Islands March 2014 Volume 34 Number 2

THE $99 PER DAY THE TINY CRUISE 15 LAYOVER IDEAS THAI P. 48 to maximize your Caribbean trips P. 55 LIFE P. 16

TOPOur CRUISES for 2014 (from Grenada to Greenland)

Where to Find THE WISEST PEOPLE P. 26 GOLD BENEATH ICE P. 36 UNDERWATER ART P. 41 FLOATING CAVIAR P. 47 EXPLODING FRUIT P. 48 ISLANDS MARCH 2014 VOLUME 34 NUMBER 2

the $99 per day the tiny cruise 15 LAyover IDeAS thai p. 48 to maximize your caribbean trips p. 55 liFe p. 16

topOur cruises ON THE COVER for 2014 (from Grenada to Greenland) Sail Windjammer’s ship Mandalayy, at anchor off Carriacou

displAy unTil 3/25/14 in the Grenadines. GREENLAND Where to Find the Wisest people p. 26 4 Gold Beneath ice p. 36 underWater art p. 41 P. 36 FloatinG caviar p. 47 explodinG Fruit p. 48 March 2014 U.S. $4.99 Photo by Jon Whittle.

BVI P. 12 FROM THE EDITOR

GRENAD PAPUA COZUMEL P. 26 NEW Past the Ports P. 56 GUINEA P. 18 HAWAII P. 47 CURAÇ SRI LANKA Many years ago, I lived in the P P. 10 OS RAJA AMPAT P. 8 Caribbean, dated a local, and TAHITI together, we sold nightlights P. 35 FIJI P. 42 to cruise passengers. Not just any CHILOE nightlights. We glued shells to ours, P. 6 creating virtual bouquets of light. Sold at $15 a pop, proﬁ ts followed. So did a folding display table, two chairs, World’s Edge EDITORS’ PICKS In Greenland a bottle of wine and, well, lots of TOP CRUISES 36 we find a clash portside jabs at my expense. of climates, person- “Aren’t these your people?” she asks. FOR 2014 alities and landforms. 24 Yep, the place has it all. Here we go. We embark in the Grenadines. ∏he search for a one-of-a-kind “Chunky white sneakers, khaki shorts, Fiji’s Last Stop big hats — a uniform in the States, yes?” souvenir takes us on a mara- To get to 42 You’re making fun of our customers. thon run, to a nameless village dreamiest Fiji, in a rare truck, and to islands sail past the women in ULTIMATE CARIBBEAN “I don’t understand you Americans. sulu skirts, around the You speak only one language. Maybe too small for maps or trinkets. tiny fishing boats, and Layover Fixes ... just keep sailing. 55 The word two. Men dress to ﬁ t in, not stand out.” “layover” is You polished off our wine, didn’t you? loathed. But hang with What’s to See “∏o these people,” she says, pointing on a Big Ship? us. We can show you On a cruise how to turn limp hours to cruisers nearby, “the Caribbean is a 48 where domi- into bonus day trips. blur of ports. Where’s the fun in that?” noes in villages are DEPARTMENTS Back then, I didn’t pay her com- considered dangerous, the author goes rogue. 8 Get Here ments much attention. My ego was too 10 Life Here busy basking in the thought that she, Wildest Calls 12 Stay Here despite her rants, was dating me, an Whales swim 53 alongside the 14 First Person American. ∏he more she jabbed, the ship. We can almost 16 Live the Life more pleasing her became my patriotic smell the breath of 18 Travel Tales duty: Do this for your country. wolves. All nice, but there’s something 20 Taste But in creating this issue, her words even wilder up ahead. 72 Outtake came back to me. Fiji’s oldest world, Greenland’s greening, the Caribbean’s quietest cove — all within reach from WIN A DREAM TRIP The scene on this issue’s cover is within arm’s reach, a cruise. ∏he ports, and the nightlight literally. Post your best travel photo (from an island) in our annual photo contest and you could soon be there — or Hawaii, or the poshest stands, are just their starting points.

resort in the Florida Keys. Enter at islands.com/facebook. — EDDY PATRICELLI, [email protected] FROM LEFT: JON WHITTLE; ZACH STOVALL

brand director Eddy Patricelli group publisher Laura Walker [email protected] [email protected]

executive editor Robert Stephens [email protected]

editorial cruise managing editor Audrey St. Clair digital content director Steve Spears digital editor Cami Webb with us copy editor Kathleen M. Kiely interns Lurvin Miladis, Destini Rodriguez on m/s Paul GauGuin contributing writers & photographers Jad Davenport, Bob Friel, Amanda Jones, Jen Judge, R. Ian Lloyd, Brooke Morton, to tahiti Edward Readicker-Henderson, Ann Vanderhoof, Alison Wright art art director Jennifer Pileggi photo editor/social media editor Lori Barbely senior staff photographers Zach Stovall, Jon Whittle

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production director Michelle Doster production manager Alison Klein design services director Suzanne Oberholtzer graphic artists Julia Arana, Willy Frei, Jennifer Remias, Aubrey Wilson human resources director Sheri Bass

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CASTAWAY ISLAND, FIJI CONRAD MALDIVES VICEROY BALI 1 Do as the name suggests 2 Eat and sleep underwater 3 Luxury on high

DISPATCHES

AMSTERDAM MANOR BEACH RESORT CHILE: ∏his canÕt be legal. Heads cock BAHAMAS: We pass the turnoff to Friendly & intimate resort located at quiet Eagle Beach for some real “me time”. to one side. A few glance up, trying to Hatchet Bay Cave. Shoulder-height Comfortable studios and suites, beach dining, locate the buzzing. Photographer Jon weeds hide the entrance, and the thin free Wi-Fi and warm smiles. Whittle is smiling, and quoting ∏op Gun. red string guiding us through isn’t reas- 1-800-969-2310 www.amsterdammanor.com In his hands, he holds a remote control. suring. After a few caverns of rocks and Above us, circling a church in Castro, the bats, I need a Goombay Smash. Or three. capital of Chiloe Island, is the Islands — Islands photo editor Lori Barbely, via e-mail quadcopter — a flying drone of sorts, the kind Amazon.com hinted at using ISLANDS.COM/TRAVELTOBALI for future shipments. At lower altitudes, “I’m breathing its four whirring rotors are audible as sighs of relief after Jon commands it to fly by a cathedral traveling from for aerial imagery. It’s his first flight in the U.S. to Bali. a city. Foot traffic surrounds us, yet Jon Attached is my is growing more bold, starting each travel time, a new BLUE RESIDENCES pass lower and closer to the cathedral’s personal record.” This luxury condo resort offers 124 spacious spire. More heads around us are look- PHOTOGRAPHER ZACH STOVALL ocean-view rooms, suites and penthouses, most with fully equipp ed kitchens. Amenities include an upscale ing up. “You sure you want to buzz the restaurant and bar, infi nity pool, spa and fi tness center. tower, Maverick?” Jon smiles. “Shut up, ARUBA: Flamingos dot the empty beach, 1-800-728-4910 Goose.” He goes for his lowest pass yet. and I’m set to Instagram. I approach the www.bluearuba.com People point to the sky. A police officer nearest few, holding my camera at arm’s exits the church. She takes a few steps. length as they coo and mill about. Closer, Her head cocks to one side. She hears closer. I hit the shutter and feel a gentle it. “Climb, Maverick! Climb!” — Islands peck. A fl amingo just kissed me. And I editor Eddy Patricelli, via e-mail. Find our latest caught it on camera. Lovebirds, indeed. quadcopter videos at islands.com/videos. — Islands digital editor Cami Webb, via e-mail

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GO LONG DON’T GET LOST LOOK DOWN It took 30 hours Surrounded by I saw everything of travel — three hundreds of islets, while paddling flights and a four- coves and lagoons, — fishes, turtles, Paddle Trip hour speedboat you’ll need a map. sharks, manta It’s not easy to get here, but ride — to get to the Limestone domi- rays. The circle of being here is another story. Misool Eco Resort, nates the landscape life literally circled which is near where in all directions, beneath me. Even this photo was including straight after several weeks, taken. The resort is down. And with I’d still wake up sur- rootsy and elegant, water this clear, it’s prised by the views and sits on a private no surprise that each new day. island 105 miles the diving here is away from any port. world-famous. by RYAN SALM

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Cast Away sitting down to fish here takes a unique skill set.

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Britain’s Oldest Fisherman There’s nothing sluggish about catching sea snails.

DERRICK WEST BEGAN HAULING When I was 14 I’d prepare whelks (sea snails) from English cast-iron pots by scraping them coastal waters in 1943. Flash clean and tarring them. We’d forward 70 years, and you can row out several miles, laying still find Derrick and his family and hauling everything by hand. business, West Whelks, on the Today they use trawlers and harbor docks of Whitstable, a sink plastic tubs. The whelk seaside town known for fresh business has become a pro- seafood. And at 84 years young, cess where once it was a skill. he’s happy to keep it coming. Rules. Rules. Rules. We used to wash the whelks by pulling them through the sea Retirement? No, thank you. on the back of our boats. Now In 1993, I handed the day-to- they must be washed at the day of our business to my son. I dock. We also used to sell I handed our A little brown vinegar and reported back for work Monday the whelks straight to the salt is the best way to serve morning. I’m a fourth-generation local pubs, but not anymore. business over to them. On weekends, we sell fisherman. You can’t give that Everything now is regulated. my son. I reported them by the pint or gallon up. It’s in our blood. Whelks are an aphrodisiac back for work on to tourists. Many customers Whelks aren’t trendy like in Taiwan, so I’m told. I’ve never grew up eating them. There’s oysters or mussels. There’s a felt those effects. We ship our Monday morning. some nostalgia, and after 70 market for them, but not like whelks out to the world, but years of catching them, I still long ago. Folks didn’t have mostly to London. After boiling love whelks too. The small options like they do now. And them and letting them cool, we ones are the best — so very we didn’t have exotic vacations winch them upstairs to be pried tender. I’m not a fan of larger with fancy foods. I suspect to from their shells by hand. ones. Do you have any more younger generations the idea of My wife, Jean, and I pick up questions? Because I have a eating sea snails is a put-off. to 50 bags in a day. batch to shell. — VERN CUMMINS VERN CUMMINS; OPPOSITE, FROM BOTTOM LEFT: COURTESY JOBY; JON WHITTLE (2)

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This underwater camera is different from SHOOT C A R RY When I travel for work, I have any other I’ve used. The Nikon AW1 is to carry every piece of pho- ready to descend to 49 feet without a housing, and tographic equipment I own like a pack it’s mirrorless, which means I can press the button mule with an expensive payload. But for while diving or snorkeling and get an instant shot, personal projects, I prefer to carry only leaving no time for fish to flee in fear. It can also what I need for my specific goals. ∏he be dropped from almost 7 feet without damage, Lowepro Urban Reporter 150 has become a major plus for a travel photographer. So too are my go-to pack for days spent on subjects the interchangeable lenses that allow me to adjust the zoom manually without clumsily that demand agility, like capturing insect using a zoom button (like on a point-and-shoot). Geotagging is a cinch with the onboard portraits and flower abstracts. It has GPS, but it does run the battery down quickly. I’ve long been a Canon-only guy, but with enough room for a single body with a this camera, I may have to make an exception. From $799.95, nikon.com — JON WHITTLE lens attached and another pocket for a second lens or a flash unit. It’s comfy The Ultrafit means that the next time I’m locked onto WEAR to carry and, unlike a backpack, has a Hand Strap my tripod for a landscape shot in the Falk- solid base to set on the ground while from Joby was lands but suddenly notice that to my left a made for people penguin is riding an orca to a dinner party, I’m crawling like me, as I can I can easily unlock it and will already have through the be easily dis- the camera strapped to my hand, ready to dirt. $119.99, tracted while tak- win that long-overdue Pulitzer. ing photos, especially This strap may be overkill for some, lowepro.com when on assignment in places like but I value the maneuverability. The strap — jw Fiji or the Seychelles. Essentially, doesn’t get in the way of the battery door this padded hand strap replaces your or any other camera controls, and it affords traditional around-the-neck strap, but me a little peace of mind that my very ex- comes with an Arca-Swiss-style tripod pensive equipment won’t go flying into the plate that attaches to the camera body. This mouth of that orca. $49.95. joby.com — JW

