Islands 2015 01 02

TOP 5 RESORTS FOR FAMILIES P. 66

WHAT REALLY HAPPENS Inside a Megaresort in Jamaica?

THE BEST VIEW (WITH A ROOM)

P. 52

P. 62

®

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25

OF THE WORLD’S

GREATEST ESCAPES

THE

CLOSER YOU LOOK AT WHAT WE INCLUDE FOR FAMILIES THE

BET TER WE LOOK

FREE WEDDING

X

ROOMS & SUITES

LAND SPORTS

WATERPARKS

WATER SPORTS ONLY BEACHES® RESORTS INCLUDES MORE

At Beaches all-inclusive resorts, absolutely everything you could think of for the ultimate family vacation is included and unlimited. The most thrilling waterparks and land sports in the Caribbean. Fabulous water sports including unlimited waterskiing and scuba diving ,even for the kids.

Superb dining at up to 19 gourmet restaurants. Authentic island entertainment for everyone. A free wedding for X newlyweds . Up to 13 bars serving unlimited premium drinks for adults. Cool hangouts for teens and Sesame Street® fun and games for the kids. And beautifullyappointed rooms and suites, some even with butler service. Take a closer look at Beaches and see why we were voted the World’s Leading All-Inclusive Family Resort Brand at the World Travel Awards for 16 years in a row.

V

®

s for Everyone Resor t

by Sanda ls

Jamaica • Turks & Caicos

1-800-BEACHES • BEACHES.COM or call your Travel Agent

GOURMET DINING

More Quality Inclusions Than Any Other Resorts In The World

Activities vary by resort. VScuba diving included for certified divers. PADI dive courses, night dives and kids’ dive programs additional. XA Beautiful Beginnings wedding is free with stays of 3 paid nights or more in all room categories. All weddings are subject to mandatory marriage officiant and government documentation fees, which vary by island. All fees subject to change at any time without prior notice. Beaches® is a registered trademark.

Unique Vacations, Inc. is the affiliate of the worldwide representative of Beaches Resorts.

SESAME STREET

TM/© 2014 Sesame Workshop

ENTERTAINMENT

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A TRIO OF TREASURES From white sandy beaches and crystal blue seas with colourful coral reefs, in the Cayman Islands, you won’t have to go far to find your smile. In the Cayman Islands, y o u won ’t h a v e t o g o fa r t o f i nd your smile. Set in the warm Western Caribbean Sea just an hour s ou t h of Mia mi , t he d es t i na t i o n i s c omp ris e d o f t hr ee uni q ue islands: Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac. Soak up a day along Grand Cayman’s famous Seven Mile Beach before perusing duty free shops. Explore the unique caves of Cayman Brac or birdwatch throughout the day.

Sneak away on serene Little Cayman for a swim in a secluded lagoon. And with 365 different dive sites to discover, it’s as clear as our waters where you should plan your next getaway.

feel a welcoming warmth that

doesn’t just come from the sun.

Tha t ’s C ay m an k i n d !

EVERY EVENT IS AN EXPERIENCE TASTE OF CAYMAN February 7, 2015 Sample local fare with gourmet flare from the area’s best purveyors.

BATABANO Junior Parade & Family Fun Day April 5, 2015 Adult Parade May 2, 2015

GIVE YOUR FIVE SENSES A FIVE-STAR STAY Paradise is served year-round at over 200 restaurants that range between beachside grills to fine dining. Kicking off the annual culinary calendar each January, Cayman Cookout draws celebrated chefs such as Eric Ripert, Anthony Bourdain, and José Andrés. All it takes is a taste to realize why the Cayman Islands are touted as the Culinary Capital of the Caribbean.

The local carnival is a vibrant celebration of Caymanian culture and charm.

FLOWERS SEA SWIM June 15, 2015 Here’s an open water competition for all strokes of life, from Olympians to novices.

PIRATES WEEK November 12-22, 2015 Take a trip with the whole crew to an island-wide invasion.

INTERTRUST CAYMAN ISLANDS MARATHON December 6, 2015 This race’s scenic route through George Town is definitely worth sprinting for.

THAT’S CAYMANKIND There are around 135 nationalities that call the Cayman Islands home.

From the moment you arrive, you’ll

For more information and to book, visit www.caymanislands.ky.

WHEREVER YOU FIND YOUR SMILE, YOU’LL FIND OURS. THAT’S CAYMANKIND.

A WORLD AWAY JUST ONE HOUR FROM MIAMI.

www.caymanislands.ky

MOON PALACE JAMAICA GRANDE. EARLY 2015.

