A.H. Maria | Caribbean Stories @HowToReadPlaces

The verdict for Grand Cayman (and 17 more ports) is in True or Legend? by A. H. Maria: amazon.com/dp/B0HM14HQ2X

Ask why the Cayman Islands have no income tax, and you may hear about ten ships wrecked on one reef in 1794, a rescued prince, and a grateful king. True or legend?

The verdict for Cozumel (and 17 more ports) is in True or Legend? by A. H. Maria: amazon.com/dp/B0HM14HQ2X

Ask a dive guide on Cozumel and you'll hear that Jacques Cousteau dived Palancar Reef in 1961, called it one of the most beautiful places in the world, and the divers followed. Did he put Cozumel on the map? True or legend? #Cozumel #PalancarReef

Did Jacques Cousteau put Cozumel on the map?

The verdict for Aruba (and 17 more ports) is in True or Legend? by A. H. Maria: amazon.com/dp/B0HM14HQ2X

Tour guides say Aruba's California Lighthouse is named after the ship that saw the Titanic's distress rockets in 1912 and didn't come to help, and that it later sank right here. True or legend?

Henry Morgan sacked Spanish cities, captured ships and burned Panama. Spain called him a pirate. England called him useful. He was arrested, briefly. Then knighted. Then made Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. The line between pirate and officer was often a piece of paper.

@CruiseFever New ships keep getting bigger and fancier. Honest question: does anyone still choose a cruise for the ports, or is the ship the destination now?

@SoberVacations Gorgeous. Honest question though: how many cruisers actually make it past the shops by the pier and get to know the island? That's where the good stories are.

@qz Mistake #6: never leaving the shops by the pier. That's where you buy the T-shirt and miss the island. In Nassau, the Queen's Staircase is about 15 minutes uphill, cut straight into the rock, with a story the guides love to tell.

@XKayOriginigl So glad fry jacks made the list. Every Belize guide should start with breakfast 😍

@CarnivalCruise Sea day. Coffee, a deck chair, and finally opening the book I packed "for when I have time."

The verdicts, the dishes to try and the dinner-table trivia are all in True or Legend? by A. H. Maria. Paperback $14.99, Kindle $4.99: amazon.com/dp/B0HM14HQ2X Which port are you sailing to next?

A sealed tomb where the coffins wouldn't stay put. A volcano, a prison cell, and one voice from the rubble. Victory medals for a battle that wasn't over. True or legend? 18 Caribbean cruise ports, one strange story each. You guess, then turn the page for the verdict. Every port also comes with: 🍽 a local dish to try 💵 the money to bring 🎁 a keepsake worth taking home 💬 a Table Talk question for dinner on board Plus a 30-question cruise trivia quiz to play at the table.

Notice how many Jamaican houses have a deep veranda? Part of it is the heat. Rooms get still and warm, while the veranda catches the breeze. But it's also where evenings happen: people sit, watch the street, talk across the road. Half of a home's life happens outside it.

All three come from the Taíno, who lived across the Caribbean long before Europeans arrived: huracán, barbacoa, hamaca. They called Jamaica Xaymaca. Their villages are long gone, but their words still travel the world.

Hurricane. Barbecue. Hammock. What do these three words have in common? Guess before you open the reply. 🧵

For many Rastafarians, Ethiopia's emperor Haile Selassie stood for dignity and independence in a world still shaped by colonial rule. Reggae carried the colors around the world. Now they're on every souvenir shelf on the island.

Green, gold and red are on almost every souvenir stall in Jamaica. But they aren't the colors of Jamaica's flag. The national flag is black, green and gold. Green, gold and red come from the flag of Ethiopia. They're the colors of Rastafari. 🧵