It is generally known that this evergreen hardwood tree comes from the rain forests of northern South America, particularly Brazil, the Guaianas, Venezuela and Panama. But Balata is also a native of the Caribbean found in limestone forests ranging from moist coastal areas to higher elevations in Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, Martinique and islands south to Trinidad. Officially known as Manilkara bidentata this tree belongs the Sapotaceae family and is also related to the Caribbean Sapodilla which sometimes appears in our supermarkets. Although the Spanish name Balata is most…read more at http://bit.ly/2sF7yfk

One of our favourite Caribbean islands has always been Culebra, a small unspoiled island just seven miles long and 3.5 miles wide, lying between St Thomas in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. We first came in 1969 with our ketch Ramage and stayed there for the hurricane season months between June and November before returning to the British Virgin Islands. Culebra then had a small population of about 700 and there was just one hotel and restaurant on the quay at Dewey. There was also the Post Office… http://bit.ly/2sF7yfk

Bearded Ficus Tree on Saint Martin. Photo courtesy of Victoria Pope

Photo by Victoria Pope @Fish Day Saint Martin 2008

In photo our crew William on Golden Dragon. Photo by Dudley Pope

The Royal Botanical Gardens of Trinidad and Tobago are also among the oldest in the Caribbean. They were planted by the botanist David Lockhart and opened in 1820 by the then Governor Ralph Woodford and the fully landscaped grounds now spread over a large area of 62 acres (or 22 hectares) certainly making them the largest. The Botanical Gardens are just north of Queen's Park Savannah and the down town area of Port of Spain. There are a very large number of beautiful trees, approximately 700 from all over the…read more at http://www.cabotrafalgarinthemoonlight.com/blog.html

Every summer here in the Caribbean islands we often see children out and about after school holding a long cluster of these green berries and their mouths busy sucking the ripe pale peach coloured pulp around the seed. Mostly called Genip in the Engish speaking islands, the fruit has many other names including Chenette or quenette and Spanish Lime. Also Kenepier in Guadeloupe, Quenepa in Puerto Rico and Mamoncillo or Limoncillo in other Spanish speaking areas. Catalogued as Melicoccus bijugatus this evergreen tree is a member of the Soapberry…read more at http://www.cabotrafalgarinthemoonlight.com/blog.html

I have just enjoyed a short visit to Antigua to see friends who had returned to their yacht they keep in English Harbour. Although brief it was a wonderful change of scenery and so good to see how well the island has developed and benefitted the people since I last visited Antigua in 2010. Dudley, my husband, and I had sailed to Antigua with our ketch Ramage many times during the 1970s and 1980s to have her hauled out at the Slipway in English Harbour. We had also enjoyed a…read more at http://www.cabotrafalgarinthemoonlight.com/blog.html