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J U L Y  2 0 1 1
Issue 46
| An online magazine about investing, living, working and relocating to the Caribbean. |
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EDITORIAL
Ramblings and rumblings from the
Eastern Caribbean and sometimes beyond
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RECREATION AND LEISURE
Sports, golf, sailing, music festivals, adventures, quizzes and an events calendar
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DESTINATIONS AND TRAVEL
Updates on Caribbean destinations tourism, events, travels, key conferences
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RETIRING OFFSHORE
Planning an offshore retirement, essentials, interviews, hotspots and retirement tales
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WORKING IN THE CARIBBEAN
Jobs, finding work, buying a business, HR issues, permits and licenses
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CARIBBEAN REAL ESTATE
CaribProperty Notes, Off Plan Opportunities and Editor's Property Picks of the Month
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FUNDS AND INVESTMENTS
Insurance, offshore asset protection, mortgages investments, funding
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GREEN CARIBBEAN
Environmental news, sustainable living and eco- matters, eco-tourism, NGOs
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CARIBBEAN LIFE AND CULTURE
History, health, schools, language, the arts, relocating, pets and more..
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CARIBBEAN LIFE AND CULTURE
ON THIS PAGE:
A Well Travelled Corpse : The Remains Of Columbus by Susan Banks
Lifestyle Choices : Should You Rent Your Second Home? by Claire Lore
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A WELL-TRAVELLED CORPSE: THE REMAINS OF COLUMBUS, Part 2
by Susan Banks
Dominican Republic versus Spain
The man whose remains are in the box in the Dominican Republic showed signs of advanced arthritis, an ailment from which the elderly Columbus was known to have suffered. There is, of course, the inscription on the box, which no one suspects is false. It was Columbus’ wish to be buried in the New World and he founded Santo Domingo: it’s not unreasonable to think that some Dominican passed off some other bones as those of Columbus in 1795.
The Spanish have two solid arguments. First of all, the DNA contained in the bones in Seville is an extremely close match to that of Columbus’ brother Diego, who is also buried there. The experts who did the DNA testing believe the remains are those of Christopher Columbus. The Dominican Republic has refused to authorize a DNA test of their remains. The other strong Spanish argument is the well-documented travels of the remains in question: had the lead box not been discovered in 1877, there would be no controversy.
OF LATE, COLUMBUS HAS FALLEN FROM GRACE WITH THE POLITICAL CORRECTNESS CROWD, YET HE REMAINS A POWERFUL FIGURE WHO WAS ONCE CONSIDERED FOR SAINTHOOD
So What?
At first glance, the whole debate may seem trivial. Columbus has been dead for over 500 years, so who cares? The reality is more complicated, and there is more at stake than meets the eye. In spite of the fact that Columbus has of late fallen from grace with the political correctness crowd, he remains a powerful figure who was once considered for sainthood. Although he has what we could now call “baggage,” both cities want to claim him as their own.
The tourism factor alone is huge: many tourists would like to take their picture in front of Christopher Columbus’ tomb. This is probably why the Dominican Republic has refused all DNA tests: there is too much to lose and nothing to gain for a small nation that depends heavily on tourism.
DNA Testing
In 2006 Spanish researchers reported that they had resolved a century-old mystery surrounding Christopher Columbus's burial place...their verdict: Spain's got the right bones. A forensic team led by Spanish geneticist Jose Antonio Lorente compared DNA from bone fragments that Spain says are from the explorer with DNA extracted from remains known to be from Columbus' brother Diego.
"There is absolute matchup between Mitochondria DNA we have studied from Columbus' brother and Christopher Columbus," said Marcial Castro, a Seville-area historian. Mitochondria are cell components rich in DNA. Castro and his research colleagues have been trying in vain for years to convince the Dominican Republic to open up an ornate lighthouse monument in the capital, Santo Domingo, that the Dominicans say holds the remains of the explorer.
The director of the Columbus Lighthouse dismissed the researchers' findings and insisted that Columbus was indeed buried in the Dominican Republic and have never left Dominican territory. Interestingly, Castro stressed that, although his team is convinced the bones in Seville are from Columbus, this does not necessarily mean the ones in Santo Domingo are not. Columbus' body was moved several times after his death, and the tomb in Santo Domingo might conceivably also hold part of the right body. "We don't know what is in there," Castro said.
