Comments

• 

  Lynne Sullivan January 21, 2011 at 2:18am

  David and Hal, thanks for the interesting chat on Cuba and tourism. I understand both points of view and both totally make sense. It will be interesting to watch the impact on Cuba when US citizens have "full freedom" to vacation there.
• 

  David Paul Appell January 20, 2011 at 8:55pm

  Well, my point is partly that all that is not going to happen for another bit of a while. Barring a Tunisia- or Romania-style revolution, it's clear that true free enterprise is not going to be fully unleashed in Cuba as long as the Castros are around, and that is compounded by the fact that as long as the Miami mafia lobby keeps its the larger embargo going, it will just be a matter of a larger trickle of US travelers, but still a relative trickle.  And the infrastructure issue on the island itself will in the near and possibly medium term still not be equipped to handle a much bigger influx anyway.
• 

  Hal Peat January 20, 2011 at 8:32pm

  @David - I think once the freedom to travel is totally there as far as both U.S. and Cuban citizens going in and out, then you may see some phenomenal changes.  Cubana for instance could really become a regional Caribbean airline, and Havana itself a real airline hub alternative to San Juan.  I think costs geographically make it a little cheaper to fly in/out and that will stay - but the ground incidental expenses - transport, food, hotels, activities - a traveler faces will shoot up, up up as soon as free enterprise arrives there.
• 

  David Paul Appell January 20, 2011 at 6:44pm

  Interesting piece in today's Miami Herald from astute Latin America (and especially Cuba) pundit Andrés Oppenheimer on how increased U.S. travel to the island may or may not affect the rest of the Caribbean. Some say it will be a hard hit, others say not so much -- and may even grow the overall pie. Yes, there will be novelty value and some pent-up demand, but on the other hand this is not exactly an unprecedented opening. And I can tell you first off that it's hardly going to be a flood, at least for the foreseeable future, at least in part because capacity is still pretty limited, and what capacity there is, is being amply used by Europeans, Latin Americans, and the other visitors Cuba already gets. So we'll see how big a move this actually turns out to be...
• 

  David Lawrence December 28, 2010 at 4:19pm

  Hey Victor this video is a lot of fun. Where'd you find that lighthouse that's smiling.
• 

  Victor Balbin December 28, 2010 at 12:25pm

  Hell "visitors to the Caribbean".

  Throughout the years one song has become like a symbol for the islands.

  We just created a promotional link with that song. Hope you like it.

  Do you know which one it is??????

   

  any guesses????

   

  okay here it is, from COUNTRYSIDE TOUR . Dont worry be happy> 
• 

  Victor Balbin December 13, 2010 at 2:22pm

  If you are visiting San Juan Puerto Rico in the Caribbean, ask me about anything.

  I have the answer
• 

  Tony King December 8, 2010 at 5:06pm

  There's a nice little villa on Virgin Gorda in the BVI that is owned by a friend of mine, if you're interested please contact me.
• 

  Buzzy Gordon December 8, 2010 at 5:49am

  Looking for a reasonable winter rental
  
  We are looking for a place to spend Jan.-Feb. Expat community or typically local environment. Ideally, a property we can take care of in exchange for reduced rent, but all offers welcome.
• 

  Ed Wetschler November 23, 2010 at 9:49pm

  Blue Horizons in Grenada, one of my favorite islands, is offering 30% off plus perks for travel through Dec. 20. Blue Horizons is affiliated with (and just behind) Spice Island Beach Resort, so guests can use the costlier resort's beach.
  FYI, Caribbean Airlines has new flights between JFK and Grenada.