Caribbean Islands

[Mark CRUISE]

Hi all,

Interested to find out everyones opinion on their favourite Caribbean Island.

[B Sousa]

Many favorites, all for different things. In the Virgins

St John....best to live on.
St Croix...... most reasonable to live on
Jost Van Dyke......Best to Party on.....(White Beach)
Anegada.... best to hang out on for water fun....
And More
Down Island Im sure someone will have some favorites.

[Captain Stable]

As Sousa says...

Best to live on - St. Lucia
Best value to live on - St. Kitts
Best party - Jost Van Dyke
Cheapest - St. Vincent
Best food in supermarkets - Guadeloupe
Best diving - Bequia
Best rum - Barbados

etc.....

[B Sousa]

OK Captain Stable, We have a disagreement here. Im partial to that rot gut Rum from St Croix. "Cruzan Rum", its cheap and smooth.....
On another subject some folks dont know that they are also licensed to make "Yukon Jack" in St Croix, not that anybody drinks that stuff.

[Captain Stable]

Oh yuck :rolleyes: :D

I'll make exceptions for either CSR or Pussers, but not much else! ;)

[B Sousa]

PUSSERS.......Now thats why the British Navy had all their sailing type ships sunk was it??
All they do now is market expensive clothes in their tourist stores and those are made in Sweat Shops...
CRUZAN Premium dark....and a little Coke(a-Cola) as you watch the cruise ships leave Charlotte Amalie in the early evening while sitting by the pool above Frenchmans Reef......

[TowerDog]

St. Croix is my favorite. Mainly because I lived there some years ago and know my way around.

Been thinking about purchasing a condo on STX, these days ya get 'em from $22K and up.

Also lived on St. Thomas, but that rock is a bit busy for me,
who needs rush-hour traffic on an island?

Love St. John, used to sail over from STX and STT and hang out on the hook in Coral Bay.

Agree on Cruzan Rum, good stuff and at $3.00 per bottle ya can't afford not to...:D

[striking a chord]

what about income tax, I have heard that Bermuda is low, what is the flying like in Bermuda

[TowerDog]

Dobt there is much inter-Bermuda flying as they only have one airport and that one is about 800 miles from anything else.

Perhaps they have a charter plane or two for the rich folks to take a shopping trip to New York...?
Maybe a Single Engine Cessna to shoot touch and goes., but don't recall seeing any.

As for income tax in the US Virging Islands, belive it is US Federal Tax there, but no local sales tax or local income tax.
Still fairly expensive to live as ya usually pay "tourist prices".

Rent for a 2 bedroom condo up to $1,300.00 per month plus electric.

[B Sousa]

Tower Dog
Another thing about St Croix. One of the not so famous yet lasting Musicians from the 70s lives there. Jonathan Edwards. He had a few hits back in the days......
Sunshine, Shanty etc......Go good with Rum on da beach mon

[IB6-UB9]

Towerdog,

Not to forget the 10% Crewdiscount at the dutyfree.
Makes the Cruisan cheeper than the dilution....


ho ho and a bottle of rum, and black angus here we come!!!


:cool: :D :confused: :mad:

[TowerDog]

"Black Angus here we come"...:eek: ?

Aye, you have been there too?

(For the un-informed: Black Angus was the best and biggest whore house in Puerto Rico. Don't know if it is still in business, but some of my hard earned money went there 21 years ago..
Good old days..:D )

B Sousa:

Don't know about Jon Edwards, but have a buddy down there that plays 70s music..:

http://www.islands.vi/~jonther/usual2.htm

Name is Jon also, check out his page and say hello from the TowerDog..;)

[Captain Stable]

Sounds like an interesting place - nowadays the other half would go sufficiently UNStable :eek: that such a thought may not be entertained without having the lawyers' phone number handy... :(

[LittleFokker]

Sorry to bring the news about Black Angus, but the place was closed about 2-3 yrs ago. The Biz was good but I think the Govt. decided to do a clean out of the area a la Guilliani (Spell) in NY. Anyway SJU is still a good place to visit and just a short hop from either STT or STX

[B Sousa]

Tower Dog
You can find Jonathon Edwards album today its on www.amazon.com. If both Jons are into serious music Im sure they have met.....

[Check 6]

Here are my two cents worth:


Peter Island (BVI) - best seafood buffet

Necker Island (BVI) - most relaxing

St. Barts - best supermarket at the airport

St. Kitts - best bargain

St. Martin (French side) - easiest Customs/Immigration: NONE


We jammin'

:D

[B Sousa]

Stu
Just goes to show how long you have been away. Pilots dont relax on Necker anymore and you will probably only do a late night sandwich on Peter Island......(no sinlgle engine nights in the BVI) competetion screwed it up....

