No comments about THE AMERICAN TRAVEL SERIES THE CARIBBEAN AND THE BAHAMAS.

No comments about Virgin Islands 90: Including st Croix, st John, st Thoms, Tortola Virgin Gorda.

No comments about Insight Guide Instant Cuba (Insight Country/Regional Guides-Foreign).

No comments about Travelers World Guides/caribbean Islands Handbook 1994 (Footprint Caribbean Islands Handbook).

No comments about Frommer's Caribbean '96: The Most Complete Guide to Every Island (Frommer's Complete Travel Guides).

No comments about Contemporary Travel Writing of Latin America.

No comments about Vacation daze: Or Mexican marriage and other travel adventures,.

1 comments about Travels with Yeti.

1. Travels With Yeti, by Hiram Connell (Back Channel Press, 2006; 200 pages; $24.95)
   Review by Donald Chambers
   Lawrence, Kan.
   Good Old Boat Newsletter June 2007
   
   Here is the story of an enthusiastic sailing couple and their five-year wander down the Atlantic Coast and through the Caribbean to Venezuela and back. You get the complete story, starting from their very first dinghy sail to the final, sale of Yeti, the sailboat that entwined their lives over so many years. It would be a character-building read for those who have been tempted to do something similar; your heart will warm toward an author who spares us no details about the mistakes he makes along the way to becoming a seasoned cruiser. And there are some exciting descriptions of sailing in rough weather, including what it is like to have your mainsail split by high winds while in the middle of the ocean.
   
   There are odd characters met on the beach, odd goings-on in strange boats in the middle of the night, the great (and miserable) food, and the frustrating encounters with local Caribbean police and customs officers. There are brief descriptions of islands and anchorages and lots of judgments about good ports-of-call plus some details about those a person might want to avoid. And while there was probably too much on dealing with engine problems, it was comforting to learn that other people also had these things happen to them at the worst possible time.
   
   While the book is worthwhile, it sometimes can't seem to make up its mind whether it wants to be a cruising guide or a memoir of a wonderful cruise of a lifetime. An author probably can't do both in the same book, so it's sometimes a bit short on both counts. The details about anchoring and navigation aren't sufficient and there often is not enough about the people and their stories. One missing detail: while Hiram Connell's wife, Helen, was an integral part of this adventure, I feel like I know almost nothing about her. Of course, he gives her heartfelt acknowledgments along the way but I wish he'd also given her a voice.
   
   Other things could have been left out -- perhaps half of the pictures and almost all of the editorial asides on the politics, the poverty and the graft in third-world countries. I suspect most readers know those facts already.
   
   But there were some nice stories in the book: the spontaneous operatic concert in the Puerto Rico restaurant, the 25th wedding anniversary on some isolated island, the evening with Earl and the poetry and the waltzing. Yes, yes, author, give us more!

2 comments about Fodor's Caribbean Ports of Call 2007 (Fodor's Gold Guides).

1. I was very disappointed in this Fodor's book. For example on the island of Antigua, they listed 4 shore excursion tours (out of 15 or so the cruise ships offer) and the description of the tours was less information than can be found for free on the cruise line's websites.
   The island of St. John only had a few paragraphs which I found totally useless. If you want to know more about the islands and activities on the islands, I suggest you save your money and DON'T buy this book. Instead, go to the internet and check information from the visitor bureau for each island or go to the cruise lines websites. The book includes a map of Miami airport and one of JFK. That's fine if you happend to be flying into one of those two airports. It also devotes a lot of pages to listing different cruise lines and listing all of their ships. That's not really what I wanted to read about in a CARIBBEAN Ports of Call book. The island information doesn't even START until page 172!



2. Fodor's produces an excellent reference book for the Caribbean. While the book is not an exhaustive reference, it does do a wonderful job of giving a lot of overview information which will be helpful for first time, or few time visiotors to these pors.

No comments about Econoguide 2000-01 Cruises.