The Turks & Caicos Islands are a great place to take a vacation. One of the most common vacation activities is lying on the beach and reading a good book. In this regard, let us suggest Lynne Truss’s book: Eats, Shoots & Leaves (Gotham Books, 2003). The Brits who are reading this probably are already familiar with this runaway bestseller, which, of all things, is about punctuation. Yet the book only recently was released in the United States. The title comes from a joke about an undereducated nature writer who used the words of the book title to describe the diet of the Panda. The problem is that the punctuation gives the impression that the Panda eats dinner, shoots a gun, and leaves the restaurant (an “Oxford comma” has been added to give the Panda time to escape).

What does that have to do with “Talking Taino?” First, it places you on the beach reading a good book. Second, the title is so intriguing that we had to find a way to work it, and punctuation, into a column. Third, it highlights our shift in emphasis from animals to plants. All of our past columns have dealt with animals, yet plants were the major component of the Taino environment, diet and material culture. Finally, it provides the basis for connecting the seemingly random comments on plants that we offer here:

So you are sitting on the beach reading a good book. The coconut palms and casuarinas are swaying in the breeze. There are banana plants (bananas don’t grow on trees) used tastefully as landscaping, and the waiter just brought you a rhum-based drink. There are other beautiful flowers — bougainvillea, bird-of-paradise, ginger lilies — blooming in the gardens. But you will not find names for any of these plants in the Taino dictionary. They were all introduced from other tropical lands. Their presence is the outcome of what Alfred Crosby called the homogenization of the neo-tropics (The Columbian Exchange, Greenwood Press, 1972). There are, however, some intriguing stories . . .

“Talking Taino”, in this issue, will mostly be “not Talking Taino”. Sometimes you need to define your subject by describing what it isn’t. People tend to assume that the environment that surrounds them has always appeared that way. We feel the need to start our consideration of Taino plants by describing what came after the Tainos.

In the 1980s there was a television commercial in which a very Navajo-looking woman said, “You call it corn, we call it maize.” This statement is inaccurate on many fronts. First, the Navajo use the Aztec word (it was something like tepontlatl) for the plant that scientific taxonomy has named Zea mays. The word maize actually comes from a Taino word: Mahiz (in Spanish, maiz) (pronounced: my ease; in contrast to the modern pronunciation: maze).

The last Native American to call corn, maize, likely died in the 16th century. So where did “corn” come from? Before the Americas were “discovered,” the British used the word corn to denote “Any of several cereal plants producing edible seed, such as wheat, rye, oats, or barley.” Remember Jack London’s (1913) story about John Barleycorn? The Europeans called maize “Indian corn,” which was later shortened to just corn. Mahiz was a minor crop for the Tainos. Spanish accounts suggest that it was eaten like today as corn-on-the-cob and only rarely was allowed to ripen for the making of cornbread (Johnnycake).

In his treatise on the Natural History of the New World, Oviedo (1526) described a plant with which he was unfamiliar. Because his descriptions were published so early in the exploration of the Americas many people believed that banana’s were native to the America~s [note: in order to preserve the pronunciation of a foreign plural name ending in a vowel it was common, in the past, to insert an apostrophe or tilde; the former has since become known in England as the greengrocer's apostrophe]. Bananas were, in fact, a recent introduction from Southeast Asia. Coconuts are not native to the Americas (they were first brought to Europe from the Indian Ocean by the Portuguese in 1499); your rhum-based drink comes from sugarcane that the Spanish brought from the Canary Islands in the early 16th century; casuarinas came from Australia; and most of the flowers are on vacation from distant lands.

In an environment where there were so many native fruit trees, it is interesting that the main objective of Captain Bligh’s voyage, chronicled in The Mutiny on the Bounty, was to bring breadfruit from the Pacific Islands to Jamaica as a way to provide a cheap food source for the slaves. His goals were much the same as those of Sir Walter Raleigh, who, almost 200 years earlier, brought potatoes from Peru as fodder for the Irish peasants. (Even today in Jamaican markets you need to ask for “Irish”.) Captain Bligh failed twice, although he did manage to reach St. Vincent where a wide variety of Oceanic plants were transplanted in what became the first botanical garden in the West Indies. Breadfruit eventually did reach Jamaica, and is today common throughout most of the Antilles.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but you are sitting in a largely transported, anthropogenic (= human created) landscape. How could this happen? Today the answer is that people willing to spend money to travel to the West Indies have certain expectations concerning what they will find there, and these expectations are met by the travel companies that try to convince people to pay for their tours. In the past, it had to do with profits. Sugar, indigo, and dyewoods, along with Taino products — salt, tobacco and cotton — provided the economic foundation for European expansion in the West Indies. Salt, which was once called “white gold,” was the major commodity of the Turks & Caicos; Cuban cigars are still considered the finest of tobacco products; and the Tainos produced, according to Las Casas, “a thousand things from cotton,” including short skirts for women and belts that had decorative designs created by the addition of shell beads. We know that Tainos from Haiti traveled to Grand Turk to manufacture red beads from the thorny jewelbox shell (Chama sarda) as early as AD 1100.

The introduction of sugarcane and the cultivation of cotton set in motion the African Diaspora. With the arrival of the Spanish, warfare, excessive demands, mistreatment, and introduced diseases led to the rapid demise of the Taino peoples. In order to maintain an adequate labor pool the Spanish brought enslaved Africans to the Caribbean and set them to work on sugar and cotton plantations. These are the ancestors of most of the people who live in the islands today. The mixing of cultures, especially African and Taino, has created a rich heritage. A heritage based on fishing, farming, medicinal plants, local cuisines, and especially self-reliance. Europeans may have skimmed off the profits, but modern West Indians have persevered.

Deforestation has caused major problems in the islands. Stripped of their protective vegetation the soil becomes baked into a hardpan, and heavy rains can cause incredible floods. A recent incident is worth noting. We are saddened by the loss of life in southern Haiti and the Dominican Republic as the result of severe flooding in June, 2004. It was reported that the town of Mapou, Haiti, was completely underwater. A New York Times article used the name Mapou to highlight the ecological devastation that Haitian peoples have wrought on their country. They made special note of the fact that the name Mapou comes from a tree that occupies a special place in the Haitian practice of Voodoo. However, there are no longer any mapou trees in Mapou; the implication being that primitive beliefs were belied by the cutting down of sacred trees.

