Double Bliss
Feb 18th, 2009
Ann Phelan has a dream job. She facilitates and books vacations to two of the best islands in the Caribbean, Bonaire and Antigua. Moreover, she’s active in the communities on both islands which makes her an essential resource for anyone interested in visiting these two slices of paradise.
I first met Ann a few years ago when I answered her ad in Windsurfing Magazine for a Windsurfing singles week in Bonaire. It was a wonderful vacation with get-togethers every evening and optional activities during the day if the wind was too light to sail. Bonaire, a Dutch island off the coast of Venezuela, is for windsurfers and divers; Antigua, in the northeast corner of the Caribbean, has 365 beaches and and a hot nightlife.
A few months ago, we started talking about redoing her website. She wanted a separate destination site for each island and she wanted to be able to post articles, pictures and videos. I discussed with her the various hosting options available and the features and capabilities of WordPress. We decided the best approach was for her to start blogging on a free WordPress.com account to get familiar with the process. Later, if she needed additional technology—Wordpress.com limits what you can add to a site—we could move her blogs to a hosted solution.
The result has been immensely satisfying and quite beautiful to see. Ann has taken to blogging like a reef fish takes to the warm, clear blue waters of Bonaire and posts something new just about every day. She’s found her personal voice in writing posts which makes both sites authentic and appealing. She’s learned quickly the ins and outs of using images and embedding YouTube videos. Every time I visit BonaireBliss.com or AntiguaBliss.com I find something new to make me smile and warm my heart.
