A number of languages are spoken in the Caribbean, most of a European origin. You can get by just about anywhere with English, but it’s fun to explore the islands and hear the local languages.

• Anguilla: English
• Antigua: English
• Aruba: Dutch, Papiamento, English, Spanish, Castilian
• Bahamas: English
• Barbados: English
• Bermuda: English, Portuguese
• British Virgin Islands: English
• Cancun: Spanish, English.
• Cayman Brac: English
• Curacao: Dutch, Papiamento, English, Spanish; Castilian
• Dominica: English, French Patois
• Dominican Republic: Spanish, Castilian
• Grand Cayman: English
• Grenada: English, French Patois
• Grenadines: English
• Guadeloupe: French, Creole Patois
• Haiti: French, Creole
• Jamaica: English, Patois
• Martinique: French, Creole Patois
• Puerto Rico: Spanish, Castilian, English
• St. Croix: English, Spanish, Castilian, French
• St. Kitts and Nevis: English
• St. Lucia: English
• St. Maarten: Dutch, English
• St. Thomas: English, Spanish, Castilian, French
• Tortola: English
• Trinidad & Tobago: Languages: English, Hindi, French, Spanish
• Turks & Caicos: English
• U.S. Virgin Islands: English, Spanish, Creole

Originally uploaded by meskk.

Here is a photo of seaside bluffs in Princess Alexandria Land and Sea National Park on the north shore of Provo Island in the Turks and Caicos (found on flickr).

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck recently married on the private island resort of Parrot Cay in the Turks and Caicos Islands. In its past Parrot Cay was frequented by pirates, but is now a high-end luxury resort that makes the perfect location for a private wedding.

Photographs show a beautiful tropical retreat and a satellite image shows the large number of islands and small cays that make up the Turks and Caicos. Other celebrities who have vacationed at Parrot Cay include Liam Neeson, Raquel Welch, Paul McCartney, and Jerry Seinfeld.

According to USA Today, high-end resorts in the Caribbean are beginning to sell out for the first time in many years. Except for Grenada and Grand Cayman, the islands have rebounded from last year’s rough hurricane season. There are also a number of new resorts opening this year. I’ve included the list below along with links to their web sites.

• Aruba: Bucuti Beach Resort, now with a new adults-only wing.
• Barbados: Hilton, located near Bridgetown and historic Fort Charles.
• British Virgin Islands: Mainsail BVI, a 230 acre private island located 5 minutes by boat from Tortola.
• Dominican Republic: Sunscape the Beach Punta Cana, a beach front resort on the Eastern tip of the island.
• Turks & Caicos: The Palms, an ultra-luxurious property with 72 two and three-bedroom suites.
• Grenadines: Raffles Resort Canouan Island, set on 300 acres with three secluded white-sand beaches.
• Jamaica: Sandals Whitehouse European Village & Spa, a 50-acre resort on the south coast of the island.
• Puerto Rico: Paradisus Resort, on the northeastern shore of the island just minutes from El Yunque rainforest.
• West Caicos: Molasses Reef Ritz-Carlton Resort, located on a previously uninhabited 11-square-mile island.