Had the press done more than skim the surface, they would have found deeper meanings. The name for the tree is of Taino origin (mapu, meaning large red tree). It is a very impressive tree that we know firsthand. While in Haiti we were challenged to hike from Labadee to Cap Haitian (“Okap” in Kweyol/Creole). Close to a spring near the top of the “mountain” overlooking Okap there was a huge tree. It was unlike any tree we had seen in Haiti. It would have taken three people holding hands to encircle its circumference.

How could such a huge tree survive in a country where mango trees (a valuable and imported fruit tree) are felled for lumber? The answer is that the mapou requires a reliable water source, the trunk is usually hollow, there are numerous branches, and cavities in the wood. As a result it does not provide a good source of lumber. It has survived the decimation of Haiti’s forests because it is of little value except for shade. The tree achieved a spiritual significance because it grows to an enormous size in a place where most trees are best described as saplings. A similar fate befell the ancient forests of the Turks & Caicos, where trees on Grand Turk, Salt Cay, and South Caicos were cut because they “attracted rain” and thus hindered the production of solar-distilled salt.

The Tainos deserve the last word. It is reported that in an effort to discourage the Spanish invasion of their territory the Tainos fed them the fruit of the prickly pear cactus (tuna in Taino). These fruits apparently can cause a person’s urine to turn red when consumed in sufficient quantities. In fact, this cactus fruit was later fed to the chenille worm which concentrated the red color and was used to produce a dye for clothing. Unfortunately, what may have been a great practical joke (imagine your reaction if your urine suddenly turned red!) was not enough to frighten the Spanish away from Taino lands. In the end, the Tainos learned the hard way that a Spaniard — eats, shoots & stays.

Bill Keegan is Curator of Caribbean Archaeology, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Betsy Carlson is an archaeologist with SEARCH, Inc. Gainesville. The careful reader will note that we managed to incorporate almost every form of standard punctuation in this column. “Keep to the Code”

Island ecology is a fascinating subject. Plant and animal species typically arrive on islands after leaving, or being taken from, larger continental homes. When introduced onto an island, a plant or animal species may find that the conditions are not suitable there, and die off. The species may find that the conditions are quite suitable to live comfortably on the island. Or, a species may find conditions partially suitable, and change over time to fit better into a niche on the island, becoming a separate subspecies or a new and unique species altogether.

How do plants and animals get to islands? If an island was at one time connected to a larger landmass, animals or plants may have ended up stuck on the island when it separated from the landmass. But what about islands that were never attached to any large landmass, or islands that have not been attached to landmasses for thousands of years — how do new plant and animal species become established on such islands?

Many plant species have seeds borne on parachutes of silky threads or papery wings that are able to fly long distances in the wind. Others are carried to islands by animals. Most insect and bird species are capable of flight, and many reach islands that way. Bats also are able to fly and often expand their range to islands. Birds and bats often carry fruit and seeds in their digestive track, which if released as droppings on an island can succeed in establishing a new plant species there.

A more recent addition to our bird life is the Cattle Egret, which is native to Africa. These birds crossed the Atlantic on their own and began spreading throughout the Caribbean and the Americas in the early part of the 20th century. They are now common in the Turks & Caicos Islands, but only 100 years ago they may never have been seen here.

Terrestrial mammals, reptiles, and amphibians have a more difficult time spreading their ranges to islands. Most make their way to islands by rafting. Rafting is not a deliberate attempt to colonize a new territory. It is typically accidental and usually happens several times over a long period of time to succeed in the established introduction of a species. Rafting is how our iguanas probably arrived in the Islands, from populations on other islands nearby.

Human introduction, deliberate or accidental, is typically the way that most terrestrial animals and plants reach islands today. Plants are not only introduced deliberately for agriculture and landscaping, but also accidentally as seeds stuck to shoes or clothing, used in livestock feeds, or found in imported potting soils. Animals such as snails, insects, spiders, lizards, snakes, and frogs may be introduced in potted plants, building materials, and large dry goods shipments.

One of the animals we have here in the Turks & Caicos Islands is a world-class “island hopper.” The Greenhouse Frog Eleutherodactylus planirostris is not only good at inhabiting new islands through introduction, but it is most perfectly adapted to do so. The Greenhouse Frogs of the Genus Eleutherodactylus all have this island-colonizing ability in common, and it is the result of an amazing and very unorthodox amphibian adaptation.

Greenhouse Frogs are small in size. The largest measure less than two inches in length and weigh just a few ounces. They are similar in appearance to tree frogs in that they have a compact body, sturdy limbs, and sticky toe-pads to adhere them to most surfaces. They are typically subtle shades of brown and tan for camouflage, and they move quickly in long, fast leaps.

Where Greenhouse Frogs are small in physical size, they make up for in family size. There are so many species in the Eleutherodactylus genus that they actually outnumber the species counts of any other genus of vertebrate animals — there are over 700 recognized species of Greenhouse Frogs!

In the Turks & Caicos Islands, we have the Cuban Greenhouse Frog Eleutherodactylus planirostris. This frog is tiny, typically under an inch long. They were first described from the Bahamas but later it was found that Cuba is their center of distribution. By rafting in vegetation, tree trunks, and bamboo stands washed out to sea in storms, these tiny frogs have sea-fared their way to almost all of the islands in the Bahamas. Whether they were introduced to the Turks & Caicos by human introduction (probably in potted plants) or if they made it here on their own is unknown. They were introduced into Florida from the Bahamas decades ago and have made their way northward into Georgia and other southern U.S.A. states.

Greenhouse Frogs are amphibians, like all frogs. The word “amphibian” comes from the meaning “double life” reflecting on the aquatic tadpole stage then the later terrestrial frog stage of most frog species’ lives. Most frogs require fresh water in which to lay their eggs so their tadpoles may grow.

Another frog species we have introduced here (also from Cuba) is the Cuban Tree Frog, which likely made its way here from Florida in building materials. Cuban Tree Frogs are large and are one of the few frog species able to breed in slightly brackish water, which is why they are able to survive in the Caicos Islands.

The Greenhouse Frog, unlike the Cuban Tree Frog, does not have to worry about finding water in which to lay their eggs. These frogs have a most amazing adaptation that allows them to colonize islands freely even if no standing water is available at all. When a female Greenhouse Frog is ready to lay eggs, she finds a shady, damp spot on the ground, often in a cave entrance, sinkhole, or well-vegetated area. She will lay her eggs, usually about 15 of them, right onto the ground in a small depression she digs with her hind legs. The eggs, about the size of a pinhead, are glassy and resemble pearls made of clear jelly.

