Hard Wine lives up to its name!/SBPR

I know we usually reserve the booze discourse for our Friday Happy Hour series, but yesterday’s Facebook discussion over the correct spelling of wining (or whining as the case may be) reminded me of this stuff. I found it in a gas station during our Nevis adventure earlier this year. Befitting its suggestive name and label, the bottle was perched high on a shelf behind the check-out counter. Of course, I just had to check it out.

From the minute I asked the cashier for it, our cab driver started shaking his head. “You don’t want to mess with that stuff; too potent,” he laughed.

I was curious, though. Could this contain the same bois bande Caribbean natural viagra I had encountered in Martinique and Tobago (where it’s also known as Naked Boy) earlier this year?

A quick glance at the ingredients confirmed my suspicions – bois bande, Siberian ginseng and horny goat weed… Hard Wine, it seemed, was one drink that could live up to its name!

Now as faithful Uncommon Caribbean readers already know, I chickened out on trying the Naked Boy in Tobago and I still have an unopened bottle of bois bande from the Covered Market in Martinique sitting in my fridge. This time, though, would be different.

After all, I was alone in Nevis with my wife (no kids) trying to make up for missing our 10th wedding anniversary due to a trip to Martinique the previous year… What better time could there be to experiment with some Hard Wine? My only question: could I trust it?

Online info on Hard Wine is scarce, though the drink has a small following on Facebook. Certainly, it’s made in Trinidad and it appears to be an Angostura brand, so what’s not to like?

Hmmm, how about the taste? Yeah, that’s not to like. That’s not to like at all.

It’s not so bad that I had to spit it out, but Hard Wine definitely earns a big blech in my book. Sort of reminded me of Mad Dog 20/20 or Boone’s Farm (there’s a Boone’s Farm fan club?), not that I ventured out to procure bottles of these nefarious characters from my past to do a taste test. Over-fruity and boozy in a bad way that means business, I could now see why Hard Wine holds top shelf status at the gas station…and likely nowhere else.

Bad taste is one thing, but the real question is does Hard Wine deliver as its name implies?

Well, let’s just say that my lack of conditioning wasn’t the only reason why I struggled along The Source hike on our last full day in Nevis…

La Pagerie Museum/SBPR

You wouldn’t know it by its humble appearance, but this quaint little cottage boasts as rich a royal history as you’ll find anywhere in the Caribbean.

This is one of the main exhibition buildings that comprise Le Musee de la Pagerie, or the La Pagerie Museum, located in the seaside town of Trois-Ilets in Martinique. The museum, whose origins date back to 1929, is named for the Tascher de la Pagerie family, which owned a sugar plantation on this site in the 1700′s. Though notable members of Martinique’s aristocracy in those colonial times, it’s doubtful a museum would be erected and maintained to this day in the family’s honor if not for their daughter, Marie-Joseph Rose Tasher de la Pagerie.

You may not know her by the mouthful that is her full name, but you’ve probably heard of her husband, the short-statured, short-tempered icon of military and political power, Napoleon.

Josephine Cup/SBPR

When she met the notorious soon-to-be French Emperor,  Marie-Joseph actually went by the name Rose. As the story goes, Napoleon preferred the name Josephine, so of course today and for all time, she’s known as Empress Josephine.

I’ve visited the museum several times in the past few years and am always amazed that such a small, out of the way place could be packed with so much royal European history. The little cottage, which was formerly the plantation’s kitchen, is filled with a wide assortment of Napoleonic era art and artifacts. Paintings, sculptures, furniture, tea sets, lamps, flatware, vases, and more are displayed throughout, tracing the lives and loves of the royal couple.

One of the more popular items is Josephine’s childhood bed (pictured below). I can’t believe it’s still around considering the plantation’s main house was destroyed in a hurricane in 1766 and never rebuilt.

Empress Josephine's Bed/SBPR

Another big draw are Napoleon’s sensual, hand-written love letters to Josephine. Even if you, like me, do not read French, you still get the idea that these letters are fairly risque. And when you consider that just one of Napoleon’s letters to Josephine recently sold at auction for more than $500,000, it makes seeing one here for the €5 (about $6.35) adult entry fee quite the bargain.