[Check 6]

Bert, yep I know. I was just responding to the poll, even if my experiences are a little dated.

Ciao, Stu

:D :D

[Hogg]

Unlike TowerDog, Ive never had to pay for it :p

Best Fun Island Greneda

Easiest Pulling Island St Vincent

Hardest to hide on Island Palm;)

[Herc Jerk]

Cuba and 7yr Havana Club

HJ

[Doudou]

Why not the 12y Havana Club?
Cuba is great! (if you're not American)

[Herc Jerk]

the Cuban don't have a problem with Americans, nor with US$.

[con-pilot]

Awww, come on guys, what about St. Marrten (Dutch side).


As in the Sunset Beach Bar, I love that place.


I read in the travel section of the local paper that cruise ships are bypassing St. Thomas. What’s that all about?

:confused: :confused:

[Check 6]

It is only a guess, but maybe CRIME is keeping the cruise ships away from STT?

[con-pilot]

Well it wouldn’t surprise me that much. I can’t remember which hurricane it was (In 1990 or 92 somewhere back then) I flew in into STT right after it passed in a U.S. Marshal 72. I was the second airplane (I think) to land there the first was the FAA’s DC-9 and right after I landed a C-141 landed.

The primary reason we went in was to evacuate the prisoners in the jail back to the US. However we rapidly had to change the mission when the Deputy US Marshal on the scene reported that there where no prisoners because the police had let them go and that the local police where looting and leading gangs.

I got a phone patch through Mc Dill AFB to Washington and we flew back to Miami and picked up a SOG team and came back the next day. As you probably know the island was placed under martial law and it took awhile for things got back to normal.

One side note; nobody could figure out how my airplane got unloaded so fast during this time at STT. Everybody, military and FAA included, took hours to get unloaded. After the first trip I always brought a couple hundred pounds of ice and 4 to 6 cases of beer. Worked like a charm.

(Don’t tell anybody about the beer, illegal on US government aircraft you know)

[Check 6]

Con-air, interesting experiences. I lived there in 93-94. The USN stopped liberty on St. Thomas in 1993 after two sailors killed at a phone booth near where there ship tied up. They continued going to St. John, but have to drop the hook in the channel and use small boats, but safer there.

I could write volumes regarding the government corruption on STT, but not worth the energy.

America's dirty little secret is the high incidents of violent crime there. Drug gangs, drive-by shoot-outs, etc. prevail big time. The tourist industry obviously keeps all of this a secret, but warn tourists about Puerto Rican violence and crime (go figure). I find Puerto Rico very enjoyable and safe myself. Yes, like any big city stay away from the projects/barrios around San Juan.

Ciao from Italy

:D :D :D

[con-pilot]

Yeah I know what you're talking about. San Juan is not one of my favorite places either.

Have had some of my backend crew run into trouble there, but they were armed. Lowered the crime rate a bit.

[B Sousa]

"As you probably know the island was placed under martial law and it took awhile for things got back to normal. "

Dont think things will ever be normal in STT. Im sure to put the tail on the Donkey in this forum would get me labeled as a Racist so I will just let it slide. The Problem is not Rocket Science.

[Piz Buin]

Ouch Sousa...spot on though :cool:

[helimutt]

and for something totally off topic, are there any helicopter pilot jobs for british CPL holders out in the Caribbean? Used tolive out in the bahamas many years ago and recently working on cruise ships around the above mentioned islands. The heli ride I did round the pitons cost me nearly £60k after getting the commercial licence. A bit hooked!!!!


Cruzan rum? One or two watching the seaplanes come and go!!!
What a way to live.

[LRdriver]

So the sunset beach bar is still there huh?..
I remember being there when the local cops were trying to shut it down (he who bribes the hardest, wins..)

I flew for that idiot in the Lr24 based at Juliana..spent all day at the sunset bar sipping non alcholic drinks waiting for the next phonecall.. Great location to sit and grade approaches :)

[Mark CRUISE]

Which is the best Island bar/nightclub to pull all the hot chicks in the Caribb?

[rightpedalRIGHTPEDAL]

The Pelican or Coconuts or the Base in Trinidad. Best looking women in the Caribbean, (and the world, for that matter,) and you don't have to pull them, they will pull you. :p :eek: :cool:

[Mark CRUISE]

Sounds good to me right pedal. It would be great if somebody else done the pulling for me.

Hey wheres Capt stable my main man?

[Captain Stable]

Still here - more or less! ;)

[Mark CRUISE]

Thats great Captain,

Eye Eye!!

[Hamrah]

Aruba!

Spent a year there flying a 757.Plan to go back when I retire to open an Irish Bar.

I plan to retire by the time I'm 50.

Free beer for PPRuNe'rs of course :) :)

H