The mother Greenhouse Frog will pay her eggs no further attention, and leave them in their moist, shady spot to develop. As the eggs develop, they grow. Through the glassy skin of most frog eggs, one can see a tadpole form from a simple dark spot. Usually, frog eggs then hatch and the tadpoles become free-swimming in water. The Greenhouse Frog, however, skips that step. The tadpoles remain inside the egg, and the egg simply grows with them. The egg grows until it is about the size of a dry pea, at which point the tadpole inside the egg grows legs, absorbs its tail, and turns into a tiny frog!

The development of a tiny “froglet” inside the egg of a Greenhouse Frog takes from 13 to 15 days. In that time, the egg’s inhabitant goes through a complete metamorphosis from tadpole to frog. Finally, the froglet hatches and is ready to start its new life as a tiny frog. Barely able to cover a single typed letter on this page with their bodies, the froglets mostly hide at first, snapping up tiny ants, gnats, and other invertebrates in the moist soil where their eggs were laid. They eventually venture out of the moist nest to find a new hiding place, where they will continue to eat small insects and grow into their adult form.

While Greenhouse Frogs are native to the Caribbean Basin and South America, they have been introduced to other areas of the world where they are not regionally native. A Puerto Rican species, the Coqui Greenhouse Frog, as well as our own Cuban Greenhouse Frog have been introduced to Hawaii in the potted plant trade. There, they have caused great disturbance in the natural ecology of the wilderness by competing with native animals and possibly spreading plant parasites from nurseries into native plant communities. Also, the Coqui Greenhouse Frog’s amazingly loud voice has become a deterrent to the tourism industry as visitors have a hard time sleeping through the frogs’ continuous calls. Luckily, our Cuban Greenhouse Frog’s only calls are quiet chirps that are not disturbing at all.

This situation bears testimony to the dangers of introducing animals and plants into regions to where they are not native. It reminds us that we must take pride in our natural heritage and work to conserve and protect the species with which these islands are graced.

No doubt over time, there will be other “island hopping” species that end up in the Turks & Caicos, as it is the nature of islands to collect the occasional drop-in by some member of a species blown off its normal course. As we witness these natural introductions, it is important that we limit the deliberate and accidental species introductions caused by humans by making careful decisions and acting as stewards to care for our own unique species of island hoppers.

For more information, contact Bryan Naqqi Manco at 941-3536.

The economics of condo hotels

By Brian McDonald ~ Photos courtesy OBM International

In the Turks & Caicos Islands, condominium hotels are becoming increasingly popular among developers, residents and visitors considering investing in the Islands. What makes this concept so well received?

Sometimes referred to as hybrids, condo hotels merge ownership opportunities with the appeal of services and amenities provided by a high-end hotel or experienced management company. Although this is not a new concept, the scope of the arrangement has expanded significantly over the years and continues to draw developers, hoteliers/management companies and those interested in purchasing a second residence or a vacation home.

For the project developer, this arrangement is very attractive, for early on, the operational facet is sold directly to a hotel operator or management company. It is up to them to aggressively market the destination. This allows the developer to focus on project-related issues, such as budgets and construction timelines. Once the project is built, the developer will receive rental revenues from vacationers staying in any of the unsold units. Flexible government regulations and financial incentives, such as partial exemption from import duties, enhance the attractiveness of this model.

From the management perspective, whether it is a five-star flagged hotel company, such as Four Seasons or Starwood, or a highly reputable, independent management company, it is a win-win situation. Because all hotel-like features, such as meeting space and recreational facilities, are deeded as individual condominium units and separately owned by the operator, they can effectively manage the property as a hotel. As a result, guests feel as if they’re staying in a spacious five-star establishment, with all of the comforts of home, and the operator obtains profits from the rented condo units.

Buyers see the potential for monetary rewards when investing in a condo hotel, which is why most people seek this arrangement as a second residence or vacation home. Although the initial purchase is usually 25% higher than standard condominium purchases, spot evidence suggests that condo hotel units are holding their value, according to Carrie Coolidge’s June 7, 2004 article in Forbes magazine. In addition to a 5% appreciation per year with the right property, investors can enjoy substantial financial returns when they place their units in the rental pool, despite a portion of these revenues being shared with the hotel operator. These funds can be utilized towards an earlier mortgage payoff. Owners also have the convenience and ease of mind of having their property well managed on a continuous basis.

There are several reasons why the Turks & Caicos are alluring to buyers and developers. First, there is a strong demand for condominium-type residences. Second, location is key. Only one hour and ten minutes from Miami and three hours from New York City, the Turks & Caicos Islands offer a convenient, safe, tropical escape. Third, in TCI there are many reputable international financial institutions, the currency is the U.S. dollar, and British common law presides. These factors ease many of the challenges of investing in a foreign country. Finally, buyers can receive a permanent residence certificate (PRC) when they purchase a home. If an additional investment is made toward an approved business, they earn the right to work in Turks & Caicos. (The amount to be paid to earn these privileges varies per island.)

Taking notice of Turks & Caicos’ many attributes and benefits is the five-star Royal Reef Resort’s CEO Fred Paatz and President Mark Hall. Slated to open its doors in early 2007 on one of TCI’s prime development frontiers, North Caicos, this condo hotel is certain to be extremely successful, according to Paatz and Hall. “TCI has a proven record of condominium sales,” says Mark Hall. “Other resorts have all sold well, and most were sold out before construction was completed or, in some cases, had even started. Despite the high prices, there is obviously a demand for condos. If all of these condos sold well, our project will sell even better with a hotel facility. We feel there is a strong demand for this type of product, as well as a void in the market that we expect to fill.”

quot;Moreover,” adds Hall, “there is currently no five-star hotel in Turks & Caicos, and condo units or villa rentals account for most of the available rental inventory. The hotel and conference market is virtually untapped. The facilities of the Royal Reef Resort will attract not only vacationers, but also conference business. For those interested in investing in a condominium product, these features add to its purchase appeal. What’s more, we are positive that the project will bring additional tourism into the country and create jobs for many North Caicos residents who previously moved to Providenciales to find work. These factors, combined with government’s excellent support, make us confident the Royal Reef Resort is an excellent opportunity all around.”

Designed by OBM International, the 17-acre Royal Reef Resort will feature 95 hotel suites and a total of 220-room condominiums comprised of one, two and three-bedroom units and penthouse suites. Two restaurants, international conference facilities, a spa, a gym, in-room Internet access, resort-wide wireless services, shopping and ecotours are just a few of its many amenities. Concierge, room service and childcare facilities add to its overall appeal.

