About the Virgin Islands Blog

In this “Flavors of the VI” post we look at a tropical fruit, an island tradition, and the recipe! I fondly remember picking gooseberries as a child from my neighbor’s tree. The little yellow berries were gathered by the handful, but eaten one by one. Their super tart flesh assaulting taste buds with sour juice with every bite. Eating gooseberries […]

Larimar or blue pectolite is an extremely rare gemstone. It has been found only in one location: a mountainous, relatively inaccessible area in the province of Barahona in the Dominican Republic. The first mention of the stone is in a request to mine Larimar in 1916, however it wasn’t until 1974 that the stone really […]

There is a popular Christmas song in the Virgin Islands that goes “Good Mornin, Good Mornin, ah come fo’ me Guavaberry; Good Mornin, Good Mornin to you and all your family”. It was written by the late, Virgin Islands’ composer Bill La Motta and is known as the Guavaberry Song. It is popular and cherished […]

If you have ever lived or vacationed in the Virgin Islands and sat outside in the late evening you will certainly remember the pleasant sounds of island nights. The crickets, tree frogs, bats, birds and other nocturnal creatures; together perform a magical symphony. Part time residents of St. John Ed and Laurie Boakes found the […]

Visitors to St. Thomas can rent a car, pop in a CD and enjoy a guided tour thanks to Sarah Hancock. Sarah has been living on island for over 20 years and during that time she has given numerous tours to friends and family paying her a visit. She came up with a great idea […]

The steel pan is one of the few genuinely novel acoustic instruments invented in the 20th century. Today steel pan groups exist across the globe, however the instruments origin is in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 1930s. In those days rhythm steel drums were usually made from paint tins or biscuit tins. As players […]