Introduction
Palm-kissed powdery sand beaches, reggae beats pounding from a roadside shack, looming volcanoes rising above pristine jungle, majestic ruins standing proud on a dusty plain. From Jamaica to Nicaragua, Cuba to Costa Rica, these snapshots of the Caribbean don't show the whole picture. The tumultuous history of the region has dragged the long-suffering population through harsh imperial rule, colonial exploitation, despotic dictatorships, wars of independence, and currently mixed stability.
Nevertheless, whether you're going as an archaeology aficionado in Guatemala, coffee picker in Nicaragua or honeymooner in the Bahamas, here you'll find your dream. You can wallow in a hammock whilst sipping a mojita, salsa til dawn with a snappily dressed octogenarian, go spelunking in limestone caves, or climb the largest ancient pyramid in the western hemisphere.