Josephine may have gotten divorced from Napoleon, eventually dying virtually alone and in exile just as he did, but the remarkable story of her rise from this spot in Martinique to rule the French Empire alongside one of world’s most iconic figures is still a pretty good reason to pay La Pagerie a visit.

The museum is open every day except Mondays. Weekday hours are from 9am to 5:30pm. On weekends, La Pagerie opens at 9:30am and closes at 12:30pm before reopening at 3pm and closing for the night at 5pm.

For more info, contact La Pagerie via email at museedelapagerie@wanadoo.fr.

World's Girliest Soda/SBPR

Could there be a more girly-looking drink anywhere in the world? I mean, just look at this bottle – if there was a life-size Barbie  Dream House (oh wait, there is one?) the fridge would have to be loaded with these Tings…

Now I’ve never been a guy to have a problem with pink. My high school fascination with pink flamingoes probably didn’t help me with the ladies, and the pink cumberbund/bow-tie combo I rocked to junior prom may have contributed to my turning in early despite three dates (no names), but I liked pink, dammit, and I didn’t care.

Even now I don’t really care. Correction, I didn’t care till the other day, when while cracking open one of these pretty pink Jamaican beauties one of my sons said, “Dad, isn’t that drink for girls?”

Yeah, um…not good.

When, at 39 years of age, your manhood gets questioned by your six year-old son, it’s time to change your drink, no matter how delicious and refreshing it may be.

And believe me, Pink Ting is very delicious and very refreshing. A close cousin to Jamaica’s #1 soft drink, Ting, which faithful readers will also remember is Patrick’s all-time favorite soda, Pink Ting combines carbonated pink grapefruit juice, a hint of lime and natural sugar sweetening to make even the warmest days more bearable.

Like regular Ting, Pink Ting acquits itself beautifully in a strong, masculine, MacGyver-type fashion to happy hour as well. Whether you choose rum, vodka or gin, simply combine with Pink Ting and a dash of bitters for an easy and delightful cocktail manly booze drink that will no doubt put hair on your chest.

For guys, enjoying a Pink Ting mixer in a highball may help to minimize any girlyman teasing from your friends, kids and assorted loved ones. But for those times when non-alcoholic drinks are a must, just make sure you’ve got a brown paper bag handy…

Cheers!

Our Lucaya Beach & Golf Resort/SBPR

Getting lost in a good book at the Our Lucaya Beach & Golf Resort in Grand Bahama Island.

Outside of my home island of St. Croix, there’s no other Caribbean destination that I’ve spent more time in than Puerto Rico. Even before my days working on the island’s PR account back in the mid-90′s, it seemed like I was always rushing off to La Isla del Encanto for swim meets, connecting flights, or just plain fun.

If you think all this familiarity could breed even the slightest ounce of contempt in my mind, think again. I simply can’t get enough Puerto Rico!

As I type this, I’m just a few short days from jetting back there again, and I could not be more excited. It’s gonna’ be a short trip  (just three days), but I’m still trying to cram a long list of uncommon experiences into my itinerary. Near the top is a performance of Bomba song and dance like the one featured in the video above.

Way back around the start of Uncommon Caribbean, we shared a short post on Puerto Rico’s surprisingly strong African heritage and the key role Bomba plays in it. I was inspired to make this one of our earliest posts, in large part, because I’ve enjoyed Bomba music all throughout my life, but have never had the chance to see a performance like this in person… And I REALLY want to!

If I’m lucky enough to experience this over the next few days, I’ll be sure to post a full account soon after my trip. If not, well, at least we’ll have this video…and another excuse to head back to my other favorite island.

Cruzan 9 Spiced Daiquiri

This week we take a trip back to Cuba, circa 1898, to re-discover the origins of the Daiquiri. Once a staple of Caribbean watering holes, this simply delicious rum drink is now long forgotten on these shores, having been besmirched by blenders and purveyors of mass marketed sour drink mix.

After the Spanish-American War (1898), an American engineer by the name of Jennings Stockton Cox of the Juraga Iron Company was sent to the town of Daiquiri, Cuba to begin developing the iron-ore mines.

