Lee Abbamonte
Try to become the youngest person to travel to every country in the world
My Thoughts on Cruises
By Lee | 
8 Comments » 
Cruises are quite possibly the worst things ever invented. The only redeeming quality is that they serve as a fairly comfortable mode of transport in which you have to think and plan nothing and you generally wake up in a new place. However, there are so many awful and annoying things about cruises that I can’t possibly enumerate them all. However, here a few of the worst things about cruises.
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Helicopter to Montserrat
By Lee | 3 Comments » 
On my recent trip to the Caribbean I visited nine new countries and the highlight was undoubtably my helicopter trip to Montserrat. Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. The former capital city of Plymouth was completely destroyed and two-thirds of the island’s population forced to flee abroad by an eruption of the previously dormant Soufriere Hills Volcano, beginning on July 18, 1995. The eruption continues today on a much reduced scale. The damage being confined to the areas around Plymouth including its docking facilities and the former International Airport; which has since been replaced by a very small airport where the remaining 4700 residents have been relocated to on the “safe” north side of the island.
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San Andrés Island, Colombia
By Lee | 2 Comments » 
San Andrés is the largest and principal island of the Colombian department of San Andrés y Providencia which consists of two island groups about 480 miles northwest of Colombia and 140 miles from the coast of Nicaragua. The archipelago has been claimed by Nicaragua, England and is now under the control of Colombia. San Andrés is the main island of the San Andrés group and the principal town is San Andrés in the north of the island. This is where most people spend their time on the island when they are not diving and the hub of commerce for the island.
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The Resignation of Fidel Castro
By Lee | 2 Comments » 
I have been flooded with questions since yesterday’s announcement of Fidel Castro’s resignation after nearly 50 years of rule in Cuba. I am not surprised that he resigned as his health deterioration has been rumored for many years. I do not know how it will shake out with his brother Raul taking over and promising “a better form of socialism”. I guess the world will find out shortly what that means. I also do not know if this will eventually lead to the US lifting the oppressive embargo on Cuba that seemingly has stood for way too long. Meaning, I do not know if this will open the door to “legal” tourism to Cuba for American citizens.
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Trinidad and Tobago
By Lee | 1 Comment » I found out Friday night at around 9:30pm that there was an air traffic controller strike set to begin at midnight last night, when my flight was scheduled for 4am. Needless to say, I was fairly nonplussed about the situation and had to scramble to check out of my hotel and get to the airport to try to get on the last flight of the night at 11:30pm. I paid the cabbie extra to use whatever means necessary to get me there as fast as possible. The airport was supposed to be an hour an fifteen minutes away; we made it in 50 minutes and I was the last person to get on the flight. That flight would be the last flight leaving the airport until the strike was settled which apparently could be weeks. That’ll ruin a lot of peoples holiday and new years plans. Again, I was pretty psyched to be out of Suriname and in T & T a night early.
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Margarita Island, Venezuela
By Lee | 6 Comments » 
I spent the summer of 1999 living on Margarita Island in the Southern Caribbean. It was one of the best times of my life and I am much better off for my experiences. I learned to speak Spanish fluently, met a lot of great friends and just had a great time on this amazingly diverse and stunningly beautiful island. A lot of people are scared to go to Venezuela now because of the political situation but I was there when the current President came to power and I can assure you that most Venezuelans don’t care about politics and they will treat you as one of their own, regardless of your nationality.
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Bonbini! Aruba
By Lee | 1 Comment » 
Aruba is one of those places that people marvel about. It is a beautiful island that is everything an island is supposed to be. It has something for everyone to do and some of the best beaches you can imagine. I have been there twice and both times left wanting more. Palm Beach is the type of beach that hynoptizes you and makes you forget your problems and work back home. Aruba is in a word, relaxing.
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Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
By Lee | 5 Comments » 
Punta Cana is the jewel in the crown of the Dominican Republic. The beaches are spectacular and the seafood is great. The resorts are top notch with idyllic pools and palm lined properties. Relaxation is the theme in the DR and If you dare escape the allure of the all inclusive resorts then you can experience what the rest of the island has to offer as well.
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The Bay Islands
By Lee | 3 Comments » Ever hear of a place called Roatan? Of course not, who has? What country is that in? The answer is…it’s a small island in the western Caribbean belonging to Honduras. The island of Roatan is home to some of the best diving and snorkeling in the entire world. It is contained in the second largest coral reef in the world behind Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Along with its neighboring island of Utila, they make up the gist of the Bay Islands of Honduras.
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Bermuda
By Lee | 2 Comments » 
Bermuda is often forgotten about by most people I know because it’s so close to New York. It’s only a 2 hour flight but it doesn’t often come up as a place to shoot off to for a getaway. The more mainstream Caribbean places generally come up more often. However, Bermuda is awesome. The restaurants are world class, the culture is awesome with the Bermuda shorts and the English influence. But most of all, the beaches are tremendous. As you can see above on Horseshoe Beach, these beaches are top notch. The best thing about them is that they are surrounded by giant rocks and rock cliffs as you can see below so you can really get in some good cliff jumping, see me below. The heights vary and of course the depth of the water varies as well. (more…)
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