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to do that. My life was all about making money. ∏heir lives were not like that. taking the Q: easy for them. But for you? A: It was a process. ∏he first time I thai road came was for a three-week stay. On my It’s an island known for boredom and second visit a few months later, I didn’t want to leave and decided to move. weird rules. Perfect for this woman. Q: you’re off to little yao noi and a new

by leSlie pATRiCK career in the meditation fi eld. That’s crazy. A: Yeah, my plan was to make a luxury retreat for people interested in yoga. I bought land, got investors, had one paπh of asphalπ circles the architectural drawings. Ev- Yao Noi Island. ∏his speck in erything was ready to go. ∏hailand’s Andaman Sea has only Q: But it didn’t happen. 3,500 residents, most working as A: ∏here was too much bribery fishermen or farmers. ∏his makes and too much skepticism about Denmark-born Dora Larsson stand me around the island — things I out all the more. She moved to Yao never expected. My plans didn’t Noi from Copenhagen in 2008 to stand a chance. open a yoga retreat. Six years later, Q: did you say bribery? nothing has gone as planned. She’s A: I’m Danish and I’m very paid bribes, battled mistrust and fallen organized. It’s not like that in in love. ∏he retreat? It fell through. “It ∏hailand. Whenever I asked wasn’t meant to be,” Dora says. Loath for things in writing, the rule to leave, she and her partner, Stéphane, makers would say no, we don’t took over a restaurant instead. do that here. I should have Q: A restaurant on an island with fewer seen warning signs, but every- people than some high schools? Why? one would just say, “Oh, that’s A: Before we bought it in 2010, we ate the way it is here.” After a year at Je ∏’aime a lot. When the opportu- and a half of paying to get per- nity came up to buy it, we figured how mits, I finally gave up. hard can it be? Stéphane had experience Q: The dream is gone and you’re working alongside a ∏hai chef and I’d stuck on a remote island known been a business manager. Besides, we mostly for boredom. needed something to do. A: I cried for a week. ∏hat’s Q: let’s back up. How did you end up on skepticism and when I met Stéphane. He was visiting yao noi in the fi rst place? bribes crushed from France and was about to go back. A: My life was all about accumulating dora’s plan. then We talked each other into staying. For more and more. I was running my busi- she and stéphane two years we lived off our savings. ness as a human resources and develop- hatched another. Q: And then? ment consultant for the Danish govern- A: It’s beautiful here. And it was fun for ment. One day I realized that I wasn’t a while. But it really was getting boring. happy. So I took a trip to ∏hailand. We needed to do something. ∏hat’s Q: Thailand. i get that. But yao noi. How Q: So its boredom made you move here? when Je ∏’aime came into our lives. did you even fi nd it? A: It was the people. I looked at them and Q: How does a danish girl run a Thai restau- A: I saw it on the Internet. Backpackers thought they’re doing something right. rant in a tight Thai community? were saying, “Don’t go, there’s nothing Q: What exactly were they doing right? A: If Stéphane and I had just arrived and

to do.” And I thought, I have to go. A: Living day to day. I’d forgotten how bought a restaurant, we would have had COURTESY DORA LARSSON

16 problems. But people were accepting of us because we’d already been here so long. ∏hey knew we respected the island traditions and unspoken rules. DISCOVER Q: Unspoken rules? A: It’s a small island, so everyone knows how much you pay your cleaning lady, YOUR PASSION how well you take care of people, that sort of thing. With the restaurant they A unique home-based travel franchise to knew we could be trusted. Q: But running a restaurant is never easy, create the work-life balance you desire and by the way, it has a French name. • Full training & support - no experience required A: It’s all so strange, I know. You know • Award-winning marketing & lead generation programs what my biggest problem is with the working culture? ∏he same thing that • Innovative technology and mobile-friendly websites • Low-cost, low-overhead business drew me here: people thinking day to 32 YEARS IN BUSINESS day. Like, if an employee isn’t planning WITH 825+ FRANCHISEES to come in to work tomorrow, they CALL TODAY 888.418.6099 won’t tell me in advance. We’re constantly trying to balance our way of life www.CruiseOneFranchise.com and the ∏hai way. Q: Sounds like the Thai way is weightier. A: Yao Noi is 20 years behind the rest of the world in so many ways. I love that the people here aren’t concerned about catching up to the rest of the world. Q: And you? A: I’m not worried about it either. Luxury. Romance. Adventure. BeST iSlAndS To SimpliFy: islands.com/bitlo Plan your 2014 cruise with Islands’ Best Cruises Travel Guide. island Business 2.0

Middle naMe: Fodor Owning a restaurant means we’re also tour guides by default. Visitors from the West see me and decide I’m a good person to ask for advice on where to go.

escape routes You have to find ways to get away from work. Every few weeks we go to Phuket so we can swim, have a nice dinner, read the newspaper, anything just to be out. Other times I’ll lock our doors and stay in the house for a day.

Face First It’s important to save face on a small island. I never raise my voice in public. I’ve learned to smile while still being persis- tent. You can’t be impolite or emotional. Yes, I will see that person again, probably in our restaurant. — DORA LARSSON islands.com/bestcruises TRAVEL TALES PaPUa neW GUinea

played to soothe their horses. When shots were fired at Jesse James’ broth- Armed and er, Frank, a harmonica in his pocket deflected the bullet and saved his life. Astronaut Wally Schirra smuggled a Not Dangerous Gemini 6 harmonica aboard and played This little instrument can stop bullets “Jingle Bells” for the world, the first time and stampedes. But will it work here? an instrument was played in outer space. Just as those historical figures did, I by MaRGie GoLdsMitH take my harmonica everywhere because, well, you never know.

πrue, i should noπ sπare. But the man in front of me makes it impossible not to. Should I not be looking at his chiseled torso and pecs the size of tractor tires? What about the pig tusk dangling from his neck? It’s all so ... interesting. ∏he man’s barefoot friends are here too, dressed in grass skirts and with faces streaked in yellow ocher. ∏hese men know nothing about me. Worse, I know nothing about them. I’ve just arrived by expedition vessel at Garove Island in Papua New Guinea, one of the last true wildernesses. ∏he people here still cook over hot rocks. ∏hey fetch their water from wells and carry it in jugs on their heads. ∏hey have no ∏V or Internet or Facebook. What these islands do have are 800 cultures and languages. I speak none of them. There’s no telling what Once, while I was taking photos at When the men come down to the these men might do. I sunrise in ∏ibet, a group of young boys shore, they’re as interested in my white slowly reach into my threw stones at me, so I whipped out skin and blond hair as I am in their pocket and pull out a my 10-hole and played a tune. Soon they headdresses. One of them steps forward. strange little object. were trying to bring me to their homes “We used to eat you, now we greet for breakfast. In South Korea I played you,” he says. I start staring again, this for schoolchildren who then followed time at his gums stained red from be- me around as though I were the Pied tel nut. ∏here’s no telling what some- “How about American blues?” And I Piper. My harmonica also broke the ice one might do under the influence of the launch into a montage of music straight with men on horseback in Mongolia, narcotic. I slowly reach into my pocket out of Memphis. ∏he men, oozing who in return treated me to a private and pull out a strange little object. menace moments ago, become boyish- throat-singing performance. “Harmonica,” I say, bringing it to my ly curious. ∏hey subconsciously sway to It’s working on these islands too. A lips. “Pretty music.” the rhythm. Behind the face paints I day later, on Madang Island, I join a When I play in front of people, they can see a few smiles. few other ship passengers for a hike. usually tap their feet. But no one’s doing I’m not the only one who’s been res- Along the trail a barefoot boy of about that here. I strike out with “Mary Had a cued by a mouth organ. Cowboys knew 12 comes out of nowhere and scrambles

Little Lamb” and “Let It Be.” the effects of a harmonica’s sound and up a papaw tree. He clings to a branch HARDING/MASTERFILE; OPPOSITE: ICONOTEC/ALAMY ROBERT

18 Double-Duty Sounds

Valiha in Madagascar and looks down at me, so I reach for through shops where a boy, about 4, Take a hollow bamboo stalk, brake cables from a bike, a little my harmonica and play some music. He peeks from behind a woman selling jew- water-buffalo hide, and you too shinnies down and moves closer. I’m not elry. I pull out my harmonica and play can make a valiha (left) to strum. sure what he says next, but it must be ei- “Down by the Riverside.” ∏he boy moves If the audience starts to drift, a musician can bring the entire ther “Can I have that?” or “Give that to out from his mother’s skirt and stares. contraption to the mouth and use me” because he’s reaching for the harp. When I play a boogie-woogie, he looks it as a megaphone.

I’d brought plenty of toy harmonicas as though he’s about to cry. bangibang in PhiliPPines for the children, but I’ve given them all I pocket my harmonica and start to At a glance these look like seven to a village chief to distribute, as is the walk away, but just then the boy’s mother solid-wood clothes hangers. In custom here. I only have this one left. runs up, unclasps her shell necklace and the Philippines they work together (tap-i-tap them) as a percussion Again, the boy reaches for it. I run the fastens it around my neck. instrument for the Ifugao people. instrument back and forth in my mouth. “∏enkyu that,” she says, pointing to But really, they could work as “See? Like a toothbrush,” I say, hold- her son, who is now smiling ear to ear. hangers for wetsuits. ing it out so he can see how wet I’ve got- And for a second, I have a mental im- bola in new zealand ten it. “You don’t want my toothbrush. age of this kid growing up with mus- Maori dancers in New Zealand Gross.” I’d like to leave the harmonica cular thighs and a headdress. He has a swing this rather small ball on a string as they dance around, with the boy, but its germs would do him pig-tusk necklace hanging around his occasionally thumping it against more harm than good. He seems to un- neck. And he’s greeting travelers by their chests. So the bola, and the derstand this, and I continue up the trail. playing a boogie-woogie with one of sternum, become a drum. When not being used as a musical When the ship moves on to Kitava the little harmonicas I left with the chief. instrument, it could be a nice in the ∏robriand Islands, I go browsing 100 vacation ideas: islands.com/wishlist tetherball for cats.

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The people of Curacao hardly know of their island’s impact on bar menus.

ISTOCK

i can’π believe iπ hasn’π hiπ me unπil now. here Into the Blue I am, getting ready to decamp to the island of Curaçao, when it dawns on me. Curaçao, the island. Curaçao, the blue- Scotland has its scotch and France tinted liqueur I once poured as a bartender. Maybe I’m the its champagne. Then there’s little last person to connect the dots. But I do find it strange. I’ve researched Curaçao for months and never come across a Curaçao. What does it have? Hmm. mention of curaçao. ∏hey should have a bottle of it on the by CHANTAL MARTINEAU national ﬂ ag. At this moment my trip has a new mission. 

CURAÇAO

Upon landing in Curaçao, I take a ride over to Baoase Resort, which is said to have a lively bar. My question is whether any of the cocktails are actually curaçao’d. Sure enough, I sit down and am handed a fl ute of teal liquid topped with champagne and grenadine. I ask the baby-faced waiter if curaçao the drink is popular on Curaçao the island. “Oh, yes!” he replies. “Do you drink it?” “Oh, sometimes.” As it is on most Caribbean islands, the tipple of choice on Curaçao is rum. Or beer. It’s mostly tourists who drink the namesake liqueur. I have a more personal question. “Have you heard of a Bazooka Joe?” ∏he kid shakes his head slowly. I tell him a story about my signature drink from way back when. I’d blend blue curaçao, banana liqueur and cream for a powder-blue shot that tasted exactly like citrus peels,” John says, “and put them bubble gum. “It’s called a Bazooka Joe,” I Inside it still feels like in cloth bags with spices.” say. ∏he kid waits for the punch line. 1896. There’s a copper pot, and employees “Which spices?” I ask. In his silence, I grow curious why the “I cannot tell you.” liqueur itself isn’t fl owing as the island’s are applying bottling Hmm. I ask how it’s made. lifeblood here on Curaçao. It’s not like labels by hand. “We cook it for three days in the kettle. Guinness in Ireland. So I head for “the Just like making tea. ∏he same way we Genuine Curaçao” factory. liqueur was created in 1896 is the did it more than 100 years ago.” I expect the building to be cobalt same mustard yellow as so many of the I admit to him that I thought all blue, but the mansion where the island’s grand structures. Inside it still curaçao was inherently blue. feels like 1896. ∏here’s a copper pot “Blue became the popular color when Curaçao in the Pacific and a bottling line where employees a big Dutch company made their own apply labels by hand. ∏he one bow to version of blue curaçao,” John explains. BLUE HAWAIIAN modernity is a little gift shop with the “We are a small company. We send only Yes, even Hawaii is under the influence of world’s freshest curaçao on display. But 600 cases of our curaçao to the U.S. Curaçao. Take two parts pineapple juice, wait. I see red curaçao next to green each year. ∏he other curaçao there is one part rum, one part curaçao and one part cream of coconut. Serve with a tropi- curaçao next to, of all things, clear not from our original recipe.” cal garnish — from the Caribbean. curaçao. It’s like seeing the island’s My Bazooka Joes most likely had ethnicities (Dutch, French, Portuguese, been made with a knockoff. ∏his BLUE LAGOON Pour two parts vodka and one part Afro-Caribbean) mingling, with means my search for the curaçao of curaçao in a glass filled with just a few blue curaçaos. long-ago bartending days has brought ice. Top it off with lemonade. “I’m not a drinker myself,” me to my first real taste of curaçao. It’s as easy as that. says John Bradshaw, the And of Curaçao. Both unsung, inten- MAI TAI distillery’s production man- tionally and deliciously so. The granddaddy of Pacific drinks ager. “I’m a diabetic.” I buy a bottle and wrap it in a sundress does not exist without its Carib- bean friend. It calls for two parts aged John and the master distiller are for the fl ight home. It’s the electric blue rum, one part fresh lime juice, and just responsible for guarding the reci pe. version that I remember. Only this time, enough curaçao, orgeat syrup and I know that food coloring is involved. when I revive my Bazooka Joe at home, simple syrup to balance it out. Cracking the rest of the code I’ll be pouring a curaçao I’d never known.