The U.S. had secured temporary control of Cuba from the Spanish with the Treaty of Paris (America also gained colonial authority of Puerto Rico and Guam in this declaration) and American industrial interests were in a hurry to make claims on the mineral deposits of the island before Cuba realized full independence. Mr. Cox reputedly created this impromptu concoction while entertaining guests one night, after he discovered his liquor collection bereft of Gin. He simply (but what can be simple when you’ve run out of gin?) fashioned a cocktail made of the prevalent local abundance, combining local Cuban rum with a couple limes and some sugar over ice.

Presto. A legend is born.

The Daiquiri then gained prominence during Prohibition, as Americans flocked to Cuba for a wee legal dram. Ernest Hemmingway helped to popularize it by destroying his already frail liver with the famous Hemmingway Daiquiri variation, made exclusively for him at Havana’s El Floridita Hotel Bar. Rumors tell that Hemmingway would knock back 10 or 12 doubles, pass out on his corner bar stool, only to awaken later in the evening and resume drinking.

In the 1940’s a combination of wartime alcohol rationing and President Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor policy towards Latin America contributed to the mass dispersant of rum based drinks in the U.S. Caribbean and faux Polynesian cocktails were all the rage among Americans, spurring Cuban tourism and stateside Tiki bars. The Daiquiri was hip, fashionable and now generally served shaken and strained up in a martini glass or coupe.

Then, the 60’s showed up.

When the Cuban Government nationalized those same American corporate properties that Mr. Cox helped establish, relations strained between the neighboring countries, resulting in the lasting U.S. embargo. Anything Cuban was painted with a broad red swath of communistic ideals and the Daiquiri quickly fell out of favor.

Next the 70’s boogied along and the resurrected Frozen Daiquiri took hold as the accepted defacto recipe. A frozen mess of cheap liquor and sweetened processed lime mix or synthetic fruit flavors, this image of the rotating vat of slush became the symbol of an easy way of drinking. This tradition of blended drink has continued until recently. Nowadays, asking for a daiquiri at the local bar will prompt the question: “What flavor?”

Let’s put our faith in history and re-create the original, but with a spiced twist to give Steve a chance to enjoy his new favorite rum in a different way.

Combine everything over ice, shake hard for 20 seconds, then strain into a martini glass.

Cheers!

Your Monthly Moment of Zen.

St. Maarten Babymoon

Uncommon Caribbean officially launched March 1st, but Stephen and I were actually posting stories and planning the experience since early February. Little did we know, something someone else was also being conceived around the same time! Yes, it turns out that the Uncommon Caribbean family should be getting a little larger very soon. We’re expecting the new correspondent at the beginning of November, so naturally we had to use my wife’s pregnancy as an excuse to travel!

When it came to planning our little babymoon, we took a few things into account that were a little different for us:

1. The point is to relax and be comfortable. Some strenuous times full of diaper changes and sleep deprivation may be on the horizon, so peace and quiet is a top priority.
2. You want to spend as little time traveling to your destination as possible. Airports, airplanes, cars, transfers, etc are stressful. This stuff should be minimized.
3. You don’t want to find yourself too secluded. Relaxing is easier when you know there are quality medical facilities nearby just in case any complications should occur.
4. If there’s to be adventure, you have to be a bit more creative about it. After all, the “easy” choices for adventure in the Caribbean like diving, hiking, cycling, surfing, etc. are a bit tough for a woman pushing her third trimester.

Other than those four, we just tried to have a normal, nice vacation. Some people might try to make it seem like your babymoon has to be carefully crafted, or give you a list as long as my arm of things to worry about when traveling, like travel insurance, medical insurance claims in foreign countries, what trimester you’re in, or which airplanes have restrictive policies on pregnant passengers, but the point is: This is just an excuse to have a great vacation, so why stress yourself out and try to act differently about it?

Anyway, for us the choice of destination was easy: St. Martin/St. Maarten.

“The Friendly Island” is blessed with 37 beautiful beaches – one for each of the island’s 37 square miles. It’s under four hours away from my home base in New York. JetBlue flies there from the pleasant Terminal 5 hub at JFK. And as a bonus, there are several built up areas with plenty of facilities.

