Creative people find many ideas while vacationing. For example, if you are on a caribbean vacation, you might experience the sounds of the steel drums that locals in Trinidad use to make music. The problem is, while you can enjoy the fine tunes played by passionate musicians, you have to leave that feeling there and return to your home. At home you may never see an orchestra include a steel pan unless you live in an area where Caribbean emigrants live.
You can say the same for traveling in a country where vegan products are plentiful. Veganism is not a major trend at the moment but it is rising in popularity as many people realize the benefits of a vegan diet. As a vegan, I find it difficult to find food to eat unless I carry some with me. Most of the shops, cafes, restaurants, and roadside setups, don’t carry a regular vegan fare. So I have to do without some meals or snacks while traveling in the Caribbean.
Forget about hotels when talking about vegan accommodation on the islands. The vegan lifestyle is expensive because not too many people indulge in it. But it would make the vegans feel warm and confident if their bed linen, toiletries, and washing detergents only include animal-free ingredients. Vegans live a compassionate way and take seriously the cruelty that animals have to go through before their owners kill them to make a few bucks. Strict vegans even avoid wearing clothes, or using consumer products that contain animal skin and bones.
But much of that is changing as more and more people adopt the vegan lifestyle. Some travelers are die-hard meat eaters and swear they wouldn’t give up on their meat. But, at the same time, many younger people are reacting negatively to the cruelty to animals and are demanding a meatless diet. Others are switching to a vegan or vegetarian diet because their health matters. That is, some have become so sick they have no choice but to try an alternative diet to see if they get a cure for their life threatening disease. Others just simply take prevention before their doctors declare them disabled.
Last week, while lying on the beach in St. Lucia I felt like eating something light. I made my way to the guesthouse and inquired if there was anything I could eat. Fortunately, they had some tasty and juicy mangoes. While eating the mangoes I had a conversation with the owner of the guesthouse. The gist of the conversation centered around whether she had an interest in opening a vegan hotel. She looked at me with a big surprise and said, “You know, I was thinking about that for a long time.”
