts are following a similar pattern, with slight decreases from a 2 September record of 91. Active cases, now at 34,400, are showing a more encouraging decline after reaching a peak of 54,300 in late August. Less than a quarter of the population has been reached with vaccines and only 12 per cent of all people fully immunized.

MEXICOPer the Ministry of Health, Mexico is seeing an overall decline in the COVID-19 pandemic for an eighth consecutive week, as daily new cases continue to plummet from an all-time high of nearly 29,000 in mid-August 2021. Official data shows there are fewer than 9,000 hospitalized patients across country, with the highest occupancy rate for general care beds found in the state of Durango at 58 per cent.COVID-19 vaccination rates have tapered off in recent weeks. The percentage of people reached with at least one vaccine, now at 48 per cent, grew by about 5 percent from 21 August to 21 September, compared to 13 per cent growth from 21 July to 21 August.At least 33 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated.

PERUAccording to the Ministry of Education, more than 76 per cent of Perus public schools are ready to provide limited onsite learning, a step towards Perus gradual return to regular educational activity after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of these 85,654 schools, more than 6,200 have already begun activities for more than a quarter of a million students and more than 18,000 education staff. The Ministry is carrying on a constant evaluation of schools self-reported readiness and health safety measures for returning to onsite learning, limited or otherwise.The COVID-19 pandemic in Peru continues to wane, with daily new cases now commonly coming in below 1,000 and daily new deaths at about 50. The national vaccine roll-out is picking up its pace, with more than one fourth of the 14 million people vaccinated with at least one dose coming in the last month alone. Peru has managed to vaccinate 42 per cent of its population, with 28 per cent fully immunized.

Originally posted here:

Latin America & The Caribbean Weekly Situation Update (20 - 26 September 2021) As of 27 September 2021 - Mexico - ReliefWeb

Hurricane Sam, the 18th named cyclone of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, will make big waves in Atlantic shipping lanes this weekend.

Related: How and why do hurricanes get their names?

Sam was a tropical depression for a couple of days prior to becoming a tropical storm early Thursday morning. Less than 24 hours later, Sam had exploded into a Category 1 hurricane, with sustained winds of 75 mph as of early Friday morning.

At that time, Sam was centered over the tropical Atlantic about 1,470 miles southeast of the northern Leeward Islands.

The National Hurricane Center is forecasting Sam to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane Category 3 or higher by Saturday afternoon. The latest outlook has Sam tracking into the Caribbean next week, but staying far enough to the north to avoid landfall.

For now, Sam is only a threat to container ship crews who will have to steer clear. However, theres enough uncertainty in the hurricanes future path to keep attention focused on it for the next week. A slight shift to the south could have it crashing into several Caribbean islands, including U.S. territories like the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Compared to an average season through Sept. 23, this season has produced an above-average number of named storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes, with 18, seven and three, respectively. The averages over the past 30 years are 10, five and two.

In addition, the average date for the seventh Atlantic hurricane formation is Nov. 16 (the season officially ends Nov. 30), according to Philip Klotzbach, a meteorologist at Colorado State University who specializes in tropical weather. So, Sam is way ahead of schedule.

This is a developing situation, so look for updates on the FreightWaves website and social media accounts.

Heavy rain will continue to drench the Northeast, especially the New England states. Widespread flooding isnt likely, but areas of localized flash flooding are possible. The system producing the rain is moving slowly to the northeast and may not clear northern Maine until sometime Sunday. The National Weather Service has flash flood watches posted for western parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts, where another few inches of rain could accumulate.

Interstate 90 from Springfield to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Interstate 91 from Hartford, Connecticut, to Greenfield, Massachusetts.

Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.

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Hurricane Sam to intensify on way to Caribbean - FreightWaves