The FlowRider® Double Wave Simulator. The Playroom Kids Club. The Awe Spa. It’s a total reinvention of all-inclusive, and now it’s all here, at the Moon Palace Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios. You may have seen the Caribbean, but you’ve never seen it like this.

1.888.494.1184 PalaceResorts.com

CONTENTS MAUI P. 42

SANTORINI P. 49

Giving up the cell phone on a trip is smart. But showing up for a fourday stay with just toothbrushes and swimsuits ... that’s kinda weird.

•

•

•

TASMANIA P. 76

A house for less than $200K. Tire swings and mango trees. Potholes seen as blessings. This place is worth a deeper look.

Fijians have 15 words for “heaven.”

One look at this photo and you have to wonder why they even use words.

18

G ET H E RE We’ll never look at picnics the same way after a fish lunch on Yasawa Island. The best place to go next week: Tobago. Our five favorite day trips include epic drives in the Keys and Kauai.

28

L I F E H E RE The most unusual bridge we’ve seen is on an island in Cambodia. What happens when you move to St. Thomas with $500 and no job? Eating eggs is scary in the Philippines.

36

OU R 25 FAVORI T E ESCA PES We spent as little as $80 and as much as $4,000 a night to find our top 5 escapes for: Over the Top (p. 38),

45 10 ISLANDS

In an issue that showcases our favorite escapes, how did writer Amanda Jones wind up in a prison cell?

ROATAN P. 88

FIJI P. 18

•

OMG! They call this suite a “cave” in Greece? Someone in Tennessee needs to show them our idea of a cave.

FEBRUARY

Simplicity (p. 48), Awe (p. 62), Families (p. 66) and Off the Grid (p. 74).

42

U N PLUG G E D M AU I With no suitcase, the author finds vintage Maui at the end of an unnerving drive.

18

57

Executive Editor “When I said I was going to work at a resort in Jamaica, I meant it.

Let’s just say there were problems (p. 52).”

52

A N I NSI DE JOB Do you know what really goes on behind the scenes at an all-inclusive resort?

68

BEYOND THE ROCKS We’ve always gone to the Seychelles for the boulders and beach. This time Jon Whittle went a lot further.

85

HOW TO ...

Tick off a local with no effort.

Make $1,000 go a long way on three Caribbean islands.

Find signs of life, and fire, in the hills of Montserrat.

51

ON THE COVER The view from Santorini, Greece. Photo by Brown W. Cannon III/Intersection Photos. ĉ ISLANDS.COM

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Additional fees may apply

Secrets St. James and Secrets Wild Orchid are adjacent fantasy worlds for adults only. Guests at one may play at both.

Secrets St. James offers a sophisticated interpretation of Jamaica’s Victorian soul. Secrets Wild Orchid has a hip, vibrant ambiance and swim-out suites. Providing infinite pleasure is our Secret. How you enjoy it, is yours.

Visit SecretsResorts.com for more details.

PEACEFUL. SOPHISTICATED. PARADISE.

STYLISH. RADIANT. FUN.

EXPERIENCE UNLIMITED-LUXURY ® FOR ALL-ADULT ROMANCE IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: PUNTA CANA | JAMAICA: MONTEGO BAY MEXICO: AKUMAL (NOV 2015) • CANCUN • COZUMEL • HUATULCO • LOS CABOS • PLAYA MUJERES • PUERTO VALLARTA • RIVIERA CANCUN

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Welcome to St. Kitts, an enchanted island of expansive rainforests, stately Great Houses and remnants of sugar plantations when Sugar was King. This is St. Kitts.

Unspoiled… Sanctuary of Inner Beauty… All yours to discover.

Only 3 hrs from MIA & less than 5 hrs from JFK

HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

EDITORIAL Audrey St. Clair Steve Spears Cami Webb Kathleen M. Kiely Grant Gentry Jad Davenport, Matt Dutile, Amanda Jones, Jen Judge, David LaHuta, David Lansing, Matthew Miller, Brooke Morton, Nathan Myers, Ann Vanderhoof ART Jennifer Pileggi Lori Barbely Zach Stovall, Jon Whittle ADVERTISING Paula Iwanski, Advertising Director, 407-571-4605; paula.iwanski@bonniercorp.com Kelly Freygang, 407-571-4743; kelly.freygang@bonniercorp.com Julie Kittredge, 813-877-6959; julie.kittredge@bonniercorp.com Debbie Anderson, 808-739-2200; debbieanderson@dmhawaii.com Jacki Kendall, 407-571-4542; jacki.kendall@bonniercorp.com Jeff Williams, 407-571-4787; jeffrey.williams@bonniercorp.com Tracey Voorhees, 407-571-4986; tracey.voorhees@bonniercorp.com

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Tomas Franzén Dave Freygang Eric Zinczenko David Ritchie Nancy Coalter Lisa Earlywine Elizabeth Burnham Murphy Sean Holzman John Graney John Reese Perri Dorset Jeremy Thompson B U S I N E S S A N D E D I TO R I A L O F F I C E S

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ON ASSIGNMENT

2015

STAND HERE. TAKE

Come sail with Islands staff photographers and Sail Windjammer to remote Caribbean islands. Find our favorite spots and learn our best photo tips on location. This is your dream trip — ours too.

