<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The people on the islands of the Caribbean are rich and poor. Many of the people that we saw in Nassau, in the Bahamas, seemed to be well-to-do. Right off the boat we were close to police stations, to courts (including the Supreme Court), to judicial offices and judges' parking spaces. There is an air of professionalism and sobriety here. There are relatively poor people, too, just trying to sell stuff -- prepared food, fruit, and so forth. And lots of guys offering horse-and-buggy rides or taxi rides to various locations, or individualized tours.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:gallery {"columns":3,"imageCrop":false,"linkTo":"none","sizeSlug":"medium","align":"center","style":{"spacing":{"blockGap":{"top":"var:preset|spacing|30","left":"var:preset|spacing|30"}}},"lightbox":true} -->
<figure class="wp-block-gallery aligncenter has-nested-images columns-3 has-lightbox"><!-- wp:image {"id":12314,"sizeSlug":"medium","linkDestination":"none","align":"right"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-medium"><img src="https://christopherhumphreyphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/O3A2638-200x300.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-12314"/></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:image {"id":12505,"sizeSlug":"medium","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://christopherhumphreyphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/O3A2669-300x200.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-12505"/></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:image {"id":12326,"sizeSlug":"medium","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://christopherhumphreyphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/O3A2687-300x200.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-12326"/></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:image {"id":12317,"sizeSlug":"medium","linkDestination":"none","align":"center"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-medium"><img src="https://christopherhumphreyphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/O3A2644-300x200.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-12317"/></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:image {"id":12323,"sizeSlug":"medium","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><img src="https://christopherhumphreyphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/O3A2673-300x200.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-12323"/></figure>
<!-- /wp:image --></figure>
<!-- /wp:gallery -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>In one location (Amber Cove, Dominican Republic) we visited a cultural center which showed us how the delicious Dominican coffee and rum were made traditionally -- by hand. We sampled both, and brought ground coffee back to the States. It is clear that the people of the islands depend on tourism to survive, and on the big cash crops. </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:columns -->
<div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column -->
<div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:image {"id":12518,"width":"247px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://christopherhumphreyphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chris-grinding-coffee-beans-in-the-Dominican-Republic-1.gif" alt="" class="wp-image-12518" style="width:247px;height:auto"/></figure>
<!-- /wp:image --></div>
<!-- /wp:column -->

<!-- wp:column -->
<div class="wp-block-column"><!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Coffee-grinding by hand (which I tried out while dancing with others around a mortar, and the islanders sang rhythmically) is an attempt to preserve the old ways (largely for the tourists). Meanwhile, big corporations are using electricity to do the same job much more economically. (Yes, that's me in the flowered shirt, taken from a video recorded by Edith.)</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph --></div>
<!-- /wp:column --></div>
<!-- /wp:columns -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The big cruise ships dominate these islands physically as well as financially. Not far from the beaches or piers you find failed attempts to capture tourist dollars, like seaside developments abandoned, and stone walls and rusted fences collapsed.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:gallery {"columns":4,"linkTo":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-4 is-cropped"><!-- wp:image {"id":12485,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://christopherhumphreyphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/O3A2502-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-12485"/></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:image {"id":12511,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://christopherhumphreyphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/O3A2504-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-12511"/></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:image {"id":12516,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://christopherhumphreyphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/O3A2506-1-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-12516"/></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:image {"id":12484,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://christopherhumphreyphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/O3A2500-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-12484"/></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:image {"id":12514,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://christopherhumphreyphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/O3A2496-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-12514"/></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:image {"id":12483,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://christopherhumphreyphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/O3A2499-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-12483"/></figure>
<!-- /wp:image --></figure>
<!-- /wp:gallery -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>In contrast, the Bahamas island <em>owned </em>by the Holland America cruise ship line, Half Moon Cay, is very well run, and there is no sign of decay or financial failure. In fact, the Carnival line (which has bought Holland America) is building its own dock on the island, and there is other construction going on as well. This is effectively a "company town," with employees coming for short stays from all over the place to keep the machine running smoothly.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->