Rum Therapy, Author at Rum Therapy

July 9, 2013October 13, 2013

An Olympus Waterproof Camera

We’re the type of travelers that like to have the convenience of taking a pic wherever we feel there could be a good photo (like while floating in the beautiful Caribbean water!) but, we don’t want to be trekking through the islands with lots of heavy and expensive equipment. So, when we recently broke the camera housing for our point and shoot camera, we started to research possibilities for a new camera – one that didn’t have to be placed in a separate housing unit.

After reading some reviews and spending some time at the electronics store, we ended up purchasing an Olympus TG-1iHS 12 MP Waterproof Digital Camera.

We’re not saying this is THE BEST waterproof camera out there – we haven’t had an opportunity to try many of the others, but we thought we’d tell you of our experience with this one, in case you’re doing some research on a new waterproof camera of your own.

What we like:

1. No camera housing. Seems really strange to just walk into the water with your camera without adding any housing or protection of any kind, but you can with this one!

2. Fast shutter speed. The regular setting is fairly fast, and if you set it to the sport setting, you can take numerous shots in rapid succession – perfect when you’re trying to capture that barracuda swimming by…

3. Large viewfinder. Good for making sure you’ve got that cool turtle in the shot.

4. Picture clarity. As long as the lens doesn’t have any water spots, the photos are very clear!

5. It has a rechargeable battery and it seems that the battery keeps a charge for fairly long, which helps when you want to spend LOTS of time in the beautiful water.

The camera also has video capabilities, but we haven’t had the chance to try that feature out yet. The camera is waterproof to 40 ft., shockproof and sturdy. So far, we really don’t have any complaints.

The bad news? The Olympus TG-1iHS seems to have been discontinued. The good news? It’s been replaced with an updated version – the Olympus Stylus TG-2 iHS Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom and 3-Inch LCD (Black) which looks to have the same great features as its predecessor and according to the specs, is now waterproof to a level of 5o ft! And – at a price of $379.oo seems to be slightly lower than what we paid for the TG-1.

Do you have the Olympus TG-1 or TG-2? If so, what are your thoughts on its performance? Or – do you have another waterproof camera that you would recommend?

July 8, 2013June 6, 2019

Magic Ice, St. Thomas

We don’t usually associate freezing temperatures with a tropical vacation, but on our recent trip to St. Thomas we experienced just that – and enjoyed it!

Located on the Waterfront in downtown Charlotte Amalie (just down from Bones Rum and Big Kahuna Rum Shack), Magic Ice might be a fun way to escape the tropical heat while checking out some intricate ice sculptures and an ice bar!

Once you enter the lobby of Magic Ice, you are given a huge parka with a fur rimmed hood, velcro leg warmers in case you show up in shorts and mittens.

After suiting up in our arctic gear, our guide led us into the “cold room” filled with magical ice sculptures backlit with a variety of beautiful colors.

When we visited, the sculptures included a myriad of sea creatures, an ice throne that you could sit in, an ice slide for the young or young at heart and various island and pirate themed pieces, such as this skull and crossbones.

New ice sculptures are created every six months, when ice artists from all over the globe are flown in to create a new gallery of ice art.

At the end of the ice room we came across the ice bar complete with a great variety of Cruzan Rums and were treated to our choice of a VERY COLD shot of rum…yum…

After about 20 minutes, we exited the ice room, got back in to our tropical attire and left cooler and refreshed to go explore more of the waterfront in Charlotte Amalie.

Visit their website to find out more about Magic Ice, St. Thomas

Find Magic Ice on our St. Thomas Map

To see more posts on St. Thomas and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

July 3, 2013June 28, 2021

Poppin’ Strawberry Colada

We wanted to post this one sooner, but finding pop rocks turned out to be quite the feat! We thought this might be a good recipe for the holiday weekend – festive, cold and rummy – and with a little sizzle and pop! This can easily be made without rum for the “yung uns” and designated drivers! Be safe and enjoy!

*We love bringing you amazing rum recipes! Our recipes may contain affiliate links to products that we use. If you click the link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support in helping us to continue providing rumlicious, tropical recipes!