Castro said that in light of the DNA evidence from Spain, the objective of opening the Santo Domingo tomb would be to determine who, if not Columbus, is buried there. However, the Dominican Republic will not allow the remains to be tested.
So...Where is Columbus Buried?
Each city believes they have the real Columbus, and each has built an impressive monument to house his remains. In Spain, his remains are carried for eternity in a sarcophagus by massive statues. In the Dominican Republic, his remains are securely stored inside a towering monument/lighthouse built for that purpose. Basically, until the Dominicans allow a DNA to be done on their set of remain, it will be impossible to know for sure where Columbus is buried. Some people think that Columbus is in both places: after all, by 1795, his remains would have been nothing but powder and bones and it would have been easy to send half of him to Cuba and hide the other half in the Santo Domingo Cathedral.
Perhaps that would be the most fitting ending of all for the man who brought the New World back to the old.
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Author : Susan Banks is married to Noah Banks and has two teenagers. The family divides it's time between the States, where Susan is a graduate student in education at a University in California, and Guyana, her husband’s birth place. After an exhaustive search for the ‘it’ place to relocate, the family selected Panama and plans to move there Panama in 2010 after Susan’s graduation.
Email : Susan Banks
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Caribbean Lecture and Educational Cruises
 The M/V Explorer
Opportunities for learning are at the heart of these wonderful Caribbean Educational Cruises, for which Caribpro has a very special offer for our readers. We offer interactive lectures, workshops, and pre-port briefings led by college professors and other experts.
Our lectures provide travellers with the opportunity for personal growth and discovery through examining the history, culture, indigenous people, literature, music, geology, biology, and current issues of the regions through which we cruise. Opportunities for additional learning is provided through community college sessions led by fellow shipmates plus an 8,000-volume library and a computer lab with free internet access for further self-study. A broad selection of optional Field Programs will allow you to go ashore for first-hand discovery and exploration in every port. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION |
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LIFESTYLE CHOICES: SHOULD YOU RENT OUT YOUR SECOND HOME? Part 1
by Claire Lore
The question of whether to rent out your home on the vacation or holiday rental market is a tricky one and a personal choice that ultimately you’ll have to make yourself.
Here are the main factors that I find clients looking at (or should look at) when thinking about sharing their home with strangers:
1. Not wanting to have others sleep in their beds. This is very easily handled by putting a waterproof mattress cover down first, then following it with a thick luxury cotton mattress cover which will make the bed a lot less sweaty and then following that by a sheet.
2. Worried about someone trashing the place. This is very easily handled by my unusual but simple method of screening clients.
3. Not sure you want to deal with the hassle of it all. That is a personal decision of course. There are two ways to go. One is to hire a management company to do everything for you from advertising and renting the home to supervising all of the cleaning and repairs. I personally recommend your managing the property yourself (or having a member of your personal staff do it).
It is a known datum in this field that the owner usually can sell the property better than anyone else. There are many ways to make the job a lot easier and less time consuming which is where my advice comes in handy.
4. Not having someone on the ground that you can trust to take care of the home and customer and certainly not waste your money on expensive and unsupervised repair and maintenance.
This is probably the worst hurdle to jump over in the vacation rental business, if you live somewhere else. From my experience, I have rarely seen a professional management company do a decent job of either renting a property to vacationers or to maintain it well or economically.
 Truthfully, a realtor makes a lot more money selling properties than renting them out or supervising their maintenance.
Generally speaking, around the world, to manage a property (which is renting and or maintaining one for another) someone needs a real estate/property agent license and once they get one, they get seduced by the amount of commission a single sale can make. Often a real estate agent can only make the sale if he also agrees to manage the property and will usually do the best he can but often, because he’ll delegate the work, there will be a lot of waste.
Therefore, I have found that what works best is to choose a friend or neighbor who likes you and has personal affinity for the property. Generally speaking, he will do the best job and will be delighted with the extra money. More to the point, he will be quite sensible in his choices as he’ll go about maintaining your home as he would his own, which will be a lot cheaper than an agent would be forced to do.
