The Caribbean You Don’t Know

Ok, so when it comes to the Caribbean, you've been there and done that. But do you know this? Here are five quirky little Caribbean factoids to impress the crowd at your next cocktail party.

1. If you go to the movies in Jamaica, be prepared to stand for the national anthem, which is played before every showing. And don’t be surprised when the movie stops suddenly in the middle for intermission. Just take advantage of the approximately 10-minute break in the action to hit the snack counter or the restroom.

2. Heading to Trinidad? Leave those camouflage skinny jeans at home because it’s illegal to wear camouflage or other military clothing here or on sister island Tobago. Rock up to the airport sporting camouflage and you risk being detained and having your clothes confiscated. And being naked at Customs is never a good look.

3. Brought from West Africa to Nevis centuries ago, there are now more green Vervet monkeys on the island than there are people. The population of the 36-square-mile island is around 12,000, and the howlers are now estimated to outnumber Nevisians two-to-one, so you'd better watch your pockets; nothing's safe from the mischievous primates.

4. Can’t find a flight into the Bahamas? Puh-leez! You’re not really trying. The 700+-island archipelago has a whopping 50 airports, 15 of which have international service.

Barbados has one of the highest literacy rates in the world, at 99.7 %. It’s even higher than in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada, which all score 99%. Now we really know who's smarter than a fifth-grader.