Big Belly at Long Bay St. Maarten

Like I said, we approached the pregnancy aspect of the babymoon as more of an excuse to travel than a hindrance. It wasn’t going to stop us from staying at a hotel a little off the beaten path. (We loved L’Esplanade! Read more about it.) It wasn’t going to stop us from walking all over Grand Case to find the best lolo bar. It wasn’t going to stop us from baring it all on Orient beach. (You can imagine that Kathleen was the only pregnant, nude woman on the beach, though it might be hard to tell from the photo on that post.)  It wasn’t going to stop us from exploring secluded caves perfect for an afternoon make-out session. In fact, I think we may have set foot on all 37 of those gorgeous beaches!

The one place we had to make a slight adjustment, as I mentioned in point #4 above, was in seeking a little adventure. Being a born and bred West Indian, I love tramping through the bush and was quite interested in climbing to the top of Pic Paradis, the highest point on St. Martin at 1,400 feet. There were plenty of long, interesting looking trails up there, but I was a bit concerned about my lady making it and didn’t want to ditch her, so… we adapted.

Pic Paradis street sign St. Martin

On the main road, near Friar’s Bay, you can find the above sign on the left side of the road if you’re driving south. Take a quick left, and follow that road all. the. way. It may seem like you’re going the wrong direction as the road isn’t in the best shape and, at points, overgrown with grass, but just keep going and be careful. As you climb, you’ll pass Loterie Farm on your right. (There you can do a little ziplining if you do feel like leaving the preggers missus behind.)

view point signs

Finally, you’ll reach a dead end with some improvised signage pointing the way down a thin path to the “view point”. From here the walk is literally one minute, as posted on the signs, and you’ll be at the top! That’s it. Consider it a mini-hike and just enjoy the view:

view from Pic Paradis St. Martin

From there you can take in much of this idyllic island in the sun.

For me, it was the perfect place to start planning our return trip  to St. Martin/St. Maarten for the two three of us.

Jason Apparicio & Grom Princess/SBPR

Surfing was not on my agenda when I traveled to Tobago earlier this year. I was there with my wife and kids to surprise my Dad over the Easter Holiday, which incidentally is an exceptional time to be in Tobago, what with the Goat Races and hilarious bobolee beatings.

Sure, I was looking for an uncommon adventure, but surfing? I had been to Tobago several times in the past few years and had never heard even the slightest whisper that the sport was alive on the island. I soon learned there was a good reason for that…

During dinner on the second night of our trip, I overheard a young local friend of my Dad’s telling his wife about all the fun he had surfing earlier that day.

“Surfing?,” I interrupted. “Did you just get back from Barbados?”

“Nah, man, we have some of the best surfing around right here in Tobago!”

Our new friend, Alan, was about to tell me all about it when my wife chimed in with: “Oh great, you can write about it for your site!”

Almost instantly, Alan clammed up. “You’re a writer?,” he asked, looking at me like I had just sprouted a third eye. I started to explain the whole Uncommon Caribbean thing, but somewhere around me saying that we spotlight lesser-known and off-the-beaten-path aspects of Caribbean travel, I lost him. Or better said, he tried to lose me.

“Surfing is one of our special little secrets here. We really don’t want the word to get out.”

Now I was even more intrigued, of course. After a few minutes of persistent badgering, and more than a few Caribs, I finally persuaded Alan to clue me in.

He told me about Mt. Irvine Beach, Tobago’s prime surfing spot. He told me about anticipated conditions over the remaining days of my stay – “Tomorrow should be ideal, but the next day will be really rough.” But most of all he told me about his friend, Jason Apparicio.

See those dots way out in the water? Those are surfers...

Trinidad & Tobago’s most decorated pro surfer, Jason is the man to get with if you really want to experience the best that surfing in the twin-island nation has to offer. Whether you’re an ultra-novice, like me, or a seasoned pro, Jason can tailor lessons or put together a full-on surfing adventure to match any skill level. Lucky for me, he just happened to be on the ferry from Trinidad to Tobago that night to spend the Easter Weekend enjoying the waves at Mt. Irvine. I made plans through Alan to hook up with Jason the next afternoon. By 2:00 I was shaking hands with the Trini surfing legend…and wondering what the Hell I had gotten myself into…

You see, once upon a time I was pretty athletic. From age four to 16, I swam competitively as a member of the St. Croix Dolphins. In high school, I was a starter on a championship-winning soccer team. I even continued to run and lift weights throughout my 20′s and early 30′s. Twin boys and a serious back injury later, and guess what? Adonis doesn’t live here anymore.