Find island recipes at islands.com. starts well. “We take dried lahara 5 EASY RUM DRINKS: islands.com/rumdrinks CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM: GABE PALMER/ALAMY; ROBERT FRIED/ALAMY; RICHARD CUMMINS/CORBIS

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2 1 Elusive shirt P. 26 6 2 Buried gold P. 36 1 3 Underwater art P. 41 5 4 Forgotten islands P. 42 3 5 Exploding fruit P. 48 4 6 Hairiest chests P. 53

24 finD er what we’re looking for at sea: We could ﬁ nd something better.

Story by RobeRt StephenS Photos by Jon whittle Looking for t-shirts Gifs and Riches Location: Grenadines Duration: 7 nights ship capacity: 58 Guests

his has been a 40-minute mistake. All for a T∏-shirt. I chose to follow Sylvester Dzomeku across this island called Union. Figured he was offering a little tour of a little island, and that it would be my chance to secure a 100 percent cot- ton treasure. Union Island, like all the Grenadines we’ll see this week, is too speck-ish for maps or mass-produced promo shirts. Besides, Sylvester Dzwhatever is the captain of our ship, Mandalay. A sea guy. How hard could it be to keep up? But the captain is running. Not jogging. Running. He’s also looking at his watch and not sweating. I should have broken both of Capt. Sly’s rules before tying my shoes on Mandalay. “One,” he told the 19 passengers at dinner last evening, “do not ask where we are going.” Everyone laughed. “And two, do not ask when we will get there.” Ha. Ha. Ha. ∏he 18 others are on the ship right now. Still ha- ha-ha-ing. ∏aking in Union Island the way I took in the Big Dipper last night, from a distance and with a rum swizzle. Who knew until now that Union has peaks that belong in Polynesia and fat stretches that belong in a pizza oven? Every so often, over Capt. Sly’s legs “∏his place is good for are as seaworthy the sound of the captain’s pounding shoes, I hear as Mandalay’s hull, you!” ∏he voice is big, and his voice, but not his words. I’ve found my own but he has a se- like most on Union Island, rhythm. ∏ hink ∏-shirt. Stride. ∏hink ∏-shirt. Stride. cret: They’ve also it carries a hint of French been trained for When the town of Clifton comes into view, urgent island duty. creole. A man straight out Capt. Sly wisely tells me to fnd some water “and of a 1970s detective show whatever else you want.” I never told him this approaches. Healthy afro. ∏hick mustache. Giant was a souvenir mission for me, and I never really aviator sunglasses. “Pope,” he says his name is. found out what it was for him either. He tells me Pope knows from my chili-pepper face that I’m he’s going to the customs offce. not among Union’s 3,000 residents. And that “Customs offce?” I ask. makes him interested in me. “∏hat’s why we came,” he says. Oh, yeah, maybe “Did you come from the sea?” Pope asks. he did mention that a while back. “It closes in a few “Kind of. I came on a schooner, from Grenada.” The cruise for you? minutes.” Not sure I’d heard that part. “And you came for the heat?” Everything around Clifton’s town square is “No. I came for a ∏-shirt.” advenTure pampering small. ∏he bakery. ∏he boats on the bay. ∏he bottle “I have something bettah for you!” Pope disap- adulTS all ageS of soda water I found at the bare-bones store. I sit pears behind a shack and comes back three minutes on a small bench, sweating and burping. later with a bag of weeds. Not weed. Weeds. Freshly quieT CoveS aCTive porTS

Curtis St. Hilaire whacked. He tells me to boil them and drink the “∏hey’re like me — they love the water. But I do could literally have tea. “Clean out your lungs!” He then tells me stories look forward to getting off the ship and moving my owned Mayreau (far right). But like about his life working on ships. Winter storms in legs on Union. I used to run marathons in Ghana.” the island’s 250 the North Atlantic. Food poisoning in the Med. “You … what?” I ask. other inhabitants, “Men of the sea,” he says. “We know what’s Captain doesn’t even look at me. “I’ve been try- he prefers to wait for another type of good for you.” I look over Pope’s shoulder for a ing to tell you that since we left the ship.” ship to come in. souvenir shop and hear only snippets of his sermon: “Wisdom … freedom … relationships … ” hanes ho! we are 300 yards off πhe beach Across the narrow road I spot small displays of of another stray island in the Grenadines and I jellies and breads, and ferry rides to other islands. see ∏-shirts. ∏hey’re hanging like bunting among But no shirts. And, oh, there’s Capt. Sly. He’s talk- feather duster palms and impeccable white sand. ing with a man under an awning and indicating to One passenger, on her 24th cruise with Sail me with his hand that it’s time to go. Windjammer, identifes the island as Mayreau. ∏his time we walk back to the ship. It takes two “My-row or May-row,” she says. “I’m still not hours. And I’m listening. Capt. Sly grew up in Ghana. sure how to say it.” I’m ready to take up negotia- Earned a nautical science degree. Was an offcer on a tions on shore when a young man steps up. He cargo ship at 21. He says six people asked him about isn’t selling anything. He has no idea I work for a jobs during the one hour we were in Clifton. magazine. He just wants to talk.

“We sometimes go nearly a month without see- Yet as Dennie goes on, there ing any visitors. When a boat shows up, the dogs not once does he complain are sev- swim out to meet the passengers.” or ask for anything. So I do. ∏his is Dennie Ford, not to be confused with “You sell those shirts?” en last Dennis Ford or Daniel Ford or any of the Fords Dennie does not. He names, who make up nearly 90 percent of Mayreau’s popu- leaves me with a store same as lation of 250. ∏here are seven last names on the owner, Curtis St. Hilaire, the num- island, same as the number of vehicles. ∏hey live and wanders off to pick sea ber of in one village (called “the village”), pack into one grapes. ∏he “store” Curtis vehicles. Catholic church (“the church”) and use one road owns is a shelf attached to (guess what it’s called). ∏he one school has classes chicken wire and boards. It through sixth grade, at which point children either sits on sand as fne as baking powder. Curtis has go to a bigger island for education or go to an itty- a few picture frames and steel pans on display. bitty fshing boat for work. Electricity was intro- Among the shirts hanging nearby is only one that duced in 2001. ∏he clinic has no nurse. And I can’t says “Mayreau.” It’s left over from a regatta that believe this is the Caribbean in the 21st century. passed through in a year nobody can quite pin- “I’ve seen babies born on 15-foot boats in the point. Below the front of the collar and down one rain,” Dennie says. “We’re pretty much on our own.” side are what appear to be stains from a dipstick.

29 peopLe of the Sea

Tobago Cays: ground zero in terms of sparse population — they’re uninhabited. denniS foRd, Mayreau Sat at his bar, dennis’ Hideaway, and donovan ollivieRRe, Bequia rode in his truck and found out heard how he forged a passport at age 12 to work on a cargo he was a chef on ships as far away as the Cook islands. also ship. returned 26 years later to introduce the first toilet to the learned about whaling on Bequia. “it’s been our island’s life- island’s 250 people. “i learned at sea what these people need.” blood for over 100 years. You have to live it to understand it.”

auGuStine pollaRd, Bequia met him in back of Sargeant william bethel, Carriacou Found him picking guavas near a Brothers model Boat Shop. Builds replicas of vessels seen in port vacated boatyard. rows 6 miles a day to dive and fish out of his elizabeth. They can take three months to build, and cost up to handmade 11-foot boat. in a Scottish accent common on the $3,000. “We can’t fake the details. They come from knowledge.” island, he says, “i don’t want a motor. i want exercise and peace.”

after landing the “∏he shirts belong to her store,” Curtis says, to be sliding down to another mag- see the elusive T-shirt, his video pointing to a woman sitting in the shade. Before I nifcent bay. We see the island’s water islands.com/ one-track mind was videos open to a plate of can pivot over to her store, Curtis is dying to ask me catchments and a friend: Robert saraca on Car- something. “Do you want to go for a ride?” Righteous, who has been waiting riacou and to the Curtis has one of the island’s seven vehicles, a unknown days to show someone around his bar. captain’s views at Tobago Cays. 1990 Mitsubishi Pajero. When I take a seat in it, While Robert’s daughter, Beauty, chips at a pail he turns into a puppy wagging its tail. We start a of frozen water to make drinks, Robert proudly slow climb up ∏he Road, and I simply let Curtis leads me up a set of stairs to a loft. It’s furnished spill everything he’s been holding in since he last only with a hammock and a view of the sky. “My had company. “My great-great grandfather owned home,” he says. “I was 14 when I left the island to the island. He drank too much rum one night and work on a shrimp boat. Seven years later I came signed it over to another family. We never fought back. I had a new outlook on life, and on home.” it though. ∏oo stressful. Life is nice. We fsh. We Downstairs a strong rum punch awaits. Served eat. We don’t want the fast pace of other islands.” by none other than Beauty Righteous. ∏he fastest pace I’ve seen in the Grenadines is A few paces down ∏he Road is Mayreau’s original the dripping of the coffee maker on Mandalay. bar, Dennis’ Hideaway. ∏ended by Eglit Ford. Built At the top of ∏he Hill, Curtis points to 50 by Dennis Ford. (Not brothers, just more Fords.) homes with colorful aluminum roofs that seem “Did the dogs swim out to greet you?” Dennis asks.

32 scoutinG report

ST. VINCENT

BEQUIA Scenic Route Mandalay has logged more than MAYREAU UNION a million nautical TOBAGO miles over the CAYS world’s oceans. it CARRIACOU now takes guests 134 miles round trip over a seven- day span, with a GRENADA pace as casual as the ports on its pRice $1,599, flexible route. sailwindjammer.com

someday to wipe Pledge off the living room fur- niture. So shortly before 0400 hours, before the shirt’s life cycle begins spinning, I pull it on for a stroll to the top deck. ∏he sails are being raised to the sound of “Amazing Grace” in reverence to John Newton, who wrote the lyrics following an almost deadly storm at sea in the 1700s. When I ask Capt. Sly about the routine of playing the song, he mentions “a smudge” on my shirt and corrects me. “It isn’t routine. It’s an inspiration for the crew.” A day ago, while the ship was anchored in a cove off Bequia, a 4-year-old girl had come aboard with her mother. “Have you met my wife and daughter?” asked the frst mate, Bernard Soleyn. One slice a week, three hours thick, is the only time he sees them, and only if everything aligns just right. ∏he sails are up and sunrise backlights a humpy silhouette on the horizon. I don’t ask which island it is. I’ve learned the name doesn’t matter. Not even when it’s sewn onto a shirt. “Petite Bateau,” the cap- he has tain offers in a voice as soft a towel as the multihued sky. “I to wipe want to show you one of my spills, or favorite spots in the world.” ∏he island, part of the tears. i ∏obago Cays, is uninhab- am not ited. After lunch we walk up prepared a dry stream bed and dodge for what cacti, though one leaves a he is needle in my Mayreau shirt. “Sometimes I forget the about to way,” Captain says. “I’ve only tell me. been up here twice.” He’s a sea guy. I’ll follow. And listen. Because I’ve noticed that he does exactly that himself. He unfrequented har- He hangs a towel over his shoulder, as if he’s ready asked questions when we happened upon a lobster- bors like Chatham Bay (union island, to clean up a spill or wipe tears off my face. I am man and his 11-foot boat on Carriacou. He wrote above) strike a pose not prepared for what he is about to tell me. notes when we met the grandson of one of Bequia’s more memorable on “My family sold me to another family when I original whalers. So my focus is on him, not on a the eyes than on a souvenir. was 5. I left the island at age 12 to work on a ship.” souvenir. He has this: “My dream is for my brother When I ask why he wanted to come back, from Ghana to come and sail with us.” ∏his: “Don’t Dennis says, “∏o bring the frst tourist to Mayreau. touch that plant, it’s really sharp.” And this: “Wow.” I learned a lot at sea, just by having time to think.” I take fve more steps and see exactly what he Mandalay is about to depart, so Curtis hustles me sees. In front of us are islands layered on a canvas of back to the beach to catch the tender. I hand one water that people have tried to describe for centu- lady $20 for the stained ∏-shirt. And I leave Curtis ries. And right there, just past sand without a stain, with a wad of cash. For me it’s a bargain. Mandalay’s masts lay claim to it all. “See that?” Captain asks, as if I’m not paying πhe only mayreau shirπ i’ve ever seen fiπs attention to the obvious. “∏hat’s what it’s all about easily in my suitcase. My Holy Grail of mementos. for me.” And to think I just came for a ∏-shirt. ∏oo dirty for a wall display. Destined to be used an icy colliSion couRSe >