PICTURES LIKE THIS. M AY 10-16, 2015 WHOˇS INVITED Anyone. No photo experience is required. Use any camera, or just come and enjoy the rare sights. This is about the experience, not the gear.

HOW MUCH A limited number of passengers can sign up for $2,479+ (your guest sails for just $1,779). Only a handful of cabins were unclaimed when we went to press with this issue.

WHO LEADS The Caribbean’s most fun boat crew takes us to the best locations under sail.

Islands photographers Jon Whittle and Lori Barbely show you how to shoot epic photos, even with an iPhone.

ST. VINCENT

WHERE It’s a seven-day cruise through the Grenadines on a classic schooner, Mandalay, one of our favorite boats and favorite itineraries.

C L A I M A S P O T: I S L A N D S .C O M / I O A

BEQUIA

MAYREAU UNION

TOBAGO CAYS

CARRIACOU

GRENADA

LY N O

A

W FE

T! F E SL T O SP

ISLANDS NOW

WARMING YOU UP

Escape

to Aruba’s coveted Eagle Beach Ç Ĺ?ĚĞ Ć?Ĺ˝ĹŒ ĂŜĚ Ä?ĆŒĹ˝Ç Äš Ä¨ĆŒÄžÄž Ä‚Ćš ůƾĞ ZÄžĆ?Ĺ?ĚĞŜÄ?ÄžĆ? dĹšĹ?Ć? Ä?ĆŒÄ‚ĹśÄš ĹśÄžÇ ĹŻĆľÇ†ĆľĆŒÇ‡ Ä?ŽŜĚŽžĹ?ĹśĹ?ƾž ĆŒÄžĆ?Ĺ˝ĆŒĆš Žč ÄžĆŒĆ? ƚŚĞ ƾůĆ&#x; žĂƚĞ Ĺ?Ć?ůĂŜĚ Ä?ĞĂÄ?Ĺš ĆŒÄžĆ?Ĺ˝ĆŒĆš ÄžÇ†Ć‰ÄžĆŒĹ?ĞŜÄ?Äž ^ƉĂÄ?Ĺ?ŽƾĆ? Ĺ˝Ä?ĞĂŜ Ç€Ĺ?ÄžÇ Ä‚Ć‰Ä‚ĆŒĆšĹľÄžĹśĆš Ć?ĆľĹ?ƚĞĆ? Ä¨ÄžÄ‚ĆšĆľĆŒÄž ĨƾůůLJ ĞƋƾĹ?ƉƉĞĚ ĹŹĹ?ĆšÄ?ŚĞŜĆ? ĂŜĚ Ć?ŽžĞ Ç Ĺ?ƚŚ Ä‚ :Ä‚Ä?ĆľÇŒÇŒĹ? ŽŜ Ç‡Ĺ˝ĆľĆŒ Ć‰ĆŒĹ?ǀĂƚĞ ĆšÄžĆŒĆŒÄ‚Ä?Äž