For example, if a renter calls up to say that the lights suddenly don’t work, your friend will pop around the corner and reset the circuit breaker, not call an electrician. A friend or neighbor quite often will welcome the interaction with an out of town stranger and not consider it an annoying chore that he is forced to do to keep the his own client (you) happy.
If your friend or neighbor notices a chip in the paint of an otherwise perfectly kept-up fence, he might well touch it up with left-over paint he sees in your garage, the next time he has a moment, just like you probably would do.
Therefore, I’d consider this the biggest problem in the vacation rental business. Of course, there are exceptions to the above general statement that I made about property managers.
The thing to do is to make sure that you have someone in place that you really trust to take care of your property and clients. You’ll need to know how to reward this person for his work in a way that ensures that he does an excellent job for you and that home is immaculate when your guests arrive.
This article continues in the next issue. |
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Author: Claire Lore is a vacation rental consultant with experience in a wide range of markets ranging from villas in Florida to chateaux in France.
She can be reached at talktoclaire@me.com or via her web site http://www.2nd-home-consult.com Claire will give a free consultation to any second home owner .
Email : Claire Lore
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RANCHO SANTANA - NICARAGUA
A secure, residential community of 1700 acres set on rolling hillsides and dramatic cliffs rising away from the water, providing amazing ocean, mountain and valley views.
 Nicaragua is only 3 hours by air from Miami and Houston is in the heart if Central America, and is exposed to both major oceans, the Pacific and the Atlantic. The Estate home sites are about a kilometer from the beach. The latest section has properties that range in size from an acre to almost 3 acres, starting at just $32,800!
The Seagate Condominiums combines luxury and comfort with convenience and affordability—set against a backdrop of awe inspiring ocean and mountain views. Seagate Condominiums range from 1,300 to 1,700 square feet, featuring spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, the Limone River or the distant mountains.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
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 Green Caribbean  Index 
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RECREATION AND LEISURE
Sports, golf, sailing, music festivals, adventures, quizzes and an events calendar |
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PRESS RELEASE
June 2011
New National Museum in Montserrat
Officials have commissioned a new National Museum in Montserrat. The £600,000 structure was designed and is being built by local architect firm Alford Dyett Associates.
Director of Tourism at the Montserrat Tourism Board, Ms. Ernestine Cassell, comments: “The start of building work on the new National Museum in Little Bay is a clear indicator that Montserrat is well on its way to re-development following the years of volcanic activity. It’s a vital part of our tourism product and represents another important milestone in Montserrat’s history.”
The Montserrat National Trust will be responsible for setting up the exhibitions once the new museum is completed. Montserrat’s old museum was located in an old sugar mill on Richmond Hill in the south of the island.
This site has been abandoned because of volcanic activity, but the artifacts and displays were removed from the sugar mill and are currently in storage.
The new National Museum will have exhibition areas, a souvenir shop, meeting room, café and activity area.
The museum will also be equipped to accommodate those with disabilities.
The ground breaking ceremony to mark a start of construction of the new museum was held at Little Bay, north of the Cultural Centre and east of the Little Bay cricket field.
Chairman of the museum committee Alaric Taylor told ZJB news that they are hoping to have the building ready in time for the St. Patrick’s Day celebration next year, funding is provided by DFID through the tourism development project. In brief remarks, he said: “This is indeed a very historic occasion and we know that museums are an essential part of every single community; we know too that they were different types of museums.”
Several other officials gave brief remarks, including chairperson Mrs. Dulcie James, president of the National Trust (MNT) who is vested with the responsibility of the construction of the building, Lady Eudora Fergus, executive director of MNT, Dr. Erica Gibbs (Pictured above with Chief Minister Meade) perhaps the longest standing member of the MNT gave background history of the MNT; the Hon. Chief Minister Meade and Owen Lewis who represented the government’s Project Implementation Unit.
In his remarks the Chief Minister told the appreciable gathering for the occasion, as he noted that the building is not the museum: “We already had some very significant inputs form the museum of London and we are anticipating that they will continue to provide the support so that by the time the museum building is finished we will move straight into putting a museum in place.”