34 finds on the Ground

2 3

1 2 3 Goats in Greece A Hammock in Tahiti A Glow in Thailand I’ve heard that close to 100 people live To get to the sandy shore of Motu Mahana, Magic supposedly happens a few miles on the tiny island of Pserimos. If that’s I have to wade through water toward the off the coast of Phuket. I’m told this as true they must all be hiding. From the peaks of Taha’a. It’s a deserted island our charter, Sunsail Papaya (sunsail.com), moment I stepped off our gulet, Southern paradise. Well, not exactly deserted. A pulls into Phang Nga Bay. Yes, the sun’s Cross Timer (southerncrossbluecruising picnic awaits — roasted pork, poisson cru, rays bring the limestone towers and .com), I’ve seen nothing but livestock. The fruit — thanks to the Paul Gauguin crew long-tail boats to life. But the real magic blue and white churches remind me I’m in (pgcruises.com). I carry a bowl to the side happens when I wade out 10 hours later. Greece, but the place is under the control of the island that really is deserted. And I’m Around me is a floating universe of stars, of goats. I’m feeling guilty for all the gyros grateful someone was here long enough to in a sea lit purple by the blue lights of

cLOckWIsE FROM TOP: JON WHITTLE; MARk EvELEIGH; cOuRTEsY PAuL GAuGuIN I’ve eaten this week. — JON WHITTLE hang a hammock. — MATTHEW MILLER glowing plankton. Voilà! — NARINA EXELBY

35 Looking for new earth world’s edge Location: Greenland Duration: 11 nights+ Ship capacity: 256 guests

n the town of Uummannaq, 400 miles north wouldn’t know it. ∏he dock is busy with fshermen Iof the Arctic Circle in Greenland, the summer baiting their lines. Ole Qvist is one of them and, sun hangs like a fxture spraying light from the seated on an upturned white bucket, he is happy top of the world. At midday it could be midnight. about most things. A warmer Greenland means It’s a balmy 65 degrees, warm enough for short Greenlandic halibut now swim closer to the surface, sleeves and smoothies. Just offshore, an iceberg as so he pulls up more fsh over a longer season. But high and wide as an apartment building foats in a not all of the changes have Ole smiling. fjord like a late delivery from last winter. “Younger people want to live like foreigners,” he I’ve arrived here aboard Hurtigruten’s MS tells me. “∏hey look down on us fshers and hunt- Fram, a 318-berth vessel built with the world’s ers. An education is important, but you can know largest island in mind, an island that is a virtual computers and still be unemployed. I don’t know hothouse of change: Greenland is becoming green. any unemployed fshermen. We always have work.” As if that weren’t groundbreaking enough, there’s On the other side of the harbor, I enter a cafe also a national movement for independence from where Norah Jones plays over the hiss of milk being Denmark, which has ruled Greenland since 1927. foamed for cappuccino. A girl Ilulissat Icefjord Environmentalism and economic development, (right) spans 25 in trendy jeans and sneak- heritage and globalization — they grind like tec- miles and flows at ers sips an icy yellow drink tonic plates against one another deep below the a rate of 66 to 115 through a straw. At one table, feet per day. MS island’s softening permafrost. Fram (left) is far a woman wears wraparound Yet here in Uummannaq, population 1,300, you more agile. sunglasses. ∏he man seated with her has a tattoo on his biceps. ∏hey look like visiting Europeans, though they own the cafe and have always lived here. For Winnie and Jens, the Internet has brought the world to them, and they want to be part of it. “We don’t have to choose between being in the world and being Greenlandic,” Winnie says. She mentions that nobody still lives in traditional turf houses; that life is change; and that they’re Greenlandic in their hearts. She describes winter in Uummannaq — temperatures of minus 15 Fahrenheit, three months without sunlight — with reverence, even though it’s when the northern lights coax the spirits out. ∏he couple have encountered The cruise for you? ghosts and used shamans to exorcise their home. “Some things are just part of our DNA,” Winnie adventure paMperIng says. When the weather is right, her baristas morph

adultS all ageS into hunters and fshermen. “∏hey won’t listen to threats. I can’t stop them. ∏hey just go.”

quIet coveS actIve portS As I stand to leave, a stunning iceberg off the courteSy orIon

36 ScoutinG report

•Upernavik GreeNLaNd •Uummannaq Qeqertarsuaq• •Ilulissat •Qasiguiannguit WHat’S BeloW Sisimiut• Kangerlussuaq just 10 percent Itilleq• of an iceberg is visible. the hull of MS Fram (left) is built for cruising through polar waters, and offers cRuiSe: arctic wilderness adventure jacuzzis on deck. pRice $7,527; hurtigruten.us

Story by toDD pitocK Photos by jaD DaVenpoRt

Uummannaq is known for fishing and hunting, though the Internet (and climate) are sparking changes.

38 dock, ablaze in sunlight, stops me. 100 Trip ideas “Will that be here all summer?” I ask. islands.com/ “No, it will be gone by tomorrow wishes morning,” Jens says, “and a new one will take its place. ∏hat’s what I love here. Every day is different. It’s never the same.”

pyramids, πowers, arches and colonnades — there’s architecture in icebergs. Our ship is pass- ing between small islands off the mainland, all of which sit amid clusters of ice. ∏he water is as calm as a cryogenic bath, and yet, because the air is warm, the bergs are sweating curtains of rain. In the Ilulissat Icefjord (see page 24), a vast feld of icebergs formed by the Northern Hemisphere’s most productive glacier, Jakobshavn Isbrae, a few of us get into a small boat. Our guide, Steffen Biersack, a geologist, scouted the area earlier. “Just wait till you see this one iceberg,” he says. In spite of warmer temperatures, most of Greenland, most of the time, is ice. Ninety-fve percent of its landmass, or 660,000 square miles, is covered by it. At the summit of its ice sheet, it piles 2 miles high and has pushed the land beneath it almost 1,200 feet below sea level. Of course, the Greenlandic language has words to describe pack ice and melting ice, ridged ice and rime, ice that stretches across expanses, and ice in

39 and potatoes. In the town of Ilulissat, I ask another fsherman named Ole, a 27-year-old, if the warm weather has any downside. He shrugs. “I don’t take my dog sled out anymore because the rivers aren’t freezing. I take my boat.” He needs up to six hours to put down 3,000 feet of line and two hours to pull it in. ∏his, Ole says, is when fshermen are vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Icebergs broken into sharp, fast- moving blocks are like torpedoes to a boat. And in this cold water, falling in is certain death. But Ole shrugs as if to say what will be will be. I walk through Ilulissat onto a trail that leads to the Jacobshavn glacier. The trail runs over meadows carpeted by wildfowers, purple mountain avens, yellow poppies and buttercups. ∏he lushness is normal. It has always been this way in summer. From the trail, Ilulissat, with houses painted in bright reds, blues and greens, appears fantastically iso- lated and free; a feeling The Greenlanders cherish. It’s a island’s sentiment that may explain besT their laissez-faire attitude hopes, about the climate. While Greenlanders desire inde- namely pendence from Denmark, oil and prospects to develop a gold, are viable economy apart from fshing are limited. ∏heir Trapped best hopes — namely rare under minerals like gold, and oil all of — are trapped under all that ThaT ice. ice. In short, warmer temperatures may unlock a gate to statehood. ∏oward the end of our cruise, in Kangerlussuaq, Summer brings all forms on the surface of water, what we call frazil I ask government tourism official Salik Hard lush hills and and grease ice and pancake ice. A universe of ice. whether access to the resources infuences how wildflowers to greenland, and “Here it is!” Steffen announces, pointing to an people view independence. perhaps speaks enormous plinth of crystal. While most icebergs “We know the climate is changing, but we aren’t to a balmy future. are white and opaque, this one, 40 feet long and worried because we know it is always changing,” locals welcome it. 20 feet high, ridged like a clamshell, is a miracle of he says. “People in Europe and America have mass translucence and clarity. Light cascades through its hysteria. It’s useful for politicians and the media. surfaces to make the water all around it sparkle. Listen,” he says, pausing slightly, “there are a lot “I’ve never seen anything like this,” Steffen says. of good things about the hysteria. Maybe it’ll get I haven’t, either, and wonder if even the the West to stop poisoning the seas and oceans. Greenlanders have a word for it. ∏hat would be a very good thing.” As for Greenland, Salik tells me, “the ball is in school, everyone learned iceland is rolling for independence and you cannot stop it. green and Greenland is ice. But that wasn’t exactly Even if there is another Ice Age we will have it. true then, nor is it now. In the south, far from our And if global warming speeds up the process, so

cruise’s route, I’m told locals are planting forests be it.” Sail into a fijian time capSule > oppoSIte: jon whIttle

40 Looking for Fat FiSh naturaL art Location: Great Barrier Reef Duration: 3+ nights price: $1,454+

I’m screaming. But my face is still on the But the underwater landscape isn’t stretching to about 8 feet in length), and water, and the words are muffled in my really why I’ve hollered. Swimming toward several tornadoes of barracuda. snorkel tube. I just want a witness to be me, fast, is a school of green humphead “why haven’t these fish been deplet- here with me, to see what I’m seeing. parrotfish — a species that can swell to ed?” I ask the boat’s captain. when it becomes clear that no one 4 feet in length. From its knobby head to “location,” he says. “It’s too remote to can hear my obstructed calls, I pop my its fat jowls, the strange fish is all curves. be good business for asian fishing fleets.” head up from the coral Sea and look air force transport planes come to mind natural rhythms, not nets, regulate around. Is anyone standing on the deck of because these fish propel themselves populations of marine life here. It appears our liveaboard, Spoilsport (mikeball.com), with very little detectable movement. as to be an ocean wilderness on every level. which sailed out of cairns, australia? any- they come closer, I start counting by In fact, Mike Ball dive expeditions bills one enjoying this epic view of the great twos — and stop at 20. this trip as an “ocean safari.” an afternoon Barrier reef, which now includes my wav- Big numbers are starting to become snorkel is not unlike a drive through the ing arms? apparently not. So I plant my customary on this trip (mine’s a seven- Serengeti: at any moment, over any ridge face back onto the water, eyes fixed on day dive-oriented cruise, but three-day or rise, a mass of animals can approach neon-green corals, hot-pink sponges and excursions are also available). In the past and kindly engulf you. and right now, purple giant clams so gaudy you’d think few days on scuba, we’ve seen 30 gray these parrotfish are calling me into their they were part of a vegas show. reef sharks, 12 potato cod (each one stampede. — BrooKe Morton