ĹľÄ&#x17E;ĹśĹ?Ć&#x; Ä&#x17E;Ć? Ĺ?ĹśÄ?ĹŻĆľÄ&#x161;Ä&#x17E; Ä&#x201A;Ĺś Ĺ?ŜĎ ĹśĹ?Ć&#x161;Ç&#x2021; Ć&#x2030;ŽŽů Ä?Ä&#x17E;Ä&#x201A;Ä?Ĺ&#x161; Ä&#x201A;Ä?Ä?Ä&#x17E;Ć?Ć? ĹľĹ?ĹśĹ?ĹľÄ&#x201A;Ć&#x152;Ć&#x161; Ć?Ć&#x2030;Ä&#x201A; Ä&#x201A;ĹśÄ&#x161; Ä&#x201A; ÄŽ Ć&#x161;ĹśÄ&#x17E;Ć?Ć? Ä?Ä&#x17E;ĹśĆ&#x161;Ä&#x17E;Ć&#x152; ^Ć&#x2030;Ä&#x17E;Ä?Ć&#x161;Ä&#x201A;Ä?ƾůÄ&#x201A;Ć&#x152; Ç&#x20AC;Ĺ?Ä&#x17E;Ç Ć? ĨĆ&#x152;Žž Ć&#x161;Ĺ&#x161;Ä&#x17E; &Ć&#x152;Ä&#x201A;ĹśĹ?Ĺ?Ć&#x2030;Ä&#x201A;ĹśĹ? Ä&#x201A;Ć&#x152; Î&#x2DC; dÄ&#x17E;Ć&#x152;Ć&#x152;Ä&#x201A;Ä?Ä&#x17E; Ä&#x201A;ĹśÄ&#x161; DĹ?Ć&#x152;Ä&#x201A;Ä&#x161;Ĺ˝Ć&#x152; Ä&#x17E;Ä?ĹŹ Í´ Ć?Ä&#x17E;Ć&#x152;Ç&#x20AC;Ĺ?ĹśĹ? Ä?Ć&#x152;Ä&#x17E;Ä&#x201A;ŏĨÄ&#x201A;Ć?Ć&#x161; ůƾŜÄ?Ĺ&#x161; Ä&#x201A;ĹśÄ&#x161; Ç&#x2021;ŽƾĆ&#x152; ĨÄ&#x201A;Ç&#x20AC;Ĺ˝Ć&#x152;Ĺ?Ć&#x161;Ä&#x17E; Ä?Ĺ˝Ä?ĹŹĆ&#x161;Ä&#x201A;Ĺ?ĹŻĆ? dĹ&#x161;Ä&#x17E; <Ĺ?Ć&#x161;Ä?Ĺ&#x161;Ä&#x17E;Ĺś dÄ&#x201A;Ä?ĹŻÄ&#x17E; Ä?Ç&#x2021; tĹ&#x161;Ĺ?Ć&#x161;Ä&#x17E; Ć&#x2030;Ć&#x152;Ä&#x17E;Ć?Ä&#x17E;ĹśĆ&#x161;Ć? Ä&#x201A;Ĺś á&#x20AC;&#x2019; Ä?ŽƾĆ&#x152;Ć?Ä&#x17E; Ä?ƾůĹ?ĹśÄ&#x201A;Ć&#x152;Ç&#x2021; ŊŽƾĆ&#x152;ĹśÄ&#x17E;Ç&#x2021; Ä&#x201A;Ć? Ć&#x161;Ĺ&#x161;Ä&#x17E; ƾůĆ&#x; ĹľÄ&#x201A;Ć&#x161;Ä&#x17E; Ä&#x161;Ĺ?ĹśĹ?ĹśĹ? Ä&#x17E;Ç&#x2020;Ć&#x2030;Ä&#x17E;Ć&#x152;Ĺ?Ä&#x17E;ĹśÄ?Ä&#x17E;

á&#x20AC;&#x2019;ĎŹĎŹ ϳώá&#x20AC;&#x2019; Ď°á&#x20AC;&#x201C;Ď­ĎŹ Ç Ç Ç Ä?ĹŻĆľÄ&#x17E;Ä&#x201A;Ć&#x152;ĆľÄ?Ä&#x201A; Ä?Žž

NEVIS When the septuagenarian owner of the Montpelier Plantation Inn asked if I wanted to join her on a bike ride â&#x20AC;&#x153;down to the beach,â&#x20AC;? my only concern was whether I should wear flip-flops or go barefoot. Perhaps I shouldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve noticed her clip-on shoes and padded cycling pants. Past ruined sugar plantations and old stone churches we rode.

And rode. And rode. Two hours later weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d cycled halfway around the island. And, mercifully, finally reached the beach. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Contributor David Lansing

INSTAGRAM

follow us: islandsmag

#notgoinghome Tahiti. The Brando.

Nothing else required.

#rumpunchforlunch Carlisle Bay uses cinnamon and local rum.

#stcroixfall Snorkel offshore of the Carambola resort.

#watchyourstep The Big Islandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s version of Jurassic Park.

Ă&#x153; James Groves: Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll need about six months of expenses saved up, and be prepared to work two part-time jobs before finding that one full-time job. Ă&#x153; Donna Woydziak: Do not move to Hawaii if you are white and still have to work; they do not like us there.

Finding employment is next to impossible! I lived there for six years and never made more than $11.50 an hour. Ă&#x153; Becky Lynn Cavin responds: I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t disagree more! If you have aloha in your heart, an education and a career, life is good here. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never felt as you do. Sorry you havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been able to embrace the spirit of living aloha. Ă&#x153; Clarence Piilani Jr. responds: Donna, not all Hawaiians are like that. It is unfortunate, and let me apologize for your experience.

Believe me, aloha still lives in Hawaii. Ă&#x153; Got the itch? Visit islands.com/bitlo.