Just so happens that my two biggest problem areas are ones that really count in surfing: abs and back. You need to have a strong core for surfing. I do not. My thoughts and aspirations soon shifted from “Wow, this is going to be awesome,” to “Holy crap, I hope I don’t die.”

Before we get to the life and death part, let’s take a few steps back so I can give you a few tips on what to expect if you ever decide to take a surfing safari to Mt. Irvine. When you get there, don’t look for the surfing in the middle of the beach. The water is usually so calm there that older locals frequent the place for water aerobics and limin’. The surfing can be found to your right, or in the somewhat secluded northeastern section of the bay. The waves break on a coral reef quite a ways offshore, so you’ll want to be weary of your landings at the end of each wave. You may also want to down a Lucozade beforehand, as you’ll be doing a lot of paddling to get all the way out to the waves.

Before I could get in the water, it was time for a quick lesson. Jason was a great instructor – patient, laid-back and very flexible to my individual comfort level (or lack thereof). I was also lucky enough to get some pointers from his young daughter who happened to be along that day. Surfer kids are called Groms in Tobago and elsewhere. By virtue of her skill, Jason’s daughter is known at the Grom Princess. I was in good hands.

Grom Princess, Tobago/SBPR

A few moments more and it was time to get wet. The King of Trini Surfing, his Grom Princess, and their hobbled court jester (me) set off toward a steady stream of four- to six-foot waves. Right away, I began to feel the familiar burn of lower back pain as we paddled side by side by side over the menacing, yet fragile coral reef below. Hmmm…this could end badly…

Once out in position and sitting on my board, the Grom Princess set off to show me how it’s done. With a slight push from her Dad, she deftly leapt to her feet, gaining her balance with ease and eventually exhausting a wave twice her size till it could give no more. Couldn’t have looked easier.

Now it was my turn. At Jason’s direction, I paddled just ahead of him. He steered my board into position. This was it! A mighty push, some frantic paddling, a spring to my feet, and…SPLASH! It was over before I knew what hit me. Luckily the thing that hit me was the foam surf board Jason always insists his students use so as to avoid serious injury, and not the coral below. I was fine and ready to try again.

As the Grom Princess continued to surf circles around me, I struggled through four more attempts, each ending as ingloriously as the first. Thankfully, I continued to avoid the coral, but the strain on my back was too much. By try #5, I was toast.

Back on the beach, licking my wounds with an ice-cold Carib, I couldn’t help but smile. The day hadn’t gone the way I’d wanted, but the experience far out-weighed any disappointment or pain that I was feeling.

The sun began to sag in the afternoon sky. Jason, his wife, his friends and I laughed as male groms wrestled in the sand. Still others continued to quest for the perfect wave. As most days are when you try something new, it was perfectly imperfect and infinitely rewarding.

If you’re keen on setting off on a Trinbago surfing adventure with Jason, check out his new Jason Apparicio Surf Academy website for details on how to get in touch with him. Oh, and be sure to do plenty of sit-ups before you go…

Kennedy's Hand Craft Centre, Nevis/SBPR

Shopping is not a main draw in Nevis, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a special souvenir or two to commemorate your trip to this very special place. While wandering around the island back in June, we happened upon this humble handicrafts store with just the type of souvenirs I’m talking about…and a truly remarkable story.

As elsewhere in Nevis, and the Caribbean for that matter, you can buy hand-carved wooden wall hangings and small statuettes here, no two exactly alike. The items reflect the charm and personality of the island with detailed carvings of native plants, birds, and of course the ever-popular monkeys, fashioned from local wood, polished to a shine, and available for sale at reasonable prices.

Kennedy Tyrell creations

If you’re well-traveled in the Caribbean, it might be easy to dismiss this store and its goods at first glance. After all, where haven’t you been that you couldn’t find good quality, handmade local artifacts?

The difference here, though, is that all the items are produced by a craftsman who can neither hear nor speak.

The craftsman, Kennedy Tyrell, lives in a small home adjacent to the store with his mother, who is also disabled. She’s blind.

Against the odds, mother and son live and work here with Kennedy churning out masterpieces for other wandering visitors to stop by and purchase (there are no other stores nearby).

The store is located in the small village of Zion right alongside the main road that encircles the island. It’s hard to miss and well worth a visit.