The restaurants in the islands are a combination of American and traditional Caribbean forms of serving food. For example, you might see a Subway or McDonalds next door to more local restaurants serving pates and boiled fish. Large grocery stores are westernized, selling items from Campbell’s Soup to Sara Lee pound cakes. Then, just down the street from such a grocery store, it is entirely possible to see a fisherman selling his fresh catch of fish from the back of his truck.
European settlers brought recipes that include items such as beef, onions, garlic, and wheat, but they also developed recipes for local produce such as limes, mango, and sugar cane. When the African slaves were imported, they brought with them okra and new ways to cook traditional foods. The Americans brought beans, corn, potatoes and various types of peppers. With the Indian migration to the islands, curry spice became a new favorite seasoning. Curry dishes are still popular in the islands.
Callaloo soup is a popular dish made of leaves from the daheen plant mixed with okra, various herbs and meats or seafood. Beef, goat, chicken and stewed oxtail are popular meats to be served with other dishes. Side dishes include rice, peas, yams, fried plantains, dasheen, sweet potatoes, cassava, beans and lentils. On some islands, fish soup is so popular that it is served for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Every island in the Caribbean has its variety of rum and the Virgin Islands are no different. Rum is made from sugar cane or molasses and traditionally was distilled right alongside the manufacturing of sugar on sugar plantations. In the Virgin Islands, Cruzan rum, which is manufactured on St. Croix, is the most popular.
The holiday of a lifetime. The company is Alaksa-owned and thhat makes a big difference to the experineces you get i.e. meet genuine First Nations tribes people. The amount of wildlife was beyond my expectation, and seeing everything on sucha small, intimate boat made it even more spoecial and unique.
Liz O
1 day ago
Adventure Life covered all the details in planning our trip to Ireland. Any questions we had were answered immediately. Any trip glitches, which always happen when traveling, were resolved immediately. There were no worries, just fun!
Kathleen Weller
1 day ago
It was an outstanding, up-close, educational vacation of nature, culture, history, animals and geology! It was everything they promised! Binoculars were plentiful on the boat, but I'm glad I brought my own. Food was excellent. Rooms had black-out shades. Pack/wear multiple layers of clothing (I carried a small backpack when off the ship). Crew were delightful and very accommodating! Remember to jump FEET FIRST first when taking the optional polar plunge! Spend as much time outdoors as you are able and ENJOY!!!
Janet Dutton
6 days ago
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
1 week ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.