GIVE BACK

BRING BACK At the Maria del Mar ceramic shop in the Canary Islands, artisans craft serving vessels by hand, just as the aborigines did 1,000 years ago. I spy a platter, its rough backside evoking volcanic soil, the ancient symbol on its basin from a local cave. Simple. Authentic. Sold. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Melanie McManus

42

BASEBALLS FIT INTO A BACKPACK. TAKE THEM TO THE DR FOR THE KIDS. RAWLINGS.COM

P L AT E: M E L A N I E M C M A N U S

DISPATCHES

HAWAIâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I I flew 19 hours to see lava, and now Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m back in the air. From the helicopter, I see smoke in the distance as we buzz past the sleeping giants Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. Volcanoes, yes, but I want to see the â&#x20AC;&#x153;flowing red stuff.â&#x20AC;? Black, hardened lava is everywhere â&#x20AC;&#x201D; miles and miles of post-apocalyptic wasteland that looks like a pan of burnt brownies â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but the orange magma is a rare sight. The pilot swoops low, hovering directly above the smoke. I look down into the boiling, neon-red lava lake of the Halemaumau Crater. This is the coolest moment of my life.

Or hottest, I should say. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Digital editor Cami Webb

Moving to an island is a dream within reach.

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always got our finger on the pulse of which islands are the best for what type of move, and our â&#x20AC;&#x153;How to Move to Mauiâ&#x20AC;? post got you talking.

UP TO

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HARDROCKHOTELPUNTACANA.COM 1.877.601.0935 *35% off promotion applies to US residents only. Book now and travel before December 23th 2015. Applies to new reservations only and is subject to change without prior notice. Combinable with $1,800 Limitless Resort Credit, a 20% service fee will apply over the ďŹ nal price of all transactions using the Limitless Resort Credit promotion on all services or products available at Hard Rock Hotel Punta Cana. $1,800 Limitless Resort Credit based on a 7-8 night consecutive stay per room. Bookings of 3 nights receive $500, up to $750 with a 4 night stay, up to $1,500 with a 5-6 night stay, up to $2,000 with a 9-11 night stay and up to the equivalent of $2,500 with a stay of 12-13 night stay and up to $3,600 with a stay of 14 nights or more. Service fee can only be paid with cash, room charge and credit card. Service fee cannot be paid with the remaining Limitless Resort Credit promotion balance. Other restrictions may apply.

Yasawa Islands, Fiji

The Yasawas comprise 20Â islands that, until recently, were visited primarily by backpackers.

18 ISLANDS

FEBRUARY

DOUGLAS PEEBLES/ROBERT HARDING

GET HERE

PHOTO BY DOUGLAS PEEBLES

PICNIC STRIP IF YOU’RE CURIOUS This is Yawini Beach, a lunch option for guests at Fiji’s Yasawa Island Resort (see page 26 for another Yasawa day trip).

An umbrella, a fish sandwich and a boat drop-off are included. All guests need to provide is a pickup time. That part is easy. Getting back in the boat and leaving isn’t.

11 BEACHES ARE ON THE LUNCH MENU

IF YOU’RE SERIOUS Beach picnics are complimentary at Yasawa (yasawa.com), which helps explain guest reviews like this: “Seven days, four beach picnics.” To claim your own, Air Fiji offers seven flights a week from Los Angeles to Nadi. From there, the resort is a 35-minute flight to the north edge of the Yasawa Islands.

THE FIJIAN L ANGUAGE HAS 15 WORDS FOR “HEAVEN.” “YASAWA” IS THE FIRST.

FEBRUARY

ISLANDS 19

GET HERE

Trip Planner WOULD YOU RATHER: Take a nonstop flight to a familiar escape or

Take multiple flights to a new escape?

55%

SAID: MULTIPLE FLIGHTS, NEW ESCAPE

Ü “Why not a nonstop flight to a new escape?”

— Wayne E. Bridges Ü “I’ll take any flight that gets me to a beach.”

— Vicki Bodell

Englishman’s Bay, Tobago

WHERE WE’D GO ...

MAY

JULY

TOBAGO It’s a sneaky steal in January.

The holiday rush is over, and Carnival’s craziness (read: February) looms. This month is the calm before the crowds, when Tobago’s quaint charms are at their quaintest. As a bonus, January trips land in the heart of dry season. ALSO CONSIDER Bonaire. It’s overshadowed by Aruba and Curaçao, and has smaller crowds, decent deals, no traffic lights or highrise hotels. Sidestep the masses here.

FLORIDA KEYS Snowbirds are headed north, spring break is done, and Florida’s summer steam (and hurricane season) have yet to arrive. Cheap rooms and perfect weather mix now (more Keys tips on page 24). ALSO CONSIDER Greece.

