Antigua and Barbuda

Country Information:

Christopher Columbus came to Antigua in 1493 and the Spanish settlers grew sugarcane and tobacco there. It was colonized by the British in 1632 and remained a British possession until 1981.

Jim’s Perspectives:

In 1993, my wife (who I was then dating) and I took a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas and we had a wonderful time. Went snorkeling and toured through the market in Martinique, and then went to a beach party in Antigua. The island of Antigua has the nickname “The island of 365 beaches” because they have so many beautiful beaches. And I can verify that we saw a few really pretty ones while there!

Our next stop was in St. Maarten and hung out on the beautiful beaches on the French side (in St. Martin). Note: I was so impressed by the beautiful beaches in St. Martin in 1993, that 4 years later I booked St. Martin for one of our stops on our honeymoon! Afterwards, our next stop was Barbados where we walked down their unspoiled white-sand beaches and checked out the caves.

Guinea

Typical street scape in Guinea Country Background: The capital is Conakry and the official language is French. About 14 million people live here and the main religion is Islam, though there is a small Christian population. Guinea’s top exports are gold, aluminum ore,...

Cyprus

On the set of a popular Soap Opera in Cyprus Country Information: There are roughly 1.2 million people living here and the official languages of Cyprus are Greek and Turkish. The majority of Cypriots practice Orthodox Christianity.  Jim's Perspectives: Loved my time...

Solomon Islands

Country Information:  The tropical Solomon Islands temperatures are wet and warm year-round. The name comes from King Solomon de Mendana, the nephew of a former Peruvian governor. About 700,000 people live here. The islands gained independence in 1978 from Britain and...