Star Collector: Windward Islands & Spanish New World

The city of Bridgetown is the capital and largest city of the island country of Barbados, a major tourist destination in the West Indies. The city has numerous attractions, landmarks, monuments, museums, and art galleries of an international standard. It is also a starting point for visiting many other popular cities on the island. Read more about Bridgetown, Barbados

Pigeon Island is a 40 acre islet with artificial causeway built in 1972 joining it to Gros Islet commune, on the northern tip of the island-country of Saint Lucia. Saint Lucia is part of the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The island as a whole has switched hands between the British and French throughout its existence. Read more about Pigeon Island, Saint Lucia

In the SE West Indies is Scarborough, the chief town, administrative centre, and deepwater harbour of Tobago, one of the two islands of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Located on Rockly Bay and overlooking Scarborough Harbour, the town is steeply laid out on the bottom slopes of a hill 13 km from the island’s southwestern tip. On top of the hill is Fort King George (built by the British in the late 1700s), with a prison, barracks, officer’s mess, and many cannons. Read more about Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a country of 32 beautiful Caribbean islands in the idyllic Caribbean, stretching south from Saint Vincent Island to Grenada. Proud of its French and British colonial history, it is now part of the Commonwealth of Nations and the Caribbean Community of 15 nations. Bequia (pronounced "Beck-way”) is blessed with white sandy beaches, coral reefs, and friendly people. Read more about Bequia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Mayreau is the smallest inhabited island of the Grenadines, in the far SE of the Caribbean Sea. It has a population of about 300, centred at the Old Wall village, with its small school, a telecommunications building, and the Mayreau Catholic Church located on a hilltop in the SW of the island. With its picture-postcard beaches, it truly is a secret treasure of peace and tranquillity. Read more about Mayreau, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Read more about Willemstad, Curaçao, Curaçao

In the southern Caribbean, Oranjestad is the capital of the small island of Aruba, and an island territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is an attractive and historic harbour town just 27 km north of Venezuela. It can be divided into Upper and Lower Towns. Read more about Oranjestad, Aruba, Aruba

Cartagena is a Mediterranean city and naval station located in the Region of Murcia, SE Spain. The rich Carthaginian heritage extends as far as the Sea Wall, built by Charles III in the 18th century, and which defines the old quarter. Overlooking the Mediterranean there are two elements that are clearly connected with the sea: the prototype of the submarine by the inventor Isaac Peral; and the National Museum of Maritime Archaeology. Read more about Cartagena, Spain

Cartagena is a Mediterranean city and naval station located in the Region of Murcia, SE Spain. The rich Carthaginian heritage extends as far as the Sea Wall, built by Charles III in the 18th century, and which defines the old quarter. Overlooking the Mediterranean there are two elements that are clearly connected with the sea: the prototype of the submarine by the inventor Isaac Peral; and the National Museum of Maritime Archaeology. Read more about Cartagena, Spain

Bocas del Toro Archipelago is situated in an isolated region on the coast of Panama in the Caribbean Sea, in the Bay of Chirqui. Located on Colón Island, it is the capital city of Bocas del Toro Province. The entire island group is a unique place with its lush tropical vegetation and fauna found only in this part of the world. Read more about Bocas del Toro, Panama

The Panamanian San Blas Islands archipelago of 378 islands and cays (only 49 inhabited) lie 130 km to the NE of the Panama Canal entrance at Colon. This southernmost part of the Caribbean Sea is free of cyclones and popular with eco-tourists, due to the pristine environs and undeveloped tourist industry. The islands’ past history includes the period of the Spanish invasion, notable visits by explorer William Dampier (c. Read more about San Blas Islands, Panama

Gatun Lake is a large artificial lake situated in the Republic of Panama that forms a major part of the Panama Canal. The lake was created between 1907 and 1913 by the building of the Gatun Dam across the Chagres River. At the time it was created, Gatun Lake was the largest man-made lake in the world, and the dam was the largest earthen dam. Read more about Gatun Lake, Panama

Fuerte Amador (Fort Amador, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, is part of an artificial peninsula jutting out into the Pacific from Balboa, which connects four small islands to the mainland. On the west side of Fuerte Amador is the Pacific entrance to the Canal, and on the east side is Panama Bay facing Panama City. The surrounding ocean is always filled with vessels patiently awaiting their turn to transverse the Canal, while on the skyline a few kilometres to the north are the skyscrapers of Panama City. Read more about Fuerte Amador, Panama