Tourist First: Dominica: Caribbean Dreamin'

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Dominica: Caribbean Dreamin'

The Nov. 7, 2010, Travel section of The New York Times is all about the Caribbean. I was happy to see one of our favorite islands, Dominica, mentioned. (That's my photo, above, of tourists at the Emerald Pool on Dominica.) In the Times, Allison Busacca discusses rapelling into canyons on Dominica in an article about adventure vacations from Bermuda (not in the Caribbean at all) to Trinidad. Dominica, an island nation just north of Martinique, should not be confused with the Dominican Republic. (The column on the right side of this blog has an item about Dominica.)

Among the other Caribbean articles is Seth Kugel's guide to low-cost island vacations. Oddly, he starts with the Bahamas, again, not in the Caribbean, but he goes on to write about the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Barbados, Aruba, Bonaire and Saba.

And here's a tip from me about Caribbean vacations: The less-visited islands that do not have direct flights from the U.S. mainland or from Europe are often less expensive once you get there, but your journey will be longer, probably less comfortable and sometimes difficult to arrange.

2 comments:

AnonymousNovember 9, 2010 at 11:49 PM
Kewl pictures..I desperately wanna go there.

mimi
pompeii tours
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UnknownNovember 15, 2010 at 7:10 PM
I see that you know a lot about the Argentina tourist places. I once travelled there, I got an apartment for rent in buenos aires tht gave me the chance to stay a whole most for a very low price. I got to meet the Recoleta cemetary and the Zoo, the two main attractions, I loved it!
Tracy
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Argentine Patagonia

They are called what they look like: Mexican hats. They occur naturally in the highlands above the town of El Calafate. The water in the distance is glacier-fed Lago Argentino. An hour's drive east of El Calafate, near the headwaters of the lake, visitors can hike on the Perito Moreno glacier and take a boat ride among icebergs that have fallen off the several glaciers in the Parque Nacional des Glaciares. El Calafate is basically a summer (Nov. to Feb.) tourist town, and there are a number of hotels at all price points. We stayed at Esplendor El Calafate, a very stylish hotel with a full restaurant and bar. The South American picker-upper drink mate is available at breakfast. The hotel is an uphill walk from the commercial area, but that's not much of a drawback. Click on the photo to visit the Esplendor online.

Dominica

Probably the greenest island in the Caribbean, in terms of color and ecological awareness, is Dominica, just north of Martinique. It was named by Columbus, who sailed past it on a Sunday. The island nation is one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, but it is rich in friendly people and natural attractions, including a boiling lake, hot and cold waterfalls, a parrot jungle and hill after hill of dense green jungle. There is also a cable-car ride through the jungle canopy (http://www.natureisland.com/AerialTram.html). I wrote about Dominica years ago, and much of that article is still relevant: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/26/travel/winter-in-the-sun-an-island-where-less-is-more.html?scp=2&sq= Unfortunately, one of the hotels I mentioned, Petit Coulibri, has since closed. Fortunately, there's still a wonderful eco-resort called Papillote Wilderness Retreat http://www.papillote.dm/), four acres of lush gardens, hot-spring-heated soaking pools and modest cottage rooms.

Palm Springs

Palm Springs, Calif., is a great destination for nature lovers -- Mount San Jacinto State Park is a wonderful gondola ride (shown above -- click on it to visit its website) away, and Joshua Tree National Park is a short drive away. It's also a great destination for naturists; there are several major clothing optional resorts in the area -- and for fans of Mid-Century Modern architecture. For a dose of mid-century style, stay at the Orbit In (http://www.orbitin.com/), which does ask that you keep your clothes on.

Pompeii

If you're driving from Naples to the Amalfi Coast, and it's hard to imagine anyone who wouldn't want to visit the Amalfi Coast, you should plan to spend a night in the modern city of Pompei, adjacent to the ancient city of Pompeii. Above are the murals depicting an unknown ritual in what's called the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii. If you can, devote most of a full day to exploring the site. Afterward, you'll want a good hotel. Click on the image for info about Hotel Amleto, a small and friendly hotel in the heart of the new town and an easy walk from the ruins.

St. Vincent

This is one of the "rooms" at Petit Byahaut, an isolated (access by boat only) eco-resort on St. Vincent, the largest island in the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Bequia, mentioned above in this column, is one of the Grenadines. The photo above is of the living deck and doesn't show a relatively enclosed area that had a real bed. Did you notice I said "had"? That's because the place has closed. To read about the property in its heyday, click on the image for a New York Times article I wrote. The article has a link to a slide show with more images of the resort.