EARTH DAY MESSAGE FROM THE CARIBBEAN TOURISM ORGANIZATION

EARTH DAY MESSAGE FROM THE CARIBBEAN TOURISM ORGANIZATION

FRIDAY 22 APRIL, 2016

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Today the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) joins the world in recognizing and celebrating Earth Day.

Here at the CTO, our core purpose is to lead sustainable tourism as we strive to make the Caribbean the leading sustainable tourism destination in the world.  The tourism sector and the environment are inextricably linked and environmentally responsible tourism is paramount to the sector’s sustainability and overall success.  

Tourism must be stewarded and balanced so that the benefits for the environment, the communities it serves, its employees and the economy, outweigh the costs.

Two years ago, we joined the rest of the environmentally-conscious world in lobbying for a new international climate change agreement backed by supportive and where necessary, punitive national initiatives that encourage more responsible environmentally friendly behavior.

At the recently concluded Conference of Parties 21 *(COP21) the Caribbean’s position was clear and we at the Caribbean Tourism Organization endorsed the call for “1.5 to stay alive”. We were thrilled with the news that an agreement had been reached.

Today, at a ceremony at the United Nations, President Barack Obama of the United States and President Xi Jinping of China will be the first to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change, the first day the United Nations accord will be open for government signatures.

This new agreement offers hope.  As many of CTO’s members are Small Island Developing States (SIDS), we remain optimistic that the tremendous strides made in Paris will help to ensure that this issue continues to occupy a prominent position on the global agenda. 

This year’s Earth Day theme ‘Trees for the Earth’ contributes to three main positives for a better world:

·    * The mitigation of climate change and pollution,

·    * Protection of biodiversity

·    * Supporting community and livelihoods

The Caribbean Tourism Organization pledges to pursue additional creative solutions to the many issues that face us, to benefit our citizens and visitors for generations to come. We hope that you will join us in our pledge and be part of the commitment to be socially and environmentally responsible.

Happy Earth Day

VISITOR STORY - Uncommon Attraction: Hike To The Heart Of Statia’s Quill Volcano

After years of eschewing any/all calls of the wild, I seem to have settled into a once-a-year hiking routine. Earlier this year, I enjoyed a snake-filled solo-trek along The Mastic Trail in Grand Cayman. This followed a 2010 lover’s romp with my wife up and down The Source Trail in Nevis. Both journeys were fun and inspiring in their own special ways, but now, with 2012 just a few short days away, I’m planning an even more uncommon adventure to the very heart of a Caribbean volcano!

Destination: St. Eustatius, the Dutch Caribbean paradise better-known in the islands as Statia.

Volcano: The Quill, which as you can see in the photo above and on the 1795 map below, is the dominant geographic feature on predominantly flat Statia.

NORMAN B. LEVENTHAL MAP CENTER AT THE BPL VIA FLICKR

As a lover of history and all things uncommon/Caribbean, Statia has always appealed to me. The island is super tiny – just 8.1 square miles in size with a population barely pushing 2,500. Even so, this was once one of the wealthiest ports in all of the Caribbean!

In the 18th century, the competing European colonial powers did not trade or engage in any legal commerce among themselves. If you were a French island, you traded with France; Spanish with Spain, etc.

Dutch Statia, though, was different. The local powers that were on the island adopted a neutral stance toward commerce, inviting trade with the French, English, Spanish, Portuguese and anyone else who happened to sail to her shores. Statia’s economy flourished, of course, earning the island a lofty nickname: The Golden Rock.

However, Statia’s neutrality eventually came back to bite the island (and the Netherlands in general) mainly because its arms dealers had no problem supplying American revolutionaries with enough guns and ammo to defeat the British. Some say there would be no United States of America today had it not been for tiny Statia, something the English couldn’t let slide once it lost the 13 Colonies for good. The Fourth Anglo-Dutch War ensued, devastating the Dutch Republic, including little Statia.

It’s a rich history, and one certainly every red-blooded American should be keen on exploring, but as noted above, the hike up and into the Quill is worth the trip as well.

The Quill soars to an elevation of just under 2,000 feet. There are eight different trails around and in (literally) the volcano and the surrounding Quill/Boven National Park, each offering varying levels of difficulty. The shortest, The Bird Observation Trail, only takes 20 minutes, meandering through the Park’s Botanical Garden. It links with The Round the Mountain Trail, which traces the boundary of the Park over a five-hour trek.

Those hikes sound nice, but I’m gearing up for the bigger thrill of combining the Quill and Crater trails.

The Quill Trail starts in upper Oranjestad, Statia’s capital,and takes you to the rim of the volcano in just under an hour. A piece of cake, right? Well, here’s where the fun really starts…

From the rim, you can pick up the Crater Trail, which true to its name, takes you right down to the crater floor inside the Quill, some 273 feet above sea-level. The trail winds around a 90-minute loop in the heart of the crater’s thick rainforest.Imagine the size and lushness of the plant life growing there?! I’ve read that breadfruit, plantains, figs and even edible raspberries can be found to fuel your hike.

What else might you find inside the Quill? From the Statia Tourist Office website:

There are at least 17 different kinds of orchids, some quite rare on the island. You may also come across iguanas, land crabs, butterflies and exotic birds.

Notice how they don’t say anything about snakes? I’ve read that you might find those too, but like the slithery friends I made in Grand Cayman, they’re said to be non-poisonous, so no worries there.

VISITOR STORY - Uncommon Envy: Statia’s Old Gin House Has Me Smittened

Love at first sight can be a dangerous thing. There’s just nothing sensible about it, which often means harsh consequences come about because of it.

I know all this, of course… Experienced those harsh consequences a time or two as well.

Still, when it comes to The Old Gin House in St. Eustatius, I just don’t care. I’ve been smitten with the place ever since I first glimpsed her website a couple years ago. I haven’t visited yet, but it’s right near the top of my ever-expanding Caribbean travel wish list. If you’ve ever looked into taking a trip to Statia, then I’m sure you feel the same way too, and not just because there are so few other choices.

The Old Gin House oozes with history and charm, two key elements I love in a hotel. True to its name, and perhaps a bit misleading to the tipplers among us, the property is a faithful reconstruction of an 18th-century building that actually housed a cotton gin. Those bricks you see on its walls, they were once used as ballast by ships calling on the island.

The historic aspects of the hotel are complemented nicely by its location along Oranje Bay, just steps from the ruins of the ancient stone warehouses stemming from the island’s heyday as The Golden Rock. Just up the hill, guests can explore Fort Oranje, the 17th-century citadel from whence the first official salute to what was then a brand new country called the United States of America was made on November 16, 1776.

The history alone is enough to make me want to check-in here, but as you might imagine, there’s a lot more to this special place. Take the rooms, for instance…

http://www.uncommoncaribbean.com/2012/05/17/uncommon-envy-statias-old-gin-house-has-me-smittened/

Dive video - Statia, Dutch Caribbean