Page 554 - The Dutch Caribbean Isles
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LECTRICITY: 110-130 volts a.c. 50 cycles. Indian seasoning. Check your menu for as rain shadows created by mountains, can
barbecued chicken or ribs, stuffed land crab play an important role in local weather con-
E Many U.S. appliances that operate on and goat stew. Seafood is prevalent in the ditions. Keep in mind that those cold fronts
restaurants, including red snapper, grouper, in the U.S. that dip down from the north can
60 cycles will work fine, except items like shrimp and Caribbean lobster. Tropical keep right on dipping to most of the north-
hair dryers, irons and some battery charg- fruits and vegetables are also common: ern islands, bringing cool temperatures and
ing equipment, which may overheat if used christophene, green banana, breadfruit, rough water in their wake.
for an extended period of time. European papaya and mangoes. Expect comfortable,
appliances that run on 220 volt cannot be unpretentious restaurants where reserva- T wo other important factors to consider
used, unless you have adapters. tions aren’t required. in the Caribbean are tourist season and
hurricane season. The off-season for tour-
T IME ZONE: The islands follow the At- S T. EUSTATIUS SEASONAL DIVE PLANNER: ism is roughly mid-April to mid-December.
lantic Standard Time, which is 1 hour Temperatures between summer and It can mean much cheaper prices (up to
ahead of Eastern Standard Time and equals winter don’t normally vary much more than 60% less) than in the busy high season. Al-
Eastern Daylight Time. There is no daylight five degrees in the Caribbean. The aver- though hurricanes can develop any time of
saving time on the islands. The difference age temperature is about 80° year-round. the year, the season is generally considered
with Central European Time is 5 hours dur- Naturally, southern islands tend to be a to be from July to November, with Septem-
ing the winter and 6 when daylight saving little warmer than the northern ones. For ber the most likely month. Island folklore
time is in effect in the summer. example, Curaçao’s southern location keeps has it this way:
its summer average at 83° and winter at
S HOPPPING: Shopping is not the rea- 80°, while the northern Bahamas (Nassau) June, too soon
son people visit Statia: The pickings vary from a summer average of 81° down to July, pass by
are pretty slim. Nevertheless, you can find a cool 69° average in the winter. There is a August, we must
handcrafted island souvenirs, postcards and wet and dry season, with most rain falling Remember September
tropical beachwear. between May/June and October/November. October, all over.
However, location and topography, such
D INING: The local cuisine is delight-
fully spicy, making use of typical West