Source
http://www.breakingtrav
elnews.com |
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| May 0 |
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| Bonaire, the least developed of the ABC island, is famous for what`s not on the island, but surrounding it under the water. Diving is its magnet and it is THE spot for those who want to spend their time under the water and not gazing out at it from the beach. Curacao is quite the opposite with Willemstad, its capital a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a colonial treasure filled with historic sites and residents who speak four distinct languages. ---> Read More |
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| June 0 |
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| William Walker was an American physician, lawyer, journalist and adventurer, who had an astounding, albeit not always successful, ‘career’ as a filibuster (these days we’d call him a mercenary), and an outright adventurer – all leading to the presidency of the Republic of Nicaragua in 1856. He was defeated in 1857 by a coalition of Central American armies and executed by the government of Honduras in 1860 at age 36 years old. ---> Read More |
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| June 0 |
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| There are two types of life, the great life and the normal life, but in reality the normal life is no life at all! Everybody knows that the best beaches are in the Caribbean and for certain the DR has a huge share of the best of them all. In this first part of our Sybarite Guide we will talk about those beaches where true sybarites can enjoy more than the beach itself, here they will enjoy life, the food, the pleasure of the moment, the view, in short the whole package! In the DR you do not have to be mega rich to enjoy life, you just need to have the right guide and here it is. ---> Read More |
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| June 0 |
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| Building in the Caribbean is challenging at best. This story describes the challenges met during the construction of a small sustainable resort in Grenada. It can serve as a tale of caution, and lessons learned as there are many pitfalls in the Caribbean construction industry. And there is a one of a kind opportunity to be part of a unique, beautiful sustainable resort project – that is built with standards in mind! ---> Read More |
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| June 0 |
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| After six years in Belize, I just made a new discovery (something you will do all the time - it`s one of the rewards of being here). Fish eating bats. These are not those cute little bats hanging upside down. These bats have evolved to hunt fish. Big, fast, enormous bulldog bats that go by a nickname, "the fisherman." These bats have two foot wings and fly at 40 mph after 11pm to catch fish. Not to worry, the bats have no interest in humans! ---> Read More |
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| September 0 |
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| Caribbean Property and Lifestyles Magazine recently had the opportunity to interview Lori and Jorge Estrada, the visionary couple who have created the ultimate seaside community, Montecristo Beach Resort and Golf Club, in Nicaragua. In the highly informative interview, the couple share their vision and commitment to developing the leading seaside community in Central America. ---> Read More |
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| September 0 |
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| Authentic Mexican cuisine is the result of a decade after decade fusion and amalgamation of food products, spices and recipes from many other cultures combined with the now lost recipes of original Mexican cuisine. The Tex-Mex food of today, such as tacos and burritos, is a nouveau fast food with a slight Mexican twist that has become ingrained as a staple of the American’s diet. If one wants authentic Mexican food of yore, the kind that is homemade from scratch, it can be found in every city, village and small town in Mexico – just don’t expect to find it in the border towns or resort towns that cater to the American tourist. ---> Read More |
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| September 0 |
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| Cuba, that grand island of mystery, is also a land of timeless beauty, an eco-paradise, the land that time forgot and an other-worldly sort of travel experience as one feels as though they are stuck in a time warp…but certainly a most enchanting one. ---> Read More |
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| April 0 |
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| The longest running unsolved mystery in Latin America, for several centuries, is the exact location of Christopher Columbus’ burial site. And for many years, two nations have battled out their claim of being the home to that site. After he died in Spain, Columbus’ remains travelled quite a bit, eventually ending up in the Dominican Republic, and then reportedly back to Spain. But this is where the mystery begins. Two cities, Seville (Spain) and Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) claim to have the remains of the great explorer. Of course, behind the battle will be one city’s loss of an annual tourism dollar windfall from visitors flocking to visit Columbus’ resting place. The debate continues as DNA testing has been done. Read about this fascinating mystery in part one of A Well-Travelled Corpse : The Remains of Columbus ---> Read More |
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Click Here to download this article in PDF format.
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