CaribbeanTravel.com Directory - (Page IX) Top: Carnival in Trinidad. Middle left: Shopping in St. Maarten. Middle right: Local artwork for sale, Dominican Republic. Bottom: Hiking in Montserrat. CULTURAL/ PERFORMING ARTS The French high regard for the arts is evident in Martinique, where L’Atrium in Fort de France offers year-round cultural events, including jazz, world music, opera, theater and classical music. Les Grands Ballets de la Martinique is a renowned folkloric show with beguine dancing and traditional costumes. Belize’s Bliss Centre for the Performing Arts in Belize City hosts the Belize Theatre Company, Belize National Dance Company and the Garifuna All Star Band. Seine Beight, a group of Garifuna drummers and dancers, performs regularly at the Inn at Roberts Grove in Placencia. The International Film Festival showcases films and documentaries from Belize and the Caribbean. VISUAL/FINE ART Some of the most acclaimed artwork in the Caribbean comes from Haiti, where there are more artists than any other country in the world. If your clients have a spirit of adventure, they can pick up excellent, reasonably priced work at the Centre d’Art and Isaa El Saieh galleries in Pacot, and crafts at the Iron Market in Port-au-Prince. Recommend the Museum of Haitian Art in the capital, which displays the country’s finest art naif (untrained art). Anguilla has 16 galleries and craft studios. Suggest Devonish Gallery, Cheddie’s Carving Studio and Glass Island, or send clients to Savannah Gallery to arrange a guided gallery tour. SHOP ’TIL YOU DROP Average duty-free savings in the Caribbean are 20 to 25 percent off most items; liquor can range to 50 percent off U.S. prices. Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, is among the best shopping destinations, with the biggest selection of merchandise and greater customs allowances. The duty-free quota in the U.S.V.I. is double that of any other Caribbean destination at $1,600 – plus, there’s no sales tax. St. Maarten often has the lowest prices in the Caribbean since there is no import duty or sales tax, and there is fierce competition among its 500 duty-free shops. French luxury imports are discounted 30 to 40 percent in Martinique. British luxury goods are featured in Bermuda, with discounts on woolens, cashmere sweaters, china and crystal thanks to low import tariffs. Plus, there is no sales tax. NATURE Two-thirds of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands is set aside as a National Park. It hosts 20 hiking trails; the Reef Bay Trail is all downhill through forests and plantation ruins, ending at a pristine beach with a boat pick-up. Birder-watchers flock to Trinidad and Tobago to catch a glimpse of the 425 colorful species. Birding hotspots on Trinidad include the Caroni Bird Sanctuary, home to the protected Scarlet Ibis, and the Asa Wright Nature Center covering 270 acres. Birding by kayak is popular in Nariva Swamp and Paria Bay. On Tobago, birders can scope out Grafton Caledonia Sanctuary PREFACE I and Little Tobago Island. Montserrat also beckons birder with 34 species of resident land birds and migrant songbirds. A third of Grenada’s land mass is preserved in parks and sanctuaries. Grand Etang Forest Reserve is the most impressive, with ecological zones culminating in elfin woodlands on the highest slopes. Among the many waterfalls is Concord Falls, a series of three cascades with the final 65-foot plume ending in a cool pool I —Kathleen M. Mangan IX
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