The Royal Reef Resort will begin preconstruction sales in September 2004, with marketing efforts focused on the United States, Canada and Europe. A local real estate team and select marketing professionals will be targeting those individuals seeking an island escape. More importantly, it is anticipated that development in North Caicos will happen in a very planned, organized and controlled fashion. The peaceful, pristine beauty of the island and its small beaches is very appealing to Hall and Paatz.

“We want to create the true island getaway,” offers Fred Paatz. “We do not want a busy, compact, built-up area. North Caicos is very quiet and has a lot more land available than Providenciales, making it one of the most exclusive of the Islands. It also has a solid infrastructure, an international airport, existing and new private estates, a marina in the process of being built, and most of all, an unforgettable landscape that our guests and owners will be able to enjoy.”

Just as Hall and Paatz saw opportunities in North Caicos, those considering investing in property might want to consider a condo hotel in the Turks & Caicos Islands. However, to be a successful investor, there are some important points to keep in mind when purchasing in this type of property:

* Carefully analyze your financial health and know what you can really afford.
* Know the real established value of the unit you are interested in purchasing.
* You will be a member of a condo association. Be sure to review the association’s Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&R). Ask yourself if you can live within these rules.
As a new hotel investor, you are also an investor in its management team. Be sure to:
* Review a copy of the management company’s contract with the condo association.
* Understand the details of the revenue splits.
* Be alert for additional management or maintenance fees.
* Consider titled ownership in a high occupancy condo hotel if you’re satisfied with 30 to 60 days of personal use per year.
* Approach your condo hotel purchase as a savvy investor.

The essential ingredients to a successful condo hotel include a great location, excellent amenities, a respected developer and top-notch management team. Be sure to shop around, ask for advice, and find trustworthy professionals to help you in your venture. If you take the right steps, you’re sure to enjoy years of happiness and lucrative returns on your condo hotel investment.

For nearly seven decades, OBM International has been a leader in design excellence. The premier design consulting firm throughout the Caribbean and Bermuda, OBM has expanded its expertise on a global scale by securing projects in the United States, Latin America, Europe and Africa. Today, OBM has offices in Antigua, Bermuda, Bath (UK), British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Marbella (Spain), Miami, Trinidad & Tobago and the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Brian Macdonald is the managing director of the Turks & Caicos office. For more information on OBM, visit www.obmi.com.

For more information on Royal Reef Resort, call (905) 639-7336 or (866) 728-REEF toll free in North America or visit www.royalreefresort.com.

In this, the third and final article in a series on the shells of the Turks & Caicos Islands, I look at the Bivalves. After the Gastropods, Bivalves are the other great division of the Molluscs, and many will be familiar from the dinner table: Oysters, Mussels, Scallops and a wide range of Clams make good eating and are much sought after. While the Gastropods have one shell, which is usually an elaborately coiled tube, the Bivalves have two flat shells, known as “valves,” which are hinged together, and which can open when the animal is feeding, or shut tight when it is threatened.

All Bivalves make a living by filter feeding, which means they suck in water (often through a flexible tube, called a “siphon”) at one end, filter out edible particles, and then squirt it out at the other end. Some spend quiet lives buried in sand or mud. To find them you have to dig, but the expert can tell where to do so from the small mounds of sand they leave when burying themselves, or the holes created by their siphons. Others, like Oysters and Mussels, live in large colonies attached to rocks and other hard substrates, such as pilings and seawalls. But some, like the Scallops and File Clams, can literally fly through the water by the improbable procedure of flapping their valves.

Bivalve shells are common on beaches, and in quiet bays and backwaters they can litter the shore in the thousands. Although many are rather plain and dull, others are quite magical: the outside of some, like the Tellins, are beautifully polished, while for others it is the interior which is glossy smooth and richly coloured.

Ark shells

Arks (family Arcidae) are robust, chunky bivalves, often heavily ribbed, which live under, and sometimes attached to, rocks. In the TCI the largest is the Eared Ark (Anadara notabilis), which can easily reach two inches long, and is white with well-marked ribs. The Zebra Ark, or Turkey Wing (Arca zebra), is only slightly smaller, and is marked with a heavy brown zigzag. The Mossy Ark (Arca imbricata) is named for the appearance of its periostracum (or soft outer covering), which conceals a fairly smooth shell. The Red-Brown Ark (Barbatia cancellaria) lives up to its name, although in life its colour and the delicate ribbing on its surface are often obscured by heavy encrustation and algal growth.

Mussel shells

Mussels (family Mytilidae) live firmly anchored to rocks in the intertidal zone. The large dark outer shell of the Tulip Mussel (Modiolus americanus) resembles the familiar shell which turns up in Moules Mariniere, although some individuals exhibit a pretty striping. The much smaller Yellow Mussel (Brachidontes modiolus) is common on beaches and lives up to its name.

Arks, File Clams and Mussels

Oysters also live attached to rocks and other submerged things. Lister’s Tree Oyster (Isognomon radiatus) is a strange shell in a family of its own (the impossibly named Isognomonidae). Its valves are thin and leaf-like, but it does not grow on trees: it can be found under rocks. The Atlantic Winged Oyster (Pteria colymbus) belongs to the pearly oysters (family Pteriidae) and is named for its scallop-like “ears.” The Atlantic Thorny Oyster (Spondylus americanus) belongs to the spiny oysters (family Spondylidae). In life it is decorated with long, delicate spines, but these rarely survive on the beach, where the shell presents a rough exterior with a few blunt projections.

Pen shells

Pen Shells (family Pinnidae) are perhaps the strangest of the bivalves. They live upright, permanently fixed in position and half-buried in soft sand or mud. Their translucent shells are shaped more like half-open fans than pens, and are horny rather than hard and stony. The species in the TCI is the Amber Pen Shell (Pinna carnea), and its six inch shells, still often joined together down one side, are often washed up after storms.

Scallop shells

Scallops (family Pectinidae) are distinguished by their rounded shape and the “ears” on either side of the “beak” (the pointed end of the shell). Their classic shape will be familiar to everybody from the logo of the Shell Oil company. The large edible scallops rarely wash up on the TCI beaches, although the occasional shell of the large Zigzag Scallop (Euvola ziczac) suggests that they do occur in deeper waters. On sandy beaches, such as Grace Bay, shells of the Calico Scallop (Argopecten gibbus) are quite common, along with the smaller Thistle Scallop (Aequipecten acanthodes). On rocky shorelines and shallow reefs a different group of small scallops can be found, and these include the Sentis Scallop (Caribachlamys sentis), the Little Knobby Scallop (Caribachlamys imbricata) and the Ornate Scallop (Caribachlamys ornata).

