Bora Bora

I’ve spent a lifetime being confused by the terms “East Indies” and “West Indies.” Somewhere in the back of my mind, I’ve filed them as two halves of the same thing, like the Dakotas or the Carolinas. But when you look at a globe, it’s easy to see they’re really not. East Indies is a rather obsolete term for what used to be British and Dutch colonies east of the Indian subcontinent. They include places like Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia. The West Indies are more a misnomer, probably owing to the fact that when Columbus first arrived here, he thought he’d found a western trade route to India. The West Indies include the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the Lucayan Archipelago. I’ve read the locals don’t much like being called West Indian. They’re also not fond of the term “Caribbean,” as this name comes from an ancient group of fierce warriors – cannibals, really – who once lived there.