Print Recipe

Poppin' Strawberry Colada

Servings:

Ingredients

3 oz Gold Rum
4 oz Pineapple Juice
1 c Frozen Strawberries
1 oz Coconut Cream
1 c Ice
2 envelopes Strawberry Pop Rocks
Blueberries for Garnish

Instructions

Blend rum, pineapple juice, strawberries and coconut cream until smooth.
Add ice and blend until creamy.
Dip the rim of two small glasses in a small bowl of pineapple juice, then dip in pop rocks (put the pop rocks on a plate for easier access). The rocks will begin to pop as soon as they get wet, but there is still some residual popping to enjoy as you sip!
Add a garnish of blueberries for color. Cheers!

Dune Preserve, Anguilla

On an picturesque stretch of sand on beautiful Rendezvous Bay, Anguilla, sits Dune Preserve, an ever changing bar/restaurant/music lounge owned by famous reggae musician Bankie Banx.

Dune Preserve sits between the beautiful CuisinArt Resort and Spa and its Greg Norman designed golf course, and is ever changing because owner Bankie and friends continually add to the work of art with predominately salvaged and discarded wood and other materials found in the area.

We loved checking out the funky decor and chatting with a few of the locals hanging out there the day we visited, but we’d love to go back someday to enjoy the live music.

The Dune Preserve is home to the annual Moonsplash Festival, a several day event featuring world class musicians and usually a few surprise guests. Apparently both Jimmy Buffet and John Mayer have stopped in to jam at past festivals.

Great place to enjoy a tasty libation and food along with a fantastic view of Rendezvous Bay and St. Martin and if you can time it right, some great live music.

Find out more by visiting the Bankie Banx Website.

Find Dune Preserve on our Anguilla Map

To see more posts on Anguilla and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

June 28, 2013November 7, 2020

Frozen Rum Concoctions

There’s booze in the blender and soon it will render
That frozen concoction that helps me hang on…Jimmy B.

Nothing like a hot summer day to get ya thinking of a frozen concoction! If you think one might help you hang on this weekend, here are a few suggestions – with rum, of course!

Strawberry Banana Colada

Dirty Pirate Poptails

Peach Daiquiri

Stay cool and enjoy your weekend!

Find more recipes here:

Rum Recipes by Pictures

Rum Recipes by Category

copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

June 26, 2013June 6, 2019

Baie de l’Embouchure, St. Martin

Heading north on Rue de Coralita on our way to Le Galion Beach, St. Martin for the day, we turned the corner to Baie de l’Embouchure and saw what appeared to be a couple of people walking on water – a good distance from the shore – toward one of the small islets in a protected area of the bay. We immediately pulled over to see what was going on.

The area is called Ilets de la Baie de l’Embouchure and is a protected area on the southern edge of Baie de l’Embouchure. From the parking lot, walk up to an observation platform overlooking the beautiful bay and check out the plaques providing information about the area, history and ecosystem. From the platform you can look north to Le Galion and to the south and east you can see St. Barths.

We talked to several people who had just returned from “walking on the water” to one of the small islets, and they showed us the route to take across the water. There’s a shallow path of pebbles from the shore to one of the islets where the water is only a few inches deep.

It’s about a 10 minute walk across the watery path to one of the rocky, windswept islands. You’ll need to wear water shoes or sandals. The path in the water is made of pebbles and the island is comprised of sharp rock.

Be sure to climb to the top and leave a rock on the cairn.

And check out the view of the bay behind you.

Find Baie de l’Embouchure on our St. Maarten/St. Martin Map
Press the Baie de l’Embouchure bar (Attractions) underneath the map

To see more posts on St. Martin and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

June 25, 2013May 29, 2019

Palm Trees in Paradise

Nothing is quite as calming as a pictures of a palm tree next to beautiful blue water, and over the years we’ve amassed a nice collection of these types of pics. So…we thought we’d put some of our favorites together to share with you. Actually, we can’t verify that they are all palm trees – sorry- we’re far from palm experts, but they’re definitely palm looking plants that give us the same tropical feel! Since we couldn’t narrow it down any more than this, this is a sort of Tropical Palm Pictorial Journal. Pull up a glass of rum and enjoy a little tropication!

No wonder it’s called “Palm” Island…(The Grenadines)

Gorgeous palms on Saltwhistle Bay Beach, Mayreau.

Shoal Bay, Anguilla. This one gets extra points for the hammock :)

Palm Tree Tire Swing in Cane Garden Bay, Tortola

O.K, these are palm fronds on a palapa (and a small palm to the right), but we’re gonna count it anyway because it’s just super fun to look at and remember. Extra points for the rum punch at Guys Driftwood Boat Bar in St. Maarten.