Lima shells

Lima shells, or File Clams (family Limidae), are beloved of underwater photographers, because in life the soft parts are fiery red, and when the shell is open it extrudes a fringe of tentacles. The shell itself is white, although when fresh it usually has a brownish coating of algae. File Clams live on and under rocks, where they like to get wedged tight in a crevice, and then open to expose their gaudy interior, but when disturbed they can move themselves by flapping their shells. There are three types in the TCI: the Rough Lima and the Smooth Lima are different forms of the same species (Lima scabra), while the Spiny Lima (Lima lima) with its more angular shape, is a separate species.

Bittersweet Clam shells

The Bittersweet Clams (family Glycymerididae) are named for their taste. The commonest is the pretty little Comb Bittersweet (Glycymeris pectinata), which is ridged and speckled with brown. It rarely reaches an inch. The other two locally occurring Bittersweets are the Decussate Bittersweet (Glycymeris decussata) and the Atlantic Bittersweet (Glycymeris undata). They are larger, smoother, and covered with brown mottling, and are only distinguishable from each other by the slight backwards curve on the beak of the former.

Lucine shells

Lucines (family Lucinidae) live in the sand. The oddly named Tiger Lucine (Codakia orbicularis) has a robust, ridged shell which can easily grow up to 3 Ð 5 inches, but not a stripe in sight. Chalky white on the outside, the inner valve is glossy and ranges from white edged with pink to a brilliant primrose yellow. The Buttercup Lucine (Anodontia alba) is smaller, at 2 – 3 inches, and is a dull gray outside and a dull yellow inside.

Perhaps the commonest is the strangely named Pennsylvania Lucine (Lucina pensylvanica): although common from North Carolina south, it obviously does not occur in Pennsylvania, which is landlocked. The shell is smooth, white and inflated, with a pronounced crease or ridge on the left hand side. In life the smoothness of the shell is disguised by a ridged periostracum (or semi-soft outer covering), which probably helps it to stay buried. A common small Lucine is the Cross-hatched Lucine (Divaricella quadrisulcata). It, at least, is sensibly named, for its translucent, 3/4-inch shell is covered with fine criss-crossing ridges.

Jewel Boxes and Oysters

Jewel Boxes (family Chamidae) spend their lives so firmly attached to rocks and coral that they need a crow bar to remove them — they have literally grown onto the surface of their substrate. They are called Jewel Boxes because they have a deep lower valve covered by a flattish and decorated upper one, like a lid. The lid of the Leafy Jewel Box (Chama macerophylla) is decorated with fine fluting, which in fresh specimens is often coloured yellow or orange. The Left-handed Jewel Box (Pseudochama radians) is similar, but viewed from above its decorated “lid” is bent towards the left, hence the name. The Corrugated Jewel Box (Chama congregata) is small, and its surface is covered with brown ripples and the occasional leaf-like projection. The Cherry Jewel Box (Charma sarda) is also small and is distinguished by the deep pink of the lower valve, which is matched by wavy pink patterns among the folds of the “lid.”

Cockle shells

Cockles are heart-shaped shells when viewed end on, hence the family name, Cardiidae. The largest is the Magnum Cockle (Trachycardium magnum), while the handsomest is the Atlantic Strawberry Cockle (Americardia media), although the name is misleading, for it is ridged and marked in purplish brown, not red. The Spiny Paper Cockle (Papyridea soleniformis) has a beautiful, thin shell, lightly speckled with brown. The Egg Cockle (Laevicardium laevigatum), on the other hand, is smooth and shiny, and looks much like its namesake.

Venus (Hard-shell) Clam shells

The Venus or Hard-shell Clams (family Veneridae) are one of the largest bivalve families. Many are ridged, to help them lodge in the sand. They range in size from the huge Southern Quahog (Mercenaria campechiensis) of up to six inches, to the tiny Pointed Venus (Anomalocardia auberiana). In the intermediate size range are the King Venus (Chione paphia) and the Cross-barred Venus (Chione cancellata). The latter is very common in the TCI; when small it is a purplish white, but it develops attractive brown rays when larger.

Tellin shells

The smoothest and shiniest of the bivalves are the Tellins (family Tellinidae). The best known of these is the Sunrise Tellin (Tellina radiata), which is white with lovely pink rays (hence the name). It is abundant on the beaches of the Turks & Caicos. There is also an all-white form (T. radiata unimaculata), which is slightly less common, but equally lovely. The Speckled Tellin (Tellina listeri) is also very common. Its exterior is rough and ridged, and speckled brown, but its interior is glossy and suffused with yellow.

The Faust Tellin (Tellina fausta) is the largest of the group found in the TCI. It occurs in slightly deeper water and on reefs. Its outside is a coarse gray, but the creamy gloss of its interior ranges from milk white to a glorious buttercup yellow. The smallest is the Pea Strigilla (Strigilla pisiformis), but DeKay’s Dwarf Tellin (Tellina versicolor) is not much larger. The rarest, and the most subtly beautiful, is the Smooth Tellin (Tellina laevigata), whose shell bears fine pinkish rays, and is suffused with yellow at the beaks.

Gaudy Asaphis shell

Finally, in a group of its own, is the Gaudy Asaphis (Asaphis deflorata)(family Garidae). Dull and coarsely ridged on the outside, it gets its name from the rich and variable colours of its interior, which can range from deep purple, through rose pink, to bright yellow, with many mixtures in between. The animal is said to be good eating, and in the French islands of the Caribbean is highly regarded as a delicacy.

Richard Ground has been Chief Justice of the Turks & Caicos Islands since 1998, recently leaving to take up an appointment as Chief Justice of Bermuda. When not at work, his main interest is wildlife photography, with an emphasis on birds. Shells are a new departure; describing himself as an insatiable collector and cataloguer, he says it was not long before he was sorting his finds and searching for rarer and more beautiful specimens.

By Jonathan Katan, LL.B (Hons), McLeans International Attorneys

There is no doubt that when many people hear the words offshore finance, they think money laundering, even if they are not entirely sure what it is. This has been called the “Grisham effect” with shows such as “Law and Order” promoting the idea that offshore financial centers, such as the Turks & Caicos Islands, are full of people in dark suits with large suitcases full of cash ready to be put into secret numbered bank accounts.