Story by AMANDA JONEs Photos by JON whittlE Looking for old fiji ride to nowhere location: South Pacifc duration: 5 nights+ Ship capacity: 24 guests

ige Young taps his index fnger on an ocean Tmap. “No other boat goes out there,” he tells me. I rip my stare from his square jaw and electric-blue eyes and look down at where he’s pointing, to some fyspeck islands in northern Fiji’s outer reaches. “It’s where some of the world’s best diving is too. You wanted remote.” Fiji’s islands in total are at the world’s farthest reaches to begin with, but what I want is to reach the hairy edge of out-of-the-way Fiji. ∏ige knows where that is. He has scoured these waters for ideal diving and surfng, and guarantees that his boat, ∏ui ∏ai, is the one to get where I want to go. “We’re going to the really old-world Fiji.” ∏o be honest, the island where we’re starting, Vanua Levu, seems plenty old-world to me. Motivational speaker ∏ony Robbins bought land here after searching for “the most beautiful spot in the world.” He even says his quality of life changed, which is quite a testimonial from a man who aims to make your life more content. ∏ige admits Vanua Levu is special. He also admits that he isn’t even Fijian. He’s Californian — a transplant from the high-tech world who fell for a girl here before falling harder for the pace of life. “I few into Nadi and found traffc jams and hotels and busloads of tourists playing golf. ∏hen I came out to Vanua Levu. I couldn’t understand why there were almost no Old-timers all over visitors. I still don’t.” Fiji recognize Tui Even so, it is not the Tai because of the “really old-world Fiji” that ship’s local history and its modern-day ∏ige originally sought, or trips to waters that that he now promises pas- are rarely visited. sengers like me. ∏o get there he bought ∏ui ∏ai, a 140-foot schooner, and reft- ∏ige points to his map again, and says we’re The cruise for you? ted it to sail from Fiji’s second largest island into headed for ∏aveuni to the east, the frst of our the chain’s most distant extremities. His boat old-Fiji stops. When we arrive after a long and adventure pampering offers a PADI scuba facility, and is the one and lonely leg of our cruise, ∏ige says we’re in for some adults all ages only passenger boat in the waters we are about to of the best diving in the world. It’s a line I’ve travel. “Just the way I like it,” he says. heard before. As soon as I drop into the water, I quiet cOves active pOrts

43 ScoutinG report

RINGGOLDS VANUA LEVU it’s A rEAch LAUCALA QAMEA taveuni is called TAVEUNI Fiji’s garden island. gift-bearing guests of Tui Tai are the only nonlocals to FIJI touch the villages of these isles. PricE $1,995, tuitai.com

recognize that ∏ige is not trying to mislead me. a glowing grotto with a big swimming hole, with ∏he cobalt blue holes, coral-lined swim-throughs only the falling water flling the silence. I foat on and reefs teeming with eccentric creatures reas- my back thinking this is a textbook setting for a sure me that where there is little human habita- rom-com movie, the place where the characters tion, robust troves of life exist in all their glory. who previously despised each other are struck by “∏his is just a sample of what’s ahead,” ∏ige says. the dumbfounding insight that — wow, who would We go to shore to disembark from ∏ui ∏ai and have thought — they’re actually in love. the 18-member crew is from these take a van to ∏aveuni’s Bouma National Heritage On the drive back to the boat, with my hair islands. their Fijian Park for a picnic. ∏he park has three staggered wet and mind lulled, we pass the old-world Fiji vibe is matched by waterfalls. ∏here are 12 people cavorting in the scenes ∏ige has been alluding to: neatly uniformed the food prepped in the ship’s out- lower and most accessible one, so I hike 40 min- schoolchildren in bare feet, old men on scrawny door kitchen. utes up to the vacant middle falls. My reward is horses, women wearing fowered sulu skirts and carrying leaf-wrapped bundles of taro, and organized villages slashed into clearings. But we still aren’t there yet. “∏he older world is still farther out,” ∏ige says as we reboard ∏ui ∏ai. Salas ∏oga, the boat’s radiant hostess, invites me into a chair for a foot massage. As the engines fre up for an overnight haul, I sip a Fiji Beer and close my eyes. Remote is even better with a mas- seuse along for the ride. When I wake up the men on next morning, we seem to scrawny have reached the world’s horses. start/finish line. It’s the women Ringgold Isles, the archi- in sulu pelago of 14 islands that ∏ige showed me on the map skirts. back when we were prepar- but old ing to leave Vanua Levu. fiji is far- “∏hey’re uninhabited ther out. except for one small fshing village,” he says. What I’m looking at was his goal from the moment he set sail on ∏ui ∏ai. “Here, remote has a literal meaning — there’s absolutely nothing around.” Like ∏ige, I’m mystifed why these islands have been left so virginal. ∏he only other craft I’ve seen for days belong to the local fshermen. In a world so wired, it’s nearly ecstasy to be on a boat in the middle of nowhere with no cell phones or tweets. ∏he discovery reaches its full expression when we go ashore on Cobia Island for a hike. Goats dominate our view as we move up the caldera at a casual Fijian pace. ∏hey stare at us, as if won- dering what we’re doing here. Our view changes, though, when we reach the ridge of the caldera. All the way around us is a 360-degree vista of the Ringgolds — tiny, white-encircled dots on a blue yonder. Now, I have arrived in really old-world Fiji. And boy, could I ever use a foot massage. cruisiNg thE cAribbEAN by cAr >

46 finds in the water

2 3

1 2 3 Caviar on a Surfboard Fresh Ice in the Arctic Frogfish in Hawaii The champagne is French; the caviar It took a Zodiac and three men to catch a Last week, a frogfish as big as a volleyball Russian; the crew British, Indian and In- baby iceberg off Ellesmere Island in the and the color of wintergreen gum was donesian. Off Prickly Pear Island in Virgin Canadian Arctic. We’re photographing spotted on this ledge, 100 yards off the Gorda, a ship’s officer stands in waist- walruses when we decide to wrangle the Kona coast. The Kona Aggressor II dive deep water with a bottle of Montaudon berg and take pieces of it onto Sea Ad- boat (aggressor.com) has brought me out Brut. The chef spreads dark malossol from venturer (adventurecanada.com). When to where these fish, when spotted, change a floating surfboard. In view of SeaDream the flakes pop and hiss in our drinks, I into strange colors. A dot blinks. There II (seadream.com), my champagne wishes realize the air trapped in those tiny it is: a fish with downturned mouth and and caviar dreams are coming true, and I bubbles is 10,000 years old, the purest dressed in traffic-cone orange. I could

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: ZACH STOVALL; MINDEN PICTuRES/MASTERFILE; JAD DAVENPORT CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: ZACH STOVALL; MINDEN PICTuRES/MASTERFILE; JAD DAVENPORT never even knew I had any. — ZACH STOVALL air I’ll ever taste. — JAD DAVENPORT stare at this all day. — BROOKE MORTON

47 Looking for magic Speed Dating Location: Caribbean Duration: 10 nights Ship capacity: 3,082 guests

how us your favorite things on the island, we So I’ll pay attention. Call it island speed dating. Stell the taxi driver in St. Kitts. And after a My question is this: On islands so close together, moment’s thought, Vernon takes us to meet can I see anything more glorious than I would have his wife and daughter. Who are both gorgeous and seen at one of the other ports of call? charming, smiles big as searchlights, and yeah, easy I don’t buy a guidebook. I will walk onto these to see why they’re his favorite things. islands with no expectations. Each will have one day ∏hat easily, we are in love with St. Kitts. to amaze me, however that amazement comes. My cousin Patti will tell you that we have come I’ve had weirder ideas. to the Caribbean, aboard Emerald Princess, for the best of all reasons: “So I don’t have to cook.” After πhe ship does whaπ ships do and moves inπo 30 years of caring for her husband and weirdly the deep, and the people on board, losing sight perfect kids, she’s ready for a break. ∏his time of land, start looking for land. When we reach around, “Let them eat cheese sandwiches.” Antigua, Patti and I get in the frst taxi we see, I don’t have a family, so I have another mission. and tell our driver, Rowan Henry, exactly what ∏he Caribbean has always struck me as a place we want to see: “Show us the magic.” The cruise for you? where you can more or less shuffe the islands like We zip right past a church made of old ballast cards and get the same hand every time. Beach. stones from sailing ships, and stop at fort where ADventuRe pAmpeRing Palm tree. Fish dinner. Steel drums. cannons defend what appears to be a shopping mall. But surely that can’t be right. If a life of travel “∏hat’s Eric Clapton’s house,” Rowan tells us. ADults All Ages has taught me anything at all, it’s that beauty is Patti and I glance at each other. Let’s try this

quiet coves Active poRts everywhere you pay true attention. again. “Show us something more magic than that.” ∏he island turns into With six stops over origami, folding in on itself. 10 days, just how much can one Valleys appear as if drawn for “experience” on the occasion. ∏he tempera- Emerald Princess? ture drops; shade falls out of Right: Darkwood Beach, Antigua. trees from leaves big enough to use as Frisbees. “∏here,” I say, and Rowan slams on the brakes at a roadside fruit stand. No house nearby, no sign that there might be any traffc here all day but us. A woman waits behind a board where a half-dozen fruits are laid out as if we’re late. With a machete that could have its own horror movie, she slices up a sample platter: black pineapple, golden apple, some kind of banana that explodes in the mouth like Pop Rocks. It’s takeout from a Dr. Seuss book. “OK. ∏his is going to work.” One island, one magic trick, and so far, we

haven’t heard a single steel drum. couRtesy pRincess; opposite: zAch stovAll

Story by Edward rEadickEr-HEndErson Scouting rEport

Fort Lauderdale BAHAMAS

GRAND TURK

BiG toE dips ANTIGUA A new caribbean USVI & BARBUDA island virtually ST. KITTS each day allows a broad sampling Caribbean Sea of on-land fun. it ST. LUCIA extends onto the BARBADOS ship, where movies are shown under cruisE: eastern caribbean voyager the stars. pricE $999; princess.com

island πwo. πhis πime we decide πo see jusπ Inside, there are no steel drums, but next to the Busy ports and big cruise ships can what we stumble on. ∏he streets of Castries, St. organ is a set of bongos. I wonder what Bach could lead to intimate Lucia, are lined with people who take dominoes have done with that in his “Agnus Dei.” I lift my finds. far left: very seriously. Players hunch over tables; spectators camera to take a picture, but a lady stops me. charlotte Amalie, st. thomas. Above: are three deep. ∏he tile click of a move is as sharp “∏his is a place of worship.” She’s right. I have castries, st. lucia. as the wings on a paper airplane; it’s the only sound everything I need just by being here. louder than the calls of vendors in the market who declare their stuff is the only stuff you need in life. back on board, we discover how differenπ “I need saffron,” Patti says. our mission might be from our fellow passengers. “I need hot sauce that’ll burn my tongue off.” We fall into conversation with a woman who is And a minute or two later, shopping bags in shocked we went out on our own instead of on a hand, we’re back on the street, wandering past packaged tour. “Weren’t you afraid?” more domino games, like a trail of bread crumbs, “I don’t think the American Psychiatric with all roads leading eventually to the church. Association treats fear of dominoes.” ∏urn a long wooden ship upside down, cut some I’ve never been on a ship half this big before, holes in the sides to catch a breeze, polish every- and just in case, since I’m a serous claustrophobe, I thing until it gleams as if lit from within, and that’s had packed a good supply of Xanax, but that turned

clocKWise fRom left: gAvin hellieR/AlAmy; lJs photogRAphy/AlAmy; RoD mcleAn/AlAmy; opposite: zAch stovAll the Immaculate Conception chapel. out not to be needed at all. Like an island, the ship

51 vivid memories of porcelain tile in Barbados. Memories I don’t particularly need to hear about. But then, while I’m hearing about them anyway, the taxi driver who has steered us around golf courses and houses behind walls says something that’s almost lost in the fush of reminiscence. “What? George Washington House?” ∏he fact that George Washington slept here — for two months in 1751, when he was 19, and let’s not pretend to believe stories about all the virtu- ous things he did here any more than we believe the chopping down the cherry tree thing — is not the house’s appeal. ∏hat’s upstais in the museum. Where the world shifts underneath me is on a panel that tells me grapefruit aren’t real. ∏hat is, they’re a natural hybrid of a sweet orange and a pomelo, born here on Barbados. Grapefruit were my last dog’s favorite toy; if I dropped one she’d catch it and bat it with paws and nose in patterns as complex as a circus juggler’s. Sometimes, the best kind of grape- magic is how a place sparks fruit against your memory. A aren’t reminder that, even among real. memories of almost noth- they are ing but the local bathroom, a hybrid possibility remains. And then there’s the next born island, where we discover on bar- that sometimes all you need bados. is just to get off the boat to see iguanas in the trees. How often do you sit in the shade of iguanas? And so St. ∏homas passes by.