Great weather, no tourists, and the island ferries are all in operation.

SRI LANKA This is the island travel writers pitch us most.

Elephants walk the sidewalks, stilt fishermen balance over the surf and, in July, cultural festivals climax.

Soak them in or head for sunny beaches along the northeast coastline. ALSO CONSIDER Sleepy Isla Holbox, just north of Cancun. Whale sharks are arriving.

Greece Florida Keys Isla Holbox Tobago Bonaire

20 ISLANDS

FEBRUARY

Sri Lanka

WHY TRAVEL? It’s a big question. In this e-book, the travel questions only get bigger. Do our mouths ever really leave home? Do we fear the wrong things when we travel? Will traveling save our souls? The answers are largely photo-driven: A Pizza Hut shown by Egypt’s pyramids.

Traffic imagery (and stats) that trump terrorism fears.

Photos from the world’s most extreme pilgrimages. Travel: The Guide, just $4.99, offers more takeaways in its free preview pages than most novels. Author Doug Lansky has hit a home run. lookbook digital.com — Eddy Patricelli

SHOTSHOP GMBH/ALAMY

NOW

Make a New Year’s Resolution you’ll want to keep

Experience the vacation you’ve always dreamed of. With an onboard captain and gourmet chef, you’ll enjoy a getaway in paradise that’s simply, and exclusively, about you.

U N F O R G E T TA B L E M O M E N T S

on the water

Call 877.796.1283 or visit www.moorings.com/islands

Ha‘ena State Park ark GET HERE

Hanalei

KAUAI

Kapaa

Wailua River Lihu‘e

Hanalei Valley, Kauai, Hawaii

GET TO WHERE YOU’RE GOING AND STAY PUT? MAYBE. BUT WE LIKE TO VENTURE OFF. THESE ARE FIVE OF OUR FAVORITE DAY TRIPS.

22 ISLANDS

FEBRUARY

1.

KAUAI NORTH SHORE A friend promises this is the best drive on the island (best in Hawaii, actually), and I’ve been warned by a policeman not to speed. “Kauai takes it slow,” he says.

Heeding those words, I barely tap the gas out of Lihu‘e, where the airport and WalMart reside, and take Kuhio Highway (aka 56) up toward the farms and waterfalls.

Approaching the Wailua River, the difference between the north and south takes shape. Here it’s mountains, cliffs and folds of green — no resorts or crowded beaches.

Past Wailua, stop at Pono Market in Kapaa for a container of fresh poke (chunks

of marinated tuna). It travels well, so snack on it as the road winds toward Hanalei, where the mental picture of roadside stands and grills and blenders that encompasses Kauai emerges. Grab a papaya, carrot and wheatgrass juice before heading through the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge on a one-lane road that narrows across bridges and through working fields of taro.

Feel as small as the mythical, dwarf-size Menehune people of Hawaii as the giant landscape of Ha‘ena State Park comes into view, the last point of civilization before the Na Pali coast begins. Feel even smaller as the sun goes to sleep. — Matthew Miller

MONICA & MICHAEL SWEET/MAXX

ALL IN A DAY

OVERSEAS HIGHWAY, FLORIDA KEYS Spanning 113 miles and outfitted with 42 bridges, the southernmost stretch of U.S. Highway 1 has been transporting previously landlocked travelers from Miami to the Keys since 1938.

Drive it in four hours or four days. All that is iconic and loved about Florida is found along this cut of concrete — from roadside stands hawking kitschy souvenirs to stands of mangroves playing home to roseate spoonbills to dive bars that won’t let you in if you have shoes on. Don’t miss the six spots below, but don’t be afraid to get lost either. — Audrey St. Clair

FLORIDA

Miami

Key West

STOPS ON OVERSEAS HIGHWAY

KEY LARGO

An hour south of Miami, stop to Instagram the 100-yearold steamboat The African Queen, seen in the 1951 movie of the same name.

24 ISLANDS

FEBRUARY

ISLAMORADA

LONG KEY

MARATHON

BIG PINE KEY

KEY WEST

This is where the water starts turning that Caribbean blue, so get out of the car and into the ocean.

Snorkel offshore, or if you’re feeling adventurous, try a Florida Keys Jetpack at the Postcard Inn (holidayisle.com).

You can fly over the water — how gracefully is up to you.

Pass pine trees, silver buttonwoods and water-rooted mangroves as the Middle Keys usher in some of the prettiest undeveloped spots in this region.

At mile marker 67.5, pull over at Long Key State Park to hike the 1.2-mile Golden Orb Trail.

Wear sneakers.