Is that really a true picture of what the offshore financial industry is all about? There is no doubt that a great deal of money is laundered — perhaps as much as $500 billion every year. It is also true that offshore financial centers have been and are being used by money launderers. However, the process of money laundering rarely starts offshore. Two of the biggest money laundering centers in the world are New York and London.

What is money laundering? Why does it matter, and how does it affect you?

If you are interested in taking advantage of any of the financial products or services available in the Turks & Caicos Islands, or even thinking of purchasing a condominium, you are likely to feel the effect of some of the rules and regulations that have been put in place to prevent money laundering. However, as long as you are not a money launderer, there is nothing to worry about.

What is money laundering?
Money laundering is the means by which the proceeds of criminal conduct are moved back into the legitimate financial system. The process gets its name from the analogy of washing dirty money so it looks clean. The purpose is to disguise illegally acquired money derived from criminal conduct and obscure its true source so as to make it appear legal.

And, money laundering is a crime. If you have some funds that are the proceeds of a crime and do something with them in the hope that they will look like they are not from a crime, or knowingly help someone else do the same, you are guilty of laundering money.

How is it done?
This is not a guide on how to launder money, but an indication of the stages that a money launderer needs to go through in order to clean money.

The first step is Placement. This is where the proceeds of a crime are placed in the financial system. This usually takes place onshore and usually involves getting the money into a bank account. This is the riskiest stage of the process for criminals and where they are most exposed to being caught, as any cash deposit may arouse suspicion and any deposit over $10,000 will trigger a report to the authorities.

Common methods include depositing small amounts of money in many different bank accounts, intermingling illegal money with the cash takings of a legal business, or even gambling in casinos.

The second step is Layering. Once the money is in the financial system it needs to be moved around in order to muddy the trail in an attempt to confuse any investigation into the legitimacy of the money. It is at this stage that launderers may attempt to use offshore financial centers in an attempt to put the funds beyond the reach of the authorities in their home country. This is usually done by electronic wire transfers, but monetary instruments such as travelers checks or bank letters of credit may also be used.

The final step is Integration. In order to be of use to the launderer/criminal, the money needs to come back into their direct control and to appear to be legitimate. This can be achieved by phony loans being made from one company to another, phony business transactions and even fake gifts or inheritances from imaginary long-lost relatives.

Why does it matter?
Crime, particularly organized crime and terrorism, requires money. For a long time, law enforcement authorities have known fighting organized crime head- on is hard. Those usually caught are low down in the operation and easily replaced. Further, they usually remain silent, protecting those who mastermind the organization.

Law enforcement agencies realized that as well as trying to stop the crime directly they could undermine the organization by attacking the proceeds of crime. The United States became the first country to make money laundering a crime and the Turks & Caicos Islands introduced their own legislation as far back as 1998. If action against money laundering is effective, criminal organizations cannot function and terrorist groups cease to have the funds to carry out their activities. That is why it matters.

What is being done to prevent it?
Countries such as the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and the Turks & Caicos Islands have introduced domestic law to make money laundering or assisting someone who is money laundering a crime.

International initiatives have been set up by the leading industrial nations with a view to combating money laundering on a global basis. One of these, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), prepared a report with the very catchy title of “The review to identify non-cooperative countries and territories; increasing worldwide effectiveness of anti-money laundering measures.” The report listed 15 offshore jurisdictions which the FATF considered were not doing enough to attempt to prevent money laundering. Although some very well-known offshore jurisdictions were on this list, the Turks & Caicos Islands were not.

Finally, laws and regulations have been introduced which mean that professionals in the financial services industry — including bankers, accountants and attorneys — must make sure their clients are not laundering money, and if they think they are, report them to the appropriate authorities.

How may this affect you?
If you intend to undertake any financial transaction in the Turks & Caicos Islands and you engage the services of a professional, you are likely to be asked for some personal information. This will include proof of your identity and address. You may also be asked for a reference from your bank or other professional and proof as to where the money came from for the transaction. The reason for this is so that the professional can ensure that they are not assisting in the laundering of money. To do this, they must satisfy their “due diligence” and “know your client” obligations prior to a transaction taking place. You may feel this is intrusive, but if there is one thing that a money laundering criminal does not like, it is checks on and confirmation of his identity, his address and where the money he is dealing with has come from. Do not be surprised if some or all of this information is requested, even if you are simply interested in buying some property. If you are asked, please do not think for one moment that you are in any way suspected of any wrongdoing.

You may be concerned about your right to privacy, but you can rest assured that your rights are well respected and that any information you give will be held in confidence in the same way as any other information you give to a professional. If you do not want to give that information, or if you have something to hide, you may want to think twice about coming here to do business.

Money laundering and the offshore financial industry
The Turks & Caicos Islands have never been listed as un-cooperative in the fight against money laundering and have done much to try to prevent money laundering.

Financial service providers in the Turks & Caicos Islands can offer legitimate ways in which tax may be avoided or deferred; structures that can help protect your assets and plans for dealing with your property on your death. There are also great investment opportunities within the Turks & Caicos Islands, both in real estate and financial products offered by the financial institutions here. The Turks & Caicos Islands’ financial industry is ready and willing to do business, but our business is not laundering.

Jonathan Katan LL.B (Hons) is an attorney at McLeans International Attorneys working in the areas of property, commercial and trust law. He is a member of TCI Financial Industry Association.

By Hugh G. O’Neill, Hugh G. O’Neill & Co.

Times of the Islands readers will be familiar with previous articles on “bush” medicine practiced in the Islands over the decades. The Turks & Caicos boast a rich oral history and tradition personified in the tales of such Islanders as Leon Godet in Grand Turk, James Rigby in Five Cays and Henry Williams in Blue Hills. Listen carefully, don’t interrupt and you will hear a treasure of stories about the night of the big wind when so many men were lost at sea in a hurricane or of children treading quietly in North Creek in Grand Turk in 1910 to tie the tails of two sleeping nurse sharks with a piece of burlap and watch the sport when the sharks awake and try to escape one another.

Hidden in these tales are the quiet whispers of the kindly healers in Grand Turk or the old women in the far bush Northside with their foul smelling teas and ointments and the overnight cures of maladies which still defy the most modern antibiotic. Sadly, the advent of “prosperity” and the emergence of the television generation are quickly destroying the oral tradition and the availability of modern drugs has all but put an end to the rich history of natural herbal medicine.