πhe lasπ island we visiπ, grand πurk, is πhe one stop I’ve visited before, because it’s the only place I know of where the tourist offce told me, grand turk claims has moods — the grace of the couple who spin each “there’s not much to do here.” Yet I discovered the lowest of low- night away on the dance foor, the slightly manic that what separates Grand ∏urk from anywhere key vibes. A stop at the sandbar is energy of the dessert station — busy intersections else, maybe the reason why NASA chose these a must, and helps and nearly silent nooks and crannies. seas for John Glenn’s splashdown after he orbit- greatly with the Our stateroom is the last on the long line of ted Earth, is that there are no friendlier people downshifting. the starboard side, which allows a large L-shaped on our planet than right here. veranda. When Patti learns there’s food delivery Grand ∏urk is where frowns go to die. at all hours, she sets up camp out there like a kid “∏he Sandbar,” I tell the taxi driver. Within min- who’s found the world’s best blanket fort. utes, we’re ordering a couple of rum punches, and have made new friends before our drinks arrive. we have each been πo one of πhe islands on So what have we learned?” I ask my cousin, as this route before. For my cousin, it was Barbados. the sunset doesn’t even bother with a green fash “I just remember constantly throwing up in the because the day has already brought enough magic. potty.” Which puts the trip eight months before “Conch beats cheese sandwiches every time.”

the birth of her daughter. Which means Patti has wHat to do wHilE you’rE in port, p. 55 > zAch stovAll; opposite: BoB fRiel

52 Looking for rarESt BEarS WiLD caLLS Location: San Juan Islands (Wash.) Duration: 10 nights pricE: $4,397 none of the one-word exclamations have at the base of a waterfall and then, a few bear and her pigeon-toed cubs. mama been the call i’ve been waiting for. yards away from our dinghy, they directed wades close enough for me to gaze into “Whale!” meant the humpbacks had a series of howls into the misty forest. her brown eyes. it’s a legendary moment returned to accompany the 54-foot ketch each fall, when the salmon answer the for me, but still not “the moment.” Nawalak (emeraldislesailing.com) down call to breed, Nawalak’s owner, Dave lutz, And then it comes. the call “spirit the inside passage into secret fjords. carries small groups deep into the great Bear!” i look up. A big male spirit Bear “grizzly!” was the spine-tingler for Bear. here, a spectacular congregation stands on the opposite bank, his startling sightings in British columbia’s great of wildlife is attracted to more than 2,000 white fur limned by an afternoon sunburst. Bear Rainforest, an ireland-size swath of streams. We’re among that life. this Kermode — a rare, cream-coated woods with the largest intact old-growth When we come to gribbel island, a subspecies of black bear — has become temperate rainforest on earth. cedar-and-hemlock-cloaked lost world, the rallying call to conserve one of north the surprised whisper “Wolves!” led it’s time for hiking boots. We’ve seen it all America’s last truly wild places. After to an encounter with a pair of the most — all except the one sight i’ve come to see. watching us for a few moments, he mysterious of all north American canids. it’s a consolation prize when our guide, serenely pads down to the stream to fish. they bounded from boulder to boulder marven Robinson, spots a female black All i can say is “Wow.” — BoB fRiel

53 ISLANDS’ 25th ANNUAL Photo Contest

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PREMIER PARTNERS ULTIMATE CARIBBEAN: Layover Ideas NASSAU ST. MAARTEN dine with locals in fly to saba for their home (mount) scenery

COZUMEL SAN JUAN ST. THOMAS cook homemade leave the city to ferry to the bvi bahamian food explore culebra for painkillers

you have four hours between planes. eight in a cruise port. An extra day in Puerto Rico thanks to a winter storm back home. Don’t waste these ops. ∏his may be the land of mañana, but your vacation ticks away by the minute. Within an hour of virtually anywhere, our experts will have you cooking, paddle boarding, hiking. Beats waiting around, huh?

55 l ayov e r i d e a s Cruise Port: Cozumel

4 hours 8 hours full day

cook with aunt josefina ferry to playa del carmen bus to tulum Josefna Gonzalez Luigi is the Mexican Playa is more than a beach town. Fifth A ∏ulum trip starts in aunt I never knew I had. Only she’s Avenue is the main thoroughfare, with Playa del Carmen (see everyone’s aunt. Her cooking classes high-end shops and dance clubs. It’s also left). From there, it’s in El Centro welcome all visitors into a warren of alleys shaded by tamarind trees a 45-minute bus ride. her San Miguel home, right in the heart where there are deals on tacos, silver jew- Sounds daunting, but of Cozumel’s largest town. elry and massages. ∏he vibe is European the Maya ruins of ∏ulum go shopping First — locals dine late and dance till sunup. are what the Eiffel ∏ower stop was the market: edible educations I decided to look is to Paris: touristy, yes, ∏hose in my group past the neon lights and try Yaxche Maya but a must-see. Other haggled over prickly Cuisine on Fifth, which offers a seven- life here is about warm pear (aka nopal cacti), page menu of dishes like duck enchiladas breezes, white beaches banana leaves and pob- with mole sauce and Cotija cream, and and fresh ceviche. lano chiles depend- papadzul, “a tortilla stuffed with boiled go paddle In either ing on what they were eggs covered in a pumpkinseed sauce and a cenote or a mangrove, learning from Josefna. infusion of epazote (a local herb).” paddle boarding with the folks at Extreme For Maya favor, make get there ∏wo ferry operators, Mexico Control is my top ∏ulum to-do. ∏ours something that relies on Waterjets and UltraMar, run almost leave twice daily from Playa Esperanza. the annatto seed. hourly trips daily. ∏he last $11 ride leaves stay the night Enjoy high-rises else- enviable souvenir the dock at 10 p.m. mexicowaterjets.com where: In ∏ulum, stay yards from the Bring cash for the tiendas, sea. Azulik Resort’s 15 thatch-roof villas where Mexican choco- are perched on stilts over sand and atop late, beer and tortillas are sold. ∏he warm rock outcroppings. I didn’t have electric- tortillas won’t make it over the border, ity to recharge my phone, so I recharged but trust me, they won’t last that long. myself: falling asleep to the waves, and get there Classes typically run from waking with the sun and earlybirds. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Ships dock in one of get there For about $5, board one of four locations. From Punta Langosta the buses departing Playa del Carmen Pier, it’s about a 10-minute walk to almost hourly for ∏ulum. Find the depot Josefna’s home on ∏hird Street. From at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and the other docks, take a taxi. Benito Juarez. — brooke morπon

cancun cozumel receives more than 2 million cruise passengers per year. Playa del Carmen• •San Miguel fried grasshoppers are a favorite Mexican snack. the world’s smallest volcano is in Mexico; it’s 43 feet tall. tulum is the only Maya city built overlooking the Caribbean Sea. cozumel Tulum•

key walk Car Taxi buS ferry Plane zach stovall (3)

56 Listen closely and you’ll hear your wake-up call.

Hear that? It’s the sound of an island welcoming you with open arms. It’s birdsong, mingled with laughter. You hear it because your hotel room has no fourth wall—it’s an always-open picture window. In here, you’re pampered and celebrated by an island that heard your requests and is intent on answering all of them. Hear how Saint Lucia lifts your senses. Call 1-800-456-3984 or visit stlucia.org l ayov e r i d e a s Cruise Port: Nassau

3 hours 6 hours full day

eat conch in potter’s cay dine with a local family boat to the exumas A mere mile from the ∏he Bahamas Ministry of ∏ourism has Nassau’s hustle and bustle seems very cruise-ship terminal, a cool under-the-radar program, the far away on this long curve of deserted this bustling stretch of People-to-People Experience, that white sand. It’s tempting just to chill on waterfront stalls tucked brings together visitors with Bahamians the beach, but then I’d miss a chance to under the Paradise for an inside look at island life. hand-feed stingrays, drift-snorkel over Island Bridge is a world matchmakers Sign up at Bahamas.com, vibrant reefs and learn to clean a conch. away from duty-free where you choose your interests. Spend be adventurous shops and glitzy resorts. the day fshing or attend church. I love Powerboat Adventures, Locals come to buy food, so I was invited to dinner. the company behind the fresh seafood and pro- informality rules “My house loves trip, lives up to its name. duce, and enjoy a tru- to welcome people in,” Donna said. ∏he high-speed perfor- tru Bahamian lunch. Dinner was Bahamian home cooking: mance boat carved turns brace for it ∏wenty conch chowder, fresh grouper, guava between the cays. Even or so “fsh shacks” with duff. ∏he fresh cherry juice came from on a calm day, the hour- names like Bones and Burning Spot, each the tree over my right shoulder. long ride is a kick. with a handful of tables, back onto the get there Register online at least two feeding frenzy ∏he water on the western side. ∏hey look weeks before traveling. Your hosts will set stingrays gently sucked slapdash, but the food sure isn’t. up a place to meet or tell you how to get to strips of grouper from what to eat Conch is king — cracked them by bus or taxi. bahamas.com between my fingers (breaded and fried) or scorched (“scored,” as I knelt in the gin- to tenderize it, and dressed with hot clear shallows. Feeding Bahamian goat pepper and citrus juices); grouper remains (from our lunch) to the in chowder or fritters; or, my fave, raw in sharks, however, was left to the guides. a conch salad. How fresh? At Bernadette get there ∏ake a taxi to the Paradise and Donnie’s stall, the main ingredient Island Ferry ∏erminal. Or meet the didn’t leave its shell till I ordered. Powerboat Adventures shuttle, a 10-min- get there Grab a taxi for the short ride ute walk from the cruise-ship terminal. instead of losing time walking hot pave- Check the schedule: ∏he trip starts at 8 ment; taxis aren’t metered, so discuss the a.m. and you won’t be back till 6. power rate before hopping in. potterscaydock.com boatadventures.com — ann vanderhoof

• Potter’s Cay • nassau new providence the bahamas aren’t geographically in the Caribbean Sea. snow fell once in the Bahamas, on Jan. 17, 1977 in Freeport. nassau is a city, not an island. The island is New Providence. of the 320,000 who live in the Bahamas, 200,000 live in Nassau. • exumas

key walk Car Taxi buS ferry Plane from left: bonkers about travel/alamy; walter bibkow/alamy; courtesy tim aylen/powerboat adventures

The UlTimaTe CrUise Where: ExplorE Tahiti & the society islands When: sept. 27-Oct. 4, 2014 (7 nights!) host: ms Paul Gauguin

> sail with Islands staff photographers. > enjoy daily photo lessons with the pros. tahiti > Take your best travel photos on a trip into paradise. rates start at $4,995 per person (including airfare from Los Angeles). with us on ms Paul GauGuin

Go to: islands.com/ExpEditions l ayov e r i d e a S Cruise Port: St. Maarten

3 HOURS 6 HOURS fUll day

Head tO St. maRtin fly tO Saba It would be a shame to stop in St. It’s a Caribbean island where I’ve never Maarten and not visit both countries needed sunblock. ∏here are no beaches. that share this island. No formalities Cloud cover hugs Mount Scenery more necessary to leave the Dutch side, where often than not. Why go? ∏o hike rainfor- ships dock, and visit France. ∏here’s ests where branches sprout color in the barely a sign, but I always know when form of orchids and birds. Before setting I’ve crossed the border. Vive la différence. off, check into the Saba Conservation dO like tHe fRencH Start at a patisserie Foundation’s shop for a map and friendly near the waterfront for advice from the staff on route choice. an espresso and a pastry. Stay tHe nigHt Set among the hillsides I can’t resist the pain au explORe gRand caSe of the lower town known as ∏he Bottom, chocolat at Sarafina’s At cafes near the water’s edge, waiters Queen’s Gardens Resort brings the great and the people-watch- deliver chilled rosé under beach umbrellas: outdoors in: All but one of the 12 suites ing from the terrace. In Grand Case, I swear I’m in the south of lack a fourth wall, so the sea serves as a SHOp fOR giftS ∏he France. ∏he beach here may not be pret- backdrop for the private Jacuzzis. gazebos at the open-air tier than the isle’s 36 others, but it has the indUlge Do dinner at Queen’s Gardens market on the water- added attraction of excellent eats. Restaurant, and try the front are packed with get wet First, a swim — the sea is jumbo-shrimp squid- goodies — madras sacks calm — then a pre-lunch aperitif on the ink pasta, garnished overflowing with spices, sand at Calmos Cafe. Order a pastis and with onion chutney. and travel-friendly bot- clink glasses with a “tchin-tchin.” get tHeRe Winair tled and jarred options. keep it caSUal ∏here are plenty of offers four daily fights Olive Augustine sells restos serving multicourse lunches, but to Saba; the cheapest homemade rum-based liqueurs (try the I like to stay laid-back at one of the one starts at $90. ∏ravel guavaberry) and tropical-fruit jams in cheap barbecue joints called lolos. No by the Dawn II ferry bottles she paints herself. haute cuisine here: ∏hink smoky grills costs half as much, but get tHeRe Inexpensive minivan buses with fsh and lobster; plastic cutlery and it only operates ∏ues- run between Philipsburg and Marigot, shared picnic tables. I swear by Lolo #6. days, ∏hursdays and but a taxi is faster, and rates are govern- get tHeRe It’s a 25-minute drive from Saturdays. fy-winair.com, ment regulated. st-martin.org the pier. Rent a car or take a taxi. — av sabactransport.com — bm

Grand Case • St. maaRten St. maarten is the smallest landmass shared by two governments. • Marigot don’t be upset if someone calls you doudou; it means “sweetie.” there are 37 beaches — one for each of the isle’s 37 square miles. the day’s first sale in Marigot is considered lucky, so bargain then.

