Caribbean dreams at bargain prices

White rum or dark rum? Butterfish or parrotfish? Mangoes or papayas? Oh, what delicious decisions one has to make when self-catering in the Caribbean. 

Shopping at the Saturday morning market in Charlestown, the capital of Nevis, 50 miles west of Antigua, certainly beats the usual supermarket trawl back home. There’s just a handful of fruit and veg stalls run by wiry ladies in hats, and an animated chap with an ice-chest full of freshly caught fish who drums up business by blowing on a conch shell like a Rastafarian Neptune. The mood is civil and leisurely, and as I’m here with my family buying food for the weekend we’re all glowing with a new-found sense of legitimacy. Tourists may come and go in their minibuses, but the moment you rent a villa on Nevis you become an honorary local, with every right to clog up the pavement while nonchalantly discussing the price of limes. Continue Reading