Recap: 2014 Taste Our Bahamas Festival

On Saturday, hundreds of people attended the first annual Taste Our Bahamas Festival in Nassau at Fort Charlotte.  People from most of the inhabited islands of the Bahamas were represented at the festival, including New Providence, Abaco, Andros, and Cat Island.

Festivities began around 8 am and lasted until about 10 pm. Performances by a local marching band, a mixology showdown, culinary demonstrations and musical artists were all apart of the rigorous festival schedule.  Festival goers were able to visit each vendor and ‘taste the Bahamas.’ There was also an area filled with games where parents could leave their children so they could roam around the festival freely.

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I sampled several types of traditional Bahamian foods.  Conch fritters, guava duff, jerk chicken and fresh sugar cane juice were all on menus from various vendors.  I was stuffed by the time I left!  By the way, this was my first time tasting guava duff (a pastry made with guava covered with a cream sauce…similar to a Cinnabon but better), and it was seriously delicious. Trust me on this.

I also had the opportunity to talk live on the air with radio station Hot 91.7’s The Natural Empress as well as a local Bahamian TV station.  So much fun chatting about my site, the festival and all the food Bahamas has to offer!

This was the first year for the festival, so I only expect it to be bigger and better next year.  To learn more about the festival and Bahamas Culinary Month, click here.

*This post is sponsored by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. All opinions expressed are my own.

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Haiti

I recently had the opportunity to spend a few days in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  When I said I was headed to Haiti, many people’s reactions were much like “Haiti?! Why Haiti? What’s in Haiti? Do you have family there?” The answer is no, and while Haiti isn’t exactly at the top of everyone’s “must-see” travel list, it is definitely a country worth seeing at least once, even if it’s just to appreciate the adversity these people face and how resilient they appear to be despite their humble circumstances.

1) It’s a beautiful country.

While Port-au-Prince is pretty landlocked, the aerial views of the city are insanely pretty.  I also traveled about two hours outside of the city to the beach and it was truly a beautiful country.  I look forward to seeing more of the countryside on my next visit.

2) Haiti was the 1st country in the Caribbean and Latin America to gain its independence.

I totally did not know this!  Haiti gained its independence from France in 1804 (59 years before the U.S. ended slavery, by the way).  Many of its first leaders were former slaves.  How awesome is that?

3) Port-au-Prince is built on hills.

This was my least favorite part of the trip.  I sometimes get carsick so traveling up and down the bumpy dirt roads of Port-au-Prince made me nauseated.  Someone should have warned me!

4) There are 2 official languages: French and Haitian Creole.

Not as many people speak great English as I thought they would when I arrived.  Needless to say, I need to step my French game WAY up before my next trip.

5) Most crimes that occur are not violent crimes.

When people think of Haiti, they think it’s a totally dangerous, unstable place, but that’s not hardly true. Most of their crimes are not violent.  I’m not saying you shouldn’t use caution and common sense when visiting, but violent crimes shouldn’t be your first concern.

I’m heading back to Haiti in a few months, so I look forward to sharing more of this beautiful country with you!

Photo Credit: Roderick Watson