Hard to believe there could be palm trees on a manmade conch shell island off of Union Island in the Grenadines, but as you can see, there certainly are palms on Happy Island!

Lovely palms and boats at Smathers Beach, Key West.

Gorgeous palm sunset on Kauai…

Cool leaning palm at Bolongo Bay, St. Thomas

Amazing palms and scenery of Tobago Cays, The Grenadines

The palms burned (cinematically – thank goodness) on Petit Tabac in the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

The perfect twin palms of Maho Bay, St. John

A palm tree shadow at the gorgeous Magens Bay Beach, St. Thomas

View of the palms at Spring Bay, Virgin Gorda from the crystal clear blue water

A palm and a beautiful beach, what more do you need on Prickly Pear Cays, Anguilla?

A palm and a view at Smuggler’s Cove, Tortola

And I guess it wouldn’t hurt to end up with a palm (or two) and a Painkiller (or two) on White Bay, Jost Van Dyke in front of the Soggy Dollar Bar…would it?

To see more posts on these and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

June 24, 2013June 24, 2021

Dark Mojito

Here’s another one to add to your Mojito Recipe Files – a Dark Mojito. It’s truly just a slight variation of The Perfect Mojito and a Dirty Mojito and in our opinion, tastes the rummiest of the three! Use a dark rum with a taste that you find pleasant, as the dark rum taste does rise above the milder taste of mint and sugar.

Print Recipe

Dark Mojito

A slight variation on the Mojito, very "rummy"!

Course: Drinks

Servings:

Ingredients

2 oz. Dark Rum
8 Mint Leaves
2 tsp. Brown Sugar
1 Tbs. Lime Juice
Club Soda

Instructions

Gently muddle the mint with the lime juice and brown sugar in a tall glass.
Add crushed ice and the rum.
Fill to the top of the glass with club soda. Garnish with a sprig of mint and enjoy!!

June 22, 2013September 20, 2019

Helicopter Ride in Kauai

I’d never even been on a helicopter before and as I’ve mentioned before, have a bit of a fear, well, of falling, so I was pretty impressed that the other half of our team was able to talk me into not only a helicopter ride over Kauai, but a DOORLESS helicopter ride. After all, (he said), with no doors to block the view, this would be THE BEST way to get photos of Na Pali. Don’t tell him I said so, but, he was right…

We booked a 90 minute morning ride which took off from Lihu’e Airport.

We each had the back seat with a totally unobstructed view. I was a bit nervous until our pilot strapped us in – tightly – with large straps over the shoulders. We were each given a headset to hear the pilot and to ask questions. And then we took off.

Heading south towards Nawiliwili, we got an excellent view of the harbor where the cruise ships dock.

Then turning west, we headed into the ultra lush and green mid-section where we were treated to one spectacular waterfall view after another…

And could see why so many films, such as Jurassic Park had chosen Kauai to film scenes in their movies.

We soon came upon Waimea Canyon, known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.
Note the small hang glider below us…

And suddenly popped out on the rugged and colorful Na Pali Coast.

Nearly at visual sensory capacity, we were then flown into the center of an extinct volcano which was eerie and beautiful at the same time…

More stunning scenery of the North Shore on the way back to the airport.

This was an experience we will not soon forget.

To see more posts on Kauai and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

June 21, 2013November 7, 2020

Pineapple & Rum Sorbet

Pineapple Rum Sorbet – perfect treat for the warm and lazy days of summer! We used an ice cream maker to mix our batch up, but if you don’t have one, just put the mix in a freezer safe container, freeze overnight, then re-mix in the blender and freeze a little longer. Easy and delicious!

copyright Rum Therapy — Pineapple Rum Sorbet

Pineapple & Rum Sorbet
(makes 4-6 servings)

1/4 c. gold rum
1 c. water
1 c. sugar
1 fresh, ripe pineapple

Peel and core the pineapple. Cut into chunks and place in a blender. Pour the rum in the blender. Heat water and sugar on the stove until the sugar melts. Cool, then add to the blender. Blend all ingredients just slightly – it’s ok to have small chunks of pineapple (in fact, we prefer it!) Using an ice cream maker (or the method above) freeze the mix. Garnish with pineapple and enjoy.

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or Rum Recipes by Category