GWR 2023 High Res Blad PDF Half Page ver - Flipbook - Page 5
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AROUND THE WORLD IN 300 RECORDS
Caribbean
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1: Harewood Rum 1780
No trip to the Caribbean would be complete
without sampling a glass or two of rum, the liquor
distilled from sugar that has become synonymous
with the region. The oldest rum dates to 1780
and was distilled in Barbados. In 2011, a cache of
forgotten bottles was discovered in the basement
of a country house in West Yorkshire, UK. The last
16 bottles were auctioned off in Dec 2014, fetching
£100,000 ($155,320) for charity.
2: Bee hummingbirds
Twitchers will have to keep their eyes peeled if
they want to spy the smallest bird. Native to
Cuba, male bee hummingbirds (Mellisuga helenae)
reach a length of just 57 mm (2.24 in) and
weigh 1.6 g (0.05 oz) – lighter than a playing
card. Bee hummingbirds can beat their wings
more than 80 times per second and eat half
their body weight in nectar every day.
3: St Thomas Aquinas University
At a glance
• Area: 223,768 km2
• Population: 38.7 million
• Key Facts: The Caribbean
(also archaically described as
the West Indies) is a region
comprising 13 independent
countries but also many
territories and dependencies.
There are more than
700 islands – the largest
of which is Cuba (as big
as the next five largest
islands combined). The
name “Caribbean” derives
from the Spanish word
“Carib”, used to describe
the indigenous Kalingo (or
Karina or Karino) people who
originally inhabited
the region.
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Caribbean culture vultures will find the first
university in the New World in present-day Santo
Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Founded as
a seminary for Roman Catholic monks in 1518,
the Universidad Santo Tomás de Aquino was made
a university by a papal bill on 28 Oct 1538 and
officially recognized by the Spanish Court in 1558.
4: Toro Bike
If you want to combine daredevilry with your
sightseeing, head to the Toroverde adventure
park in Puerto Rico and take a ride on the longest
bicycle zipwire. You’ll pedal over the jungle canopy,
along 322.25 m (1,057 ft) of highwires.
5: The Merengue
Despite its African and Spanish influences,
merengue music is unique to the island of the
Dominican Republic. The largest merengue dance
featured 844 participants in the capital city of
Santo Domingo on 3 Nov 2019.
6: Sint Maarten & Saint-Martin
At just 87 km2 (33.6 sq mi), Saint Martin is the
world’s smallest inhabited shared island, divided
between the French Saint-Martin and the Dutch
Sint Maarten. No trip here is complete without a
visit to Maho Beach for a terrifying view of the
aircraft that make a low-altitude approach to the
Princess Juliana International Airport. Whoosh!!
7: Hercules beetles
Visitors to the islands of Guadeloupe and
Dominica would be advised to watch out for
these mighty flying insects, the longest beetle
species! One specimen of the subspecies
Dynastes hercules hercules was measured
at 172 mm (6.77 in).
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