ABSTRACT
The Caribbean! The mere utterance of the word instantly conjures up the quintessential vision of its sun, sand, and sea. The images are like polished fantasies taken straight from the glossiest travel brochure: luxury cruise ships pulling into sun-drenched ports, duty-free shopping, deluxe resort enclaves, exotic tales of sunken treasure from mighty galleons sailing the Spanish Main, romantic swashbuckling pirates and buccaneers, plantation ruins from centuries past, historic forts, remnants of massive sugarmills, pelicans, sandpipers, flamingos, windsurfing, snorkeling and scuba, miles upon miles of often solitary sand-swept beaches dotted with cozy cays and coves, radiantly warm turquoise seawater washing across coral reefs, gently lapping against beaches with fine, powderlike sand. The shimmering islands of the Caribbean are undeniably among the most beautiful and captivating jewels in the entire world. The Caribbean lands constitute a distinct world of their own, stretching some two thousand miles from the Central American republics east to the arc of the Lesser Antilles—a tropical paradise of celestial beauty.