• Saba key walk Car taxi bus ferry plane from left: jeff gynane/alamy; walter bibkow/alamy; frans lemmens/getty

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4 hours explore old san juan Cristobal are on the itiner- Sure, Old San Juan is about ary, with insights from a local exploring cobbled streets and guide. rentthebicycle.com ramparts on foot, lingering eat well I had a chance in pastel-colored shops and to meet Iron Chef contestant eating ice cream in public Robert ∏revino and try his 8 hours squares. But San Juaneros food. My favorite is his tapas move fast too (salsa music is spot, Bar Gitano, in the proof ), so I had to speed up trendy Condado neighbor- hike el yunQue and Big ∏ree are paved, and to stay on schedule. hood. Padrón peppers and Hiking through the cool, the cloud layers provide a bike it Zip through con- seafood paella go down easily sweet air in Puerto Rico’s buffer from the sun. gested streets and narrow with a smooth red sangria. best-known rainforest get there Rent a car for alleys of the Old City on a get there A taxi from the couldn’t be easier. ∏rails the day at the airport or book two-wheeled guided tour airport to Old San Juan runs like El Yunque (about four a tour with Ruben at PepeKo with Rent the Bicycle. Main about $21. Extend your bike hours), La Mina (my pick for ∏ours. $45 to $60 per person, pepekotours.com sights like the Castillo de San rental and pedal to Bar Gitano. the natural swimming pools) thomas r. fletcher/alamy; opposite: zach stovall

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Search “Islands Magazine” in the App Store. full day fly to culebra get there ∏axi 15 minutes ∏here’s no quicker way to get to smaller Isla Grande air- off the grid than a 35-minute port, where Vieques Air Link San Juan • hop to Puerto Rico’s stunning or Air Flamenco’s twin-prop Culebra • el yunque • baby sister. Don’t expect planes fly a scenic route east puerto rico much from the languid town over the north coast’s golden of Dewey, but hold on to your beaches and El Yunque rain- jaw when you reach white- forest. viequesairlink.com, air f a sand Playa Flamenco. menco.net — zach sπovall stay awhile Everyone in Culebra knows Susie Hebert for her cooking, and that makes her namesake Susie’s Restaurant the best puerto ricans call themselves Boricuas. dinner here. Afterward, join everyone (anyone you met tourism is responsible for only 7% of the GNP. 100+ endangered species live on PR’s Mona Island. in town earlier) for drinks at Dinghy Dock, Mamacita’s the deepest spot in the Atlantic is the PR trench. or one of the local bars. So small is the town, the choice will be obvious. key walk Car Taxi ferry Plane

$229 per night for Oceanfront accommodations. Complimentary bottle of champagne upon arrival. Beachside cabana for the week. Breakfast for two each day in Ocean Restaurant. Offer valid for stays between May 1 - December 15, 2014

©2014 Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. All rights reserved. Westin is the registered trademark of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., or its affiliates. l ayov e r i d e a s Cruise Port: st. Thomas

2 hours 5 hours full day

eat sushi in st. thomas dive st. john ferry to the bvi “Do you want raw or cooked?” ∏his ques- A peek at a USVI map of scuba-diving Jost Van Dyke is a spit tion isn’t one I often hear at sushi joints, sites may sell you on the ferry hop from of land largely defined but it’s what the server at Beni Iguana’s St. ∏homas to St. John. About two-thirds by what it lacks: no stop- Sushi Bar on St. ∏homas tosses out when national park, St. John has countless pock- lights, no chain stores, no I ask for a roll recommendation. ets of purple sea fans, massive brain-coral hustle. ∏hey still don’t order it raw ∏he place has been globes the color of uncooked pasta, and have reliable round-the- open for 21 years, but iridescent-orange vase sponges. clock power. its clientele plays it have your own gear? I did, so I asked the simple life safe. When my friend the open-air truck-taxi driver to deposit Where the white-sand and I answer in unison, me at Great Lameshur Bay. Waterlemon beach ends, the open- “Raw,” the chef glances Cay is good too; it has the nicer beach, air bars begin. Spots like up. We start talking. but Lameshur attracts greater marine life. Soggy Dollar and Foxy’s He asks how much we need to rent gear? Stop by Low Key might on occasion be the want to spend and how Watersports, a few doors to the right of hangouts of the impos- adventurous we feel. My the dock. Look for the red-and-white fag. sibly hip, but they’re not where celebs and friend, the CEO, says, get there Passenger ferries to St. John their posses with noses pressed to smart- “About $100 and very.” leave from two St. ∏homas locations: phones normally go. Instead, these are sushi parade Pinks, Charlotte Amalie, and almost hourly where strangers actually talk to each other. oranges and whites trot from Red Hook, a short taxi ride away. drink order God help you if you over the Plexiglas divide don’t drink rum: ∏he cocktail staple as the chef watches us here is the painkiller, a blend of pine- eat. He doesn’t speak much English, but apple juice, orange juice, coconut cream, when we smile, he beams. ∏he crowning nutmeg, and light and dark rums. ∏he moment: smoked eel between two bricks Soggy Dollar Bar serves fve variations, of scrambled egg, drizzled in eel sauce. including vanilla and mango. wash it down with a glass of ∏urley get there ∏he MV When shuttles Dogtown Zinfandel at Grande Cru, about between ∏ortola and Jost four times an eight-minute walk from Beni’s. daily, three on Sunday. ∏he last daily get there Beni’s is in the Havensight departure is at 5 p.m. Miss the boat? Mall, steps from the Havensight Dock. Call Bunn’s Sea ∏axi. bunnstaxi.com — bm

jost van dyke • st. thomas’ Charlotte Amalie is the U.S.’s largest historical town. to stop German expansion in WWI, the U.S. paid $25 million for the VI. usvi is the only U.S. territory bordered by the Caribbean and Atlantic. st. thomas st. john the largest baobab tree in the Caribbean stands on St. Croix. •

key walk Car Taxi buS ferry Plane from left: photocuisine/alamy; michael defreitas/age fotostock; zach stovall

64 Free brochures, catalogs and other advertiser information. Simply mail the attached Free Travel Information! Reader Response Card, FAX toll-free to 888.847.6035, or visit islands.com/freeinfo for direct access to each Advertiser’s website and free information.

CarIbbean & bahamas 8. St. Lucia Tourist Board – 14. Paul gauguin Cruises – souTh paCIFIC St Lucia - An island of lush Comfort and luxury, with 1. Amsterdam Manor Beach tropical rainforests, spectacular spacious suites and state- 20. The Islands of Thailand – Resort – Aruba - PAge 6 waterfalls, secluded coves, and rooms, water sports and an Discover the exotic islands our soaring pitons. PAge 57 atmosphere of warmth and of Thailand, indulge in unique informality. PAge C2-1 cultural experiences and the 2. Aruba Tourism Authority – true luxury of Thai hospitality. Aruba – One Happy Island. 9. Westin St. Maarten Dawn PAge 5 White sand beaches, cooling trade Beach – Relax on beautiful 15. Princess Cruises – Escape winds, warm friendly people. Dawn Beach. Revitalize yourself completely. PAge 21 One Happy Program. in our luxurious spa. Wedding VaCaTIon renTals PAge 6-7 Receptions start at $120 per 16. Windstar Cruises – Windstar person. PAge 63 21. Caribbean Villas & Resort Cruises offers luxury sailing Management Co. – Multiple 3. Barefoot Cay Resort – Luxury voyages to the world’s most Islands - PAge 70 beachfront villas on a private FlorIda legendary places and hidden cay. Experience exceptional harbors. PAge 23 service, gourmet dining, and 10. Little Palm Island Resort & 22. Catered To...Vacation Homes – valet diving. PAge 14 Spa – Exclusive Private Island mexICo St. John, USVI - PAge 70 resort. The Florida Keys most romantic weddings and honey- 4. Blue Residences – 17. Oasis Hotels & Resorts – Ten 23. Cayo espanto – moon destination. PAge 73 Aruba – PAge 6 quintessential Mexican all-in- Belize - PAge 70 clusive resorts offering a unique 11. Ocean Key Resort – Luxury, variety of vacation experiences. 5. Cayman Islands Depart- with a twist! Elegant interi- PAge 61 ment of Tourism – Experience ors boast shades of indigo, Caymankind, everything and turquoise and lime. A tropical everyone that makes a Cayman 18. Palace Resorts– Offering hideaway, waterfront in Old Islands vacation so unique. all-inclusive resorts in Mexico. Town. PAge 73 PAge 3 PAge 74

CruIse/YaChT VaCaTIons 6. Hilton Hotels & Resort in mulTIple Islands Puerto Rico – Puerto Rico 12. Cruise One – Discover your Hiltons offer fun in every flavor, 19. Palladium Hotels & passion for travel, and create from resort casinos to secluded Resorts – Five-Star all- the work-life balance you island retreats. PAge 67 inclusive accommodations desire. PAge 17 on some of the world’s fin- est beaches. Perfect for a 7. Rendezvous – Time is so 13. The Moorings Crewed Yacht honeymoon or family vacation. precious, smart couples Vacations – Experience all- PAge 15 steal it. PAge 19 inclusive luxury and adventure aboard your own private yacht with captain and chef at your service! PAge 13

65 SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

Puerto rico favors visitors’ stays with delectable cuisines.

The smells and TasTes of PuerTo rico’s local foods are key ingredients for any experience on the island. such a huge part of Puerto rico’s culture, its food is celebrated every day in local family-run restaurants as well as in the growing trends of fusion or “nuevo criollo”-style Puerto rican cuisine that can be discovered in fne-dining establishments. it is in Puerto rico’s cooking where european, afro-caribbean and latin american cultures come together to create their own favors using such indigenous sea- sonings and ingredients as coriander, papaya, cacao, plantains and cassava. and yes, you most defnitely can taste the love and care of preparation that goes into every meal. set along a two-mile beach in isla Verde, the Gastronomy in Puerto rico is a rejoicing of the El San Juan Resort & Casino, A Hilton Hotel world’s delicacies, where international cuisines recently opened the frst caribbean outpost of from italy, asia, other parts of the caribbean the famed meat market miami restaurant. The and even american favorites can be enjoyed. legendary hotel, known as a dining and enter- and during the annual saborea Puerto rico “a tainment hot spot for more than 25 years, adds culinary extravaganza” held each spring, you can to its offerings with the new restaurant that is join other foodies to pay homage to the impor- part of the resort renovation completed at the tance of the island’s most delicious treasures. end of 2013. Guests can enjoy meat and sea- scheduled this year for april 3-6, 2014, food entrees prepared with south Beach fair in saborea brings locals and visitors together with a glamorous and contemporary setting at meat days and nights of food from Puerto rico’s top market miami. Koco, another choice among the restaurants, and local rum and california wine nine hotel restaurants, features innovative, mod- tastings. demo kitchens provide the setting ern caribbean fusion cuisine and a rum bar. in for celebrity chefs to show off their award-win- addition to starbucks, a gourmet “Grab & Go” ning techniques. organized by the Puerto rico deli shop is also new to the property for 2014 for hotel & Tourism association (PrhTa), saborea those seeking casual snack options. 888-579- takes place along san Juan’s scenic escambrón 2632; elsanjuanresort.com Beach. scheduled events include an intimate The beachfront Caribe Hilton San Juan, located sit-down dinner with wine pairings, where indi- between old san Juan and condado, spans vidual chefs each host 10-person tables and the culinary spectrum with nine dining options prepare culinary creations just for that group, offering cuisine from around the world, from as well as time in the Tasting Pavilion, where casual to fne dining with ocean views. favorites the island’s best restaurants serve up their include il Giardino la Trattoria, where traditional most sought-after treats. Get all-inclusive one- northern italian cuisine can be paired with day or weekend tickets before your trip at more than 150 wines from across the globe, saboreapuertorico.com. and lemongrass Pan asian latino, which mixes during saborea or any time of year, san Juan the best tastes and favors of asia and Puerto properties excite many foodies with their own rico for dinner each night. Palmeras restaurant on-site offerings, with new restaurants open- is the place to be for breakfast with an unbeat- ing all the time. able atlantic ocean view, and morton’s The Steakhouse excels in serving the fi nest grain- also dine on more traditional dishes indoors fed beef and a range of seafood entrees. or alfresco. A casual, oceanfront cafe, Ciao 877-GO-HILTON; caribehilton.com Mediterranean, offers guest fl avors from Spain, Not to be missed is celebrity chef Wilo Benet’s Greece and Morocco, while Momoyama deliv- creations at Pikayo at The Condado Plaza Hilton. ers on fresh sushi and Japanese cuisine with The fl agship restaurant, which has been a San the fun of teppanyaki tables as an option. Light Juan institution for more than 20 years and a bites and favorite cocktails can be enjoyed at favorite since it moved to the hotel in 2009, fea- three resort bars, either poolside, in the main tures Wilo’s Nu + Global Mix, a combination of lobby or at a piano bar at the entrance of Trattoria new and classic dishes from Puerto Rico and Italiana. For a romantic dinner en-suite, execu- around the world. More on-site dining choices tive chef Efraín Cruz’s room-service menu offers mix up casual settings with varied cuisines, fresh and healthy choices, and a nice selec-