It was with some skepticism therefore, that I listened to the claims being made about the remarkable powers of a new oil product called “BurnGone” (now renamed “Sunburn FastRelief”). Though not strictly old-school bush medicine, the oil is the natural extract of specific plants which is subjected to a series of very precise physics applications, which retain the oil’s original chemical formula while giving it significantly different healing properties.

The demonstration I was shown was, to say the least, an eye opener. The scientist who discovered the process (whose name will not be revealed lest he be committed for his commitment), gave me a demonstration CD. Under the supervision of a medical doctor, he heated an electric soldering iron to a temperature of 650 degrees F. (think of smoke coming out of the oven) and deliberately burned the back of his hand — not once but twice — in the same spot just behind the forefinger. I cringed, but he definitely had my attention. The rest of the CD recorded the events of the following 24 hours with great emphasis on the correct method of applying the oil and the remarkable recovery of the burned area.

Were we interested in such a product? Well maybe not “Interested,” but certainly curious enough to try it out. We received some samples of BurnGone and then came the question of what to do with it. A law office is not exactly a hotbed for burn victims and it seemed unfair to deliberately spill coffee on the staff just to prove a point.

Where do people get burned we wondered? In restaurants we surmised. Off we went to Fairways Bar & Grille at Provo Golf Club where chef and co-owner Stuart agreed to try out the oil if he or a member of his staff got a burn. Our next stop was Pizza Pizza, where Bob kindly volunteered the potentially seared flesh of his dear wife Simone should the opportunity arise. A week went by and then another and not even one minor burn was suffered. Weeks three and four passed and still not a single victim. Week five was just as fallow.

We were in the middle of writing to the Vatican, advising them that we had found a new miracle which prevented burns from occurring, when the call came. Stuart had finally obliged and burned his hand in the kitchen. “How did it go?” I asked. “I put on the oil, let it soak in and 15 minutes later put it on again,” Stuart replied. “Did you reapply it after an hour and again six hours later and the following morning like the instructions said?” I queried. “No,” he said. “I put it on once and the pain went away. When the pain came back I put it on again and the pain went away for good. It didn’t even blister.”

Was this success? Maybe. Then the burns started to come hot and heavy. Stuart again. Ouch! Then Simone at Pizza Pizza! Then it was my partner Dale, who managed to spill half a cup of boiling water on his hand while straining spaghetti. In each case, the result seemed the same. Dale applied the oil and moments later the pain went away. About 15 minutes later as the pain returned, a second application. Then nothing. No pain, no blister, no apparent evidence at all of a burn the following morning. By this time we were thinking maybe we should keep some of this stuff handy at home for ourselves.

Dale became a zealot. “I tried the oil on a canker in my mouth and it really worked,” he said. “Read the label,” I admonished, “it’s for external use only!” Next, he took the oil with him on a short trip to the Dominican Republic. One of the guests at the wedding he was attending, an oil worker from just below the Arctic Circle with pasty white skin to match, spent two hours playing beach volleyball, shirtless in the Caribbean sun. (The things we do when there are bikini-clad females in the vicinity!) The result was inevitable. Shortly after sunset the volleyball player glowed like a nightlight and stiffness and immobility were setting in. By bedtime, agony had arrived. So did Dale with the BurnGone.

Dale, of course, had been extolling the virtues of the oil and here was a victim. The suffering man’s mother looked at Dale. “Oven burns, scalds, cankers and now sunburn?” she said. “You sound like the Windex guy.” (You have to see “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”) His smug smile was complete when 24 hours later there was no evidence of his friend’s adventure but a nicely browning tan.

My turn eventually came. After a particularly long day on the links, we repaired to the 19th hole for a post-mortem and to prove the age-old scientific adage — balance is only achieved when as many minutes are spent discussing a round over a few beers as were actually spent on the course itself.

After almost five hours on the course, it took only milliseconds upon eventual return home to lie down and drift into a sound sleep. Not such a hot idea with a Marlboro wedged between index and middle finger. By morning, the pain between my fingers was barely tolerable and there were two blisters, a doozey and a baby, rubbing against one another right at the first knuckle. “What the hell, where’s that oil?” I put some directly on the blisters and watched it soak in, then kept applying it until a thin film of oil remained on the surface. The pain really went away. I didn’t notice when the blisters broke but I put one more drop of oil on the broken skin just in case. And that was that. My God, this stuff really works.

Shortly afterwards, I was in New York with Mary having a Sunday stroll in Central Park and, in my wife’s words, “just a quick look at the shops.” The temperature was 16 degrees F. and there was snow everywhere. Needless to say, my dress shoes, which had never even seen rain on island, were singularly unsuited to the conditions. The slight irritation on Sunday evening had turned to a full-blown blister on Monday morning. There was still a full day’s work to be done and walking barefoot or wearing sandals was out of the question. With every appointment “just two blocks away,” by day’s end my right heel was a bloodied mess. Tuesday saw us back to the island for some much welcomed heat and a desperate need to elevate my right foot.

To hell with the instructions not to use the oil on broken or infected skin, this hurt too much. So I applied some of my meager supply of BurnGone to my heel and sighed in relief as the pain went away. Again before bedtime a quick application and on Wednesday morning, though still looking a little raw, I was able to don my shoes pain-free and go about my life. If not a zealot like Dale, I was definitely a convert.

We decided we should really get this to market. The biggest market in the region is obviously the U.S. and we set about tackling it. All we needed was FDA approval. For the uninitiated, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is a kindly government body whose job is to assist inventors and discoverers of new miracle cures to get them to a needy public. (NOT.)

On the contrary, it is a bureaucratic behemoth with more heads than a Hydra, each spouting a different set of rules and regulations. Granted, the FDA has a very important function — nobody wants a repeat of the Thalidomide fiasco — but you need to be a drug company with an army of reps talking simultaneously to all the departments and communicating telepathically to keep up with the conflicting requirements of the diverse divisions just to agree to the terms of a clinical trial.

“But this is an entirely natural herbal extract,” we pleaded. “So is cocaine,” they said, “and the U.S. said JUST SAY NO to that.” “If you can show that a monograph (don’t ask!) exists for your plant with claims made for the purposes to be used and it has not been proscribed and it has been listed since before 1972 and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah . . .” they said.