Stop for stone crabs at Keys Fisheries before hitting up the Old Seven Mile Bridge; only parts of it are still open, and you must be on foot or bike. If you have a fishing license (easy to get at myfwc .com), try for a snapper off the bridge’s west end, and stay for the sunset.

The pace gets a little slower as Seven Mile Bridge runs into Big Pine Key, home of the endemic and very small Key deer.

Don’t speed.

This is where the weird go pro. Fantasy Fest in October is like Magic Mike meets Mardi Gras.

The Running of the Santas pub crawl rings in Christmas.

And Hemingway’s six-toed cats are always here. Our pick for beachfront digs: Casa Marina (casa marinaresort.com).

C LO C K W I S E F R O M TO P L E F T: J O N W H I T T L E ; Z A C H S TO VA L L ; F R A N S L E M M E N S /A L A MY; Z AC H S TOVA L L ; J O E F OX /M A X X

2.

3.

INTERISLAND CARIBBEAN IN THE AIR “How’s the doughnut look this morning?” is what I overhear while eating granola at Juliana’s Hotel on Saba, a rock of an island just a 15-minute, grip-the-armrest flight from St. Maarten. The doughnut is not a breakfast choice. It’s how locals refer to the ring of fog hanging round the 3,000-foot-tall Mount Scenery. Hiking the peak is a must, and the reward is a clear view from the Netherlands’ highest point. Typically, the doughnut burns off by noon, but today it’s fat and stubborn.

I opt for the Sandy Cruz Trail, a lesser incline but past more interesting sights: banana groves and mahoganies hosting orchids in party-dress hues. Mount Scenery — the name doesn’t lie.

ON THE WATER Stretching the legs is also reason to wave goodbye to Tortola, the main hub of the BVI, and ferry to Virgin Gorda for a getaway day. From the dock on Virgin Gorda, it’s a $5 cab ride to The Baths, the tangle of boulders that has become a postcard staple.

Scramble over the rocks. Play in the natural pools. Reach a summit with a to-forever view.

Be a kid. — Brooke Morton

4.

PUERTO RICO TO CULEBRA The sign on a little shop-onwheels nails it: “Open some days. Closed others.” Seventeen miles from San Juan, Puerto Rico’s bustle, tiny Culebra is in full snooze. Unbidden, a driver stops in the middle of the road to offer a ride to Playa Flamenco — a mile-long stretch that regularly makes the Caribbean’s best-beaches lists. No picnic? No problem. Kioskos offer pinchos: grilled meat or fish on a stick; try the tiburón (shark). Before heading back to Puerto Rico on the 45-minute ferry or the barely quicker puddle jumper, sundowners at Dinghy Dock are the ticket, and live entertainment is a given: The kitchen staff tosses scraps to the tarpon below.

— Ann Vanderhoof

y

TRIP ADVICE Pay attention to mile markers. Numbering starts in Key West at 0 and increases along the east and northeast path through the Keys. Businesses list their addresses by mile markers, adding decimal points to indicate more precise locations. Outside Key West and Marathon, street addresses are based on the mile markers, using a four- to six-digit number, but without decimals. Take the No Name Pub, whose street address is 30813.

The first three digits signal the mile marker (30.8), while the last two digits indicate a specific address. Since the last digit is odd, it’s on the ocean side; even indicates bay side.

Airplane approach to Saba

FEBRUARY

ISLANDS 25

GET HERE

GO HUNTING FOR ...

SOMETHING SWEET

Join farmer Alex Brute on an ox cart in Guadeloupe’s “out island,” Marie Galante. Sonia and Shiny will haul your cart into the sugarcane fields, where you’ll learn to swing the machete and wring a stalk for a sweet drink.

THE PAST

Explore Dominica’s eerie ruins at Fort Shirley with curator Dr. Lennox Honeychurch. He’ll tour you around the restored fortress, infamous for a 19thcentury mutiny, and show you to the ruins draped in strangler figs.

MYTHICAL SERPENTS

YASAWA ISLAND, FIJI, TO NACULA ISLAND The sky doesn’t look right. Its blue seems the trick of a filter. Beneath it, all around me, the cerulean water is unlike anything I’ve seen anywhere else. That’s a mystery about Fiji: It’s so bright. On this longboat with a small group heading toward the Blue Lagoon Caves of Nacula Island, I recall what James McCann, director of Yasawa Island Resort & Spa (more on page 18), told me when I’d arrived. “It’s all the rain — it washes particles from the air.”

The 30-minute ride from Yasawa Island Resort carries us past volcanic spires and folds of hillside, now claimed by a net of electric green climbing higher.

