Originally uploaded by ambergris.

Here is a photo of a water slide that passes through one of the many aquariums at Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas. (Found on flickr).

On the CBS special Rob and Amber Get Married, which airs tonight on CBS, “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race’s” Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich tie the not at the Atlantis resort at Paradise Island, Bahamas.

Probably the only reason to visit the Bahamas instead of any other Caribbean island is Atlantis, Paradise Island, which cost about $1 billion to build. The striking Royal Towers at the resort was featured in the Pierce Brosnan film “After the Sunset.”

In addition to a large casino, Atlantis features a number of lagoons, waterslides and aquariums that can be walked under through a series of tunnels on the property.

In an effort to reduce a growing homicide rate, the prime minister of St. Lucia says he won’t hesitate to hang murderers. St. Lucia has experienced 17 murders this year, double the number at the same time last year.

Violent crimes don’t typically reach into the tourist community, but increasing crime rates do seem to be a distrubing trend across the Caribbean.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning, who has responsibility in the quasi-Cabinet of CARICOM for crime and security, admitted that the profile of crime and security in the Caribbean has changed significantly over the last two decades.

“Today the trafficking and proliferation of illegal firearms, the emergence of new forms of crime, cyber attacks on financial institutions, and the threat of terrorism dictate that we address crime as a major concern for the region,” he said.

Manning said he is fearful that over the next three years, the potential for further criminal and security threats could emerge, as the Caribbean moves towards establishing its own single market and economy, the possible emergence of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), and the hosting of the Cricket World Cup in 2007.

Originally uploaded by cydesign.

Curacao shows its Dutch colonial heritage in the architecture of its famous pastel colored buildings fronting St. Anna Bay in downtown Willemstad, Curacao’s capital. (Found on flickr).

According to USA Today, high-end resorts in the Caribbean are beginning to sell out for the first time in many years. Except for Grenada and Grand Cayman, the islands have rebounded from last year’s rough hurricane season. There are also a number of new resorts opening this year. I’ve included the list below along with links to their web sites.

• Aruba: Bucuti Beach Resort, now with a new adults-only wing.
• Barbados: Hilton, located near Bridgetown and historic Fort Charles.
• British Virgin Islands: Mainsail BVI, a 230 acre private island located 5 minutes by boat from Tortola.
• Dominican Republic: Sunscape the Beach Punta Cana, a beach front resort on the Eastern tip of the island.
• Turks & Caicos: The Palms, an ultra-luxurious property with 72 two and three-bedroom suites.
• Grenadines: Raffles Resort Canouan Island, set on 300 acres with three secluded white-sand beaches.
• Jamaica: Sandals Whitehouse European Village & Spa, a 50-acre resort on the south coast of the island.
• Puerto Rico: Paradisus Resort, on the northeastern shore of the island just minutes from El Yunque rainforest.
• West Caicos: Molasses Reef Ritz-Carlton Resort, located on a previously uninhabited 11-square-mile island.

Originally uploaded by Deep Diver.

This strange looking batfish was photographed off Tobago. The batfish does not have scales and uses its pelvic and pectoral fins to walk across the ocean bottom. Batfish are not very fast and use the dorsal fin as a lure to attract prey.

Tobago offers a diversity of diving experiences and has some of the worlds largest brain coral.

Originally uploaded by sailrick.

Browsing through the Flickr tag “elyunque” brings up a number of images that offer a look at the Puerto Rican rain forest.

Visitors to San Juan, Puerto Rico can easily arrange for a taxi or tour bus to take them to the National Rain Forest, otherwise known as El Yunque. Those looking to explore a little further afield and get off the beaten path can consider hiking trails on the southern end of the park. Though it takes more planning to reach the southern reaches of the park, it could well be worth the effort.

The Associated Press’ Frank Griffiths offers a look into this less-visited area.

The forest suddenly becomes hushed except for the two-tone chirp of tiny tree frogs called coqui and the twitter of birdsong, though there’s no sighting of the endangered Puerto Rican parrots that live in El Yunque.

A panoply of giant ferns, banana trees and royal palms fan out overhead, among some 240 native tree species fed by the 100 billion gallons of rainwater that fall here each year.

Of course, the best way to handle this is to get down there and test them all for yourself. But if you can’t do that you can check out McKenna’s Guide to Caribbean Beers. Mark McKenna spent 10 years sampling the beers of various Caribbean nations and the result, besides several hangovers we presume, is this book.

Anna Creech at Blogcritics.org gave the book a tour and offers a short review.

The front inside cover of the book is a two page color map of the region, which was very handy to me, as I never learned the geography of the Caribbean. For each island, he reviews the breweries, brewpubs, and contract breweries, listing and describing the beers they make. He includes technical information whenever possible about the hops, the ingredients, the brewing process, and any export markets. The beers are rated on a scale from one beer to keg, and the ratings were determined by a group of beer aficionados, presumably friends of the author.

Caribbean beers is a topic we plan on returning to.

Originally uploaded by linuxinternet.

Palm umbrellas line a large beach at the Bucuti Beach Resort in Aruba. Bucuti is a European-style resort located on Aruba’s west coast. The resort’s website offers cams of Bucuti Beach, Tara Beach and the resort grounds.