During the annual Saborea Puerto Rico “A Culinary Extravaganza” held each spring, you can join other foodies to pay homage to the importance of the island’s most delicious treasures. from Asian favorites at Eight Noodle Bar to fam- is part of the culinary offerings of this land- tion of wines and cocktails. 877-721-0185; ily-style dining and ice cream at Café Caribe. mark beachfront property located in Isla Verde. icsanjuanresort.com 888-722-1274; condadoplaza.com Living up to its name and following comple- Discover more on the delicacies of the The cosmopolitan neighborhood of Condado tion of a resort renovation, the InterContinental island, where to find them and where to is also where you will ﬁ nd the beachfront San San Juan offers dining choices from around stay at puertoricohotelreservations.com or Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino and the world. It is “italo-boricua,” or Italian cuisine puertoricosmallhotels.com. You can also call the more than 120 restaurants in the area, with with a Puerto Rican twist, at the resort’s signa- Puerto Rico Tourism Company at 800-866-7827 many of the best choices within walking dis- ture restaurant, Trattoria Italiana, where you can or visit seepuertorico.com. tance of the property. However, you don’t even have to leave the hotel for some local ﬂ air. Start your morning with the rich taste of freshly ground, mountain-grown Puerto Rican coffee at the lobby’s Coffee Merchant. For breakfast and dinner, La Vista Latin Grill combines popular steak and seafood entrees with a refreshing take on Puerto Rican dishes, such as tres mofongos, grilled sea bass and churrasco. And for late-night bites in the Stellaris Casino, the ECK IN AS A TOURIS Wan Chai Noodle Bar lets guests order authen- CH T tic Chinese noodle and rice dishes. After CHECK OUT AS A LOCAL dinner, the San Juan Marriott lobby bar, the Red Coral Lounge, is the place to go for cock- $ tails and dancing to live Latin music. OCEANFRONT RESORTS FROM 159 PER NIGHT* During the day, the resort’s beachfront alfresco Plan your getaway to Puerto Rico, one of the most treasured Caribbean bar — just steps from the Atlantic Ocean and destinations, and experience the rich culture of Old San Juan and the natural the property’s beautiful white sand — serves beauty of El Yunque Rainforest. Enjoy exquisite cuisine, world-renowned American cuisine and specialty drinks, with the beaches and pampering amenities and services at any of the below resorts: ocean breezes and relaxing view thrown in for EL CONQUISTADOR, CARIBE HILTON® A WALDORF ASTORIA RESORT free with all lunch and dinner orders. 888-817- CONDADO LAGOON VILLAS LAS CASITAS VILLAGE, AT CARIBE HILTON® 2033; marriottsanjuan.com A WALDORF ASTORIA RESORT EL SAN JUAN RESORT & CASINO, Ruth’s Chris at the InterContinental San Juan HILTON PONCE GOLF & CASINO RESORT A HILTON HOTEL

THE CONDADO PLAZA HILTON FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 888.564.1307 OR VISIT PUERTORICOGETAWAYS.COM Sandcastles are just the start of a satisfying seaside getaway. These destinations will please kids from tots to teens Ñ and their grown-ups.

parents feast on excellent food, the whole Oscar’s trash-land lifestyle while reusing everyday Y ou’ll wade family enjoys activities — and just about materials to build puppets, castles, and fl ags. in the gentle every element except for spa treatments is In autumn, “A WonderFALL Celebration” will waves, for sure, covered in one all-inclusive price. feature a series of special programming from and feel silky sand between your toes. But should Now Palladium’s 12 properties in Mexico, the spectacular fireworks displays and glow-band you want more during your warm-weather family Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Spain and Brazil up beach parties to exclusive activities like inviting escape, entertainment is easy to fi nd. Your family the fun factor in a whole new way. An array of inter- children to create their own Muppet character. might explore desert caverns, dance with cartoon actions with the Raggs Pirate Show — a group of Also: character breakfasts and tuck-ins. characters or create puppets from recycled materials. rock-’n’-roll-geared pups — has kids laughing, danc- This is a big year for Beaches Resorts beyond the ing and singing. For starters, Raggs and his friends Sesame Street® 10-year celebration. The Turks and aruba might stroll through the lobby greeting kids, or sing Caicos resort added a fourth village; the Ocho Rios, Chances are your hotel’s kids club will beckon with songs around the pool. Drummer/surfer dude Pido Jamaica, property completed a $30 million renova- games, camps, activities and cultural immersion. hosts Pido’s Surf Party on occasion. The tropical tion; and resorts in Barbados and Antigua are under The little ones will be thrilled, yet the destination bash has a DJ and sing-along videos. construction. 888-BEACHES, beaches.com — billed as “One Happy Island” — is rich with Children can dine with the characters at the excursions you’ll all enjoy together, so be sure to Raggs-themed breakfast, where the food looks like palace resorts plan group outings. dog biscuits and healthful smoothies have stenciled Families were already drawn to Moon Palace Golf Away from the sweeping white beaches for dogs on top — in cinnamon. and Spa Resort for its fun Flowrider® Double-wave which Aruba is known, you’ll fi nd an intriguing rug- Once a week, the fi ve Raggs members host a simulator, dolphinarium, all-inclusive meals and top- ged landscape. Head to Arikok National Park, where grand show in the theater. Jokes, interaction, profes- shelf beverages. Now the Cancun-based resort’s you walk, or travel via ATV, Jeep or horseback, to see sional dancing, grand costumes and special effects kids club, The Playroom, is more reason to book cave paintings, hidden beaches and natural pools, have children dancing, clapping and laughing. a vacation here. With an abundance of activities not to mention local plants and animals. 800-961-7661, palladiumresorts.com and recreational equipment for children up to 12, Small kids are excuse enough to visit animals up The Playroom offers a beauty salon, complete with close, such as an ostrich or butterfl y farm, or a don- beaches resorts hair, manicure and face–painting services; an Xbox key or bird sanctuary — the latter with egrets, coots, Kids love cavorting with Sesame Street® characters at gaming center; a tricycle–racing area; a jungle gym; herons and other species not spotted in your back- Beaches Resorts, and, new for 2014, little ones have arcade-style games; and more. There is also a des- yard. To spend time with creatures under the sea, go even more ways to play with them as part of Beaches ignated area for infants and toddlers. to Baby Beach, where calm water is ideal for peeks Resorts Caribbean Adventure with Sesame Street® While Moon Palace caters to families, so do four at blowfi sh, parrotfi sh and squid. For a bigger step Celebration. First off, the friendly stars parade along other Palace Resorts properties in Mexico, each in toward diving, opt for De Palm Island, where you can the three Luxury Included® Caribbean resorts every its own way – but all with 5-star amenities. all try SNUBA or a Sea Trek walk. week during a festive Carnival Celebration. Lively Playacar Palace’s white sandy beach invites old- And if teens are in your troupe, be sure to let Junkanoo music thunders beside Big Bird and the fashioned fun like fl ying kits and tossing Frisbees. them ride the waves. Aruba is renowned for its rest of the cast as they take their journey, sporting Kids have their own section of the swimming pool. windsurfi ng and kite surfi ng. The best rises are at elaborate and colorful Carnival costumes and head- While the children are in the Kid’s Club, parents Hadicurari Beach, where you can watch, partic- dresses. Up on stage, everyone’s favorite furry pals might enjoy the swim-up bar. Cozumel Palace is ipate or take lessons from world-class instructors. host the Celebrating Friendship Stage Show. known for snorkeling and diving. Let the children 800-TO-ARUBA, aruba.com A brand-new child-directed play program from try out one or both before they make new friends Sesame Street® entitled Organic Play joins Beaches in a club just for them. And at Beach Palace, you’ll palladium hotels & resorts Resorts’ lineup of fun for children of all ages. Oscar spend evenings watching Fire and Drum shows and Families seeking a vacation that’s fun, relaxing and The Grouch’s “From Trash to Treasure” joins exclu- Michael Jackson tributes while daytime bonding stress-free know that Palladium Hotels & Resorts sive activities “Baking Cookies with Cookie Monster” might be over table tennis, billiards and a waterslide. cover it all. Kids play in age-appropriate clubs, and “Story Time with Elmo.” Children get a peek into palaceresorts.com ❂ LuxuryVILLAS IslandsCLASSIFIEDS

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It’s a Family Name This is Mayreau (page 29), an island of 250 friends. We met just about all of them — a girl named Beauty, a man named Righteous, and a whole caravan of Fords. But among the first to greet us was none other than the guy who owns this boat. What’s his name again?

COMING UP AT ISLANDS.COM 5 Islands for Expats on a Budget Video: Fly Over the BVI Buy a Private Island Annual Photo Contest Picks (So Far)

Islands, Vol. 34, No. 2, March 2014 (ISSN 0745-7847), is published 8 times a year (Jan./Feb., March, April/May, June, July/Aug., Sep./Oct., Nov., Dec.) by Bonnier Corporation, P.O. Box 8500, Winter Park, FL 32790; 407-628-4802. One year (8 issues) $24 in the U.S. For Canada, add $9 for postage per year. All other countries add $18. Copyright © 2014 by Bonnier Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without the written consent of Bonnier Corporation. Periodicals postage paid at Winter Park, FL,

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A LIFETIME SUPPLY OF DINNER CONVERSATIONS. INCLUDED. With four family-friendly resorts, the FlowRider® Double Wave Simulator, the Wired Teens Lounge and roughly a million other amazing amenities, a Palace vacation is the kind of trip you’ll be enjoying long after your tan fades. 1.888.494.1184 PalaceResorts.com VOYAGES OF 7 TO 14 NIGHTS Tahiti | South Pacific | Southeast Asia | Caribbean | Latin America | Europe

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Our all-inclusive pricing oﬀ ers an exceptional value, with all this included: • Spacious, oceanview staterooms • Single open-seating dining with a choice of venues • 24-hour room service • Onboard beverages, including select wine, beer, and spirits • All shipboard gratuities for room stewards and dining staﬀ • Complimentary watersports from our onboard marina and destination beaches* • All shipboard entertainment • Luxurious onboard spa • La Boutique duty-free shop • Piano and pool bars

* T e watersports marina is available on T e G a u g u i n only, and is subject to weather conditions and local restrictions. T e Moana oﬀ er watersports from destination beaches, though European voyages oﬀ er limited watersports activities.

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Enjoy 50% off standard cruise fares on all voyages plus included airfare from Los Angeles on sailings of the m/s Paul Gauguin}{

T e m/v Tere Moana … Marvel at the value

Some ships sail upon the sea. Paul Gauguin ships are creatures of the sea. The m/s Paul Gauguin and the m/v Tere Moana were built to maneuver from open ocean to intimate ports, bringing you closer to your destination than any larger vessel can. Join us on unique itineraries to some of the world’s most coveted warm-weather destinations, and enjoy the ultimate in luxury, service, and value all along the way.

ATTN: PHOTOGRAPHY BUFFS! Explore Tahiti with Islands Expeditions 7-nights, Tahiti & Society Islands — September 27, 2014 · Sail with Islands staﬀ photographers · Enjoy daily photo lessons with the pros · Take your best travel photos on a trip to paradise Bora Bora, French Polynesia