Carnival in the Caribbean

Yesterday was Mardi Gras — Fat Tuesday — so big, loud and colorful dance celebrations took place all over the globe. But few places in the world celebrate Carnival as lustily on a per capita basis than do the islands of the Caribbean.

We joined the Mardi Gras fun on St. Barth. Since it’s one of the least populated islands in the Caribbean, St. Barth had one of the smaller celebrations. Even still, thousands — including every sailor in the area — turned out in wild costumes to street dance to blaring music from 3 p.m. until the wee hours. Despite the fact that it was about as mixed a group of races, ages and sexes as possible, and despite the fact there was constant drinking and plenty of pot smoking, there wasn’t a gendarme in sight. There didn’t need to be, either, as there were no unpleasant incidents. That’s Carnival as it should be.