In fairness to the FDA, it’s the system that’s the nightmare, not the personnel. In fact, the department heads have been most helpful and positive and BurnGone is approved in the U.S. for cosmetic use as a natural product. Drug approval or claims of pain relief will take some time to prove and be approved in the U.S.

Let’s try Canada we thought, at least litigation lawyers don’t own the whole country yet (something to do with studying practice, procedure and tort instead of French). And we did. Despite our puerile French we got a fast and fair hearing in Ottawa. It turned out that the Canadian equivalent of the monograph mentioned above exists and Health Canada has confirmed the safety of the ingredients for cosmetic and drug use.

So production began. “You need a UCC code.” “What has University College Cork got to do with this?” I asked. UCC stands for “Uniform Commercial Code,” I learned, a bar code that has to be registered. “Are we registered with ECCC?” “We’re not selling in Europe yet and it’s the EU nowadays,” I replied. “No dummy, ECCC is Electronic Commerce Council of Canada.”

Decisions were made on bottles — glass or metal? Then the tops — droppers or spray tops? The labels and instructions had to be agreed upon, approved and printed. Packaging and logos had to be considered, submitted and cleared. The name “BurnGone,” it turned out, was not available in all markets and “Sunburn FastRelief” was born.

On April 28, 2004, the first samples arrived in Provo for distribution to our original victims and supporters. The following day Pharmasave, the second largest chain of pharmacies in Canada, rolled out Sunburn FastRelief as its “Pharmacist Recommended” product of the month.

It’s still a work-in-progress and the learning curve is steep but what a ride it’s been so far! By the time you read this, Megapol Inc., a company incorporated right here in the Turks & Caicos Islands, will be the worldwide exclusive distributor of Sunburn FastRelief. If you can’t buy it at a store near you, just order it from the net at www.megapolinc.com.

I was prepared to be angry with Jean Luc Bohic, owner of Caribbean Paradise Inn. When I had arrived at 9 AM for our first meeting, an employee named Raoul simply said, “Boss still sleeping, make big party last night.” I passed some time running errands and returned about an hour later, bemoaning my habitual promptness in a country that usually runs on “island time.” I was all set to be in a snit.

It didn’t happen. Jean Luc was wide-awake and busy attending to the business of running the hotel. He apologized profusely and explained that the parties that keep him up so late are actually Dionysian banquets he regularly throws for his guests. I quickly fell under the spell of the charming Frenchman’s ebullient friendliness and ever-present grin, and I realized that hotel guests would certainly enjoy his joie de vivre.

Caribbean Paradise Inn Hall ViewLocated 250 yards from world-renowned Grace Bay Beach (behind Grace Bay Club), Caribbean Paradise Inn is among the few small hotel properties on Providenciales, and the only one that is owner operated. Jean Luc lives on-premise and goes out of his way to make each guest feel at home.

The France-born Jean Luc and his companion Monique Gillet first came to the Turks & Caicos from Martinique in 1996, although Monique’s father had lived in the country for 20 years and worked on laying one of Provo’s original roads. At first, they were involved in a storage business, which they still operate. In 2003, however, Jean Luc heard that the Caribbean Paradise Inn was for sale and decided to take a chance and buy it, although he had never run a hotel before.

It was Don’t Stop the Carnival all over again. Jean Luc recalls, “The hotel had been closed for some time and everything was a mess when I took over. We worked every day for two to three months to replace most of the furniture, redecorate the rooms and clean up the gardens.”

Caribbean Paradise Inn PoolHis efforts were well spent. Today, the inn’s bright orange walls are crisply accented with white latticework surrounding private balconies and patios. The fresh-water pool and its surrounding terrace glisten in the brilliant sun, shadowed and colored by the gorgeous tropical gardens that surround the premises.

Monique’s eye for decor is revealed in a tour of its spotless rooms. Each sports a unique look; all are decorated in soothing, sophisticated tones with unexpectedly elegant touches in the accent pieces. Guests can choose second floor “Baywatch” rooms for ocean views and peeks at the pool or take a lower level “Paradise” room for the garden’s shade and easy patio access. There is a choice of king, queen or two full-size beds and each room has a full bathroom with shower. All are air-conditioned and include ceiling fans, cable television, mini-refrigerators, phones, hair dryers and in-room safes. There is one suite with separate living room and kitchenette.

Caribbean Paradise Inn InteriorWith the beach only a stroll away, that’s where most guests head first. There is an easy access path and the inn provides guests with beach chairs and towels; umbrellas, coolers and snorkel gear are available. Caribbean Paradise Inn is also situated close by to the variety of restaurants, shops and the Provo Golf and Country Club that mark the Grace Bay area as Provo’s own “Gold Coast.” Jean Luc says he is happy to drive guests for dining, grocery shopping or to their favorite snorkeling sites whenever it is possible.

Included in the reasonable room rate is a daily breakfast buffet served on the shaded patio by the bar. Drinks are on the honor system. And of his famous parties, which take place several times a week during the busy season, host Jean Luc says, “All of our guests are invited and we sit together at one long table on the patio. I like to barbecue lobster when it’s in season and we have salad, cheese, dessert, wine and music. Everyone has a fantastic time.” (After looking at the pictures Jean Luc keeps on file, I don’t doubt him for a minute!)

In fact, Peter and Sue from Colorado commented in the inn’s on-line guestbook: “We spent a blissful week at the Inn and wish it could have lasted much longer. Our room was lovely and scrupulously clean. The Inn is beautiful, but the people who own and run it make it the extraordinary place it is. Jean Luc is a fine cook. We were treated to two wonderful dinner parties he hosted where we met many lovely people — guests at the Inn and local friends of the owners — people from Canada, T&C, England, Switzerland and the States. The grilled lobster was fantastic and the company was better. We all had a smashingly good time.”

The rest of the time, however, Caribbean Paradise Inn seems nestled in a peaceful embrace. Its circular design and buffer of vegetation keep the rest of the world at bay and because there are only 16 rooms, it never feels noisy or crowded and guests are assured of their privacy.

So how does Jean Luc like running a hotel? Although he complains about the rough start and long hours, I sense that hospitality is in his blood. He says, “You know, even though our guests come from around the world, it’s really not difficult to make them feel at home. It’s just like having friends and family visit.” Obviously, he is doing something right. Jean Luc says that many guests from their first season have already made reservations for this year.

I left Jean Luc to juggle the tasks of his day . . . and perhaps plan his next party. I hope to be invited!

For more information, call (649) 946-5020; e-mail inn@paradise.tc or visit www.paradise.tc.