When we reach our destination, it’s a three-minute stair climb to the first pool, completely sheer-walled in, save for the mossy steps that were easy work. The water is Gatorade turquoise and just as

refreshingly cool. Then Rusi, the guide, asks our group if we want to snorkel in a second cave. He tells us that the duck dive (bend at the waist, kick legs into the air) isn’t worrisome because of how much water you must cover, but rather, because you must come up slowly to avoid a lowhanging stalactite. One just-minted wife opts out. I spit in my mask and go first.

The swim is too quick to release my adrenaline, but then the guide disappears to help the next person. I’m alone in pitch blackness. There is no sound. Now cue the adrenaline. Before I get too worked up, the rest of the party resurfaces. Rusi shines a light at a ceiling two stories above, and into view shoot rows and rows of stalactites, like teeth in a shark’s maw. It’s beautiful.

Calming. Just as I settle in, floating face up and carving angel patterns into the water, it’s time to turn around and swim back toward the colors. yasawa.com — BM

FACEBOOK POLL: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE WAY TO ARRIVE AT AN ISLAND?

26 ISLANDS

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GHOSTS

Await the specter of La Diablesse at the silk cotton tree near Runnemede on Tobago. Sit beside the tree on a dark night, and you may meet an enchanting woman in a silk hat. But don’t follow her or you’ll wake up beside her in the nearby cemetery.

NATURE’S CURE-ALL

Go pharmacy shopping — in the forest, on a bush medicine tour in jungly Grenada. You’ll learn to identify local herbal remedies and can even try some bois bande (hard wood) mixed with rum — but only if you run out of Viagra. — Jad Davenport

63% WATER 37% AIR

F R O M L E F T : S H E L LY S T R A Z I S ; I S T O C K ; O P P O S I T E : R I C H A R D E L L I S / A L A M Y

5.

Locals say that Lusca — the half-shark, half-octopus denizen of the Bahamian blue holes on Andros — is real. If you hit the holes at tidal change, you may see them bubble with her fury.

Try Not Getting Stuck In ...

A PARTY IN THE STREET

BY ROBERT STEPHENS

WHERE:

OLD SAN JUAN “I PARKED ILLEGALLY.”

CONFESSION:

It’s a sunny Thursday in January and my flight out of San Juan doesn’t leave for four hours — a perfect slice of time to jump into my rental car and head to El Morro for lunch in the grassy park. As I make a final turn toward paradise, traffic halts. All of Puerto Rico squeezes in on me. A barricade is set up behind my rear bumper. My side-view mirrors almost touch a pincho stand on one side and a snow-cone cart on the other. A band starts playing down the street. Two police officers lean on my hood to relax. I stick my head out the window and ask what’s going on. One cop looks at me as if I’ve just appeared out of thin air, which is how I feel too.

“San Sebastian Festival,” he says.

Oh, yeah. I’ve heard about this. Puerto Rico’s biggest festival, capping the long Christmas season with food trucks, cabezudos and a hundred thousand celebrants. It starts, like, now. There’s only one move for me to make. Turn off the car, get out and order a guanabana snow cone. I’ll be taking a later flight.

DO Take a taxi into the area around Old San Juan. And bring an appetite.

This is a confluence of the best Puerto Rican foods.

DON’T think of it as Mardi Gras or Carnival. Public drinking is restricted to specific places and times. It’s rated PG during the day.

Give us your body for a week and we’ll give you back your mind. Of all the great beach vacations and spas in the world, only The BodyHoliday offers you the very best of both in beautiful Saint Lucia. Tailor your vacation to your wishes and choose from a menu of wellness options, sports and gourmet pleasures. It’s all a body could ask for. To find out more about our

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The bridge is stable underfoot, and costs $1 to cross. Time your visit to the dry season (OctoberApril) to ďŹ nd out for yourself.

28 ISLANDS

FEBRUARY

MARIO WEIGT/REDUX

LIFE HERE

Koh Pbain, Cambodia

PHOTO BY MARIO WEIGT

BAMBOO BOTTLENECK IF YOU’RE CURIOUS This is rush hour leaving Koh Pbain island in Cambodia. The horse carts carrying dried tobacco leaves are headed in the same direction because the bridge is too narrow for two-way traffic, and because it’s sunrise: The market opens soon.

600 METERS LONG, REBUILT ANNUALLY IF YOU’RE SERIOUS

Koh Pbain is a river island of tobacco fields, drying houses and villages of the Cham people, a culture of fishermen and artisans.

Fly into Cambodia via Bangkok or Singapore.

At the Phnom Penh airport, daily buses depart for the city of Kampong Cham. Look for the bridge.

THE BRIDGE IS SWEPT AWAY BY THE MEKONG RIVER’S RISING WATERS EVERY WET SEASON (MAY-OCTOBER).

FEBRUARY

ISLANDS 29

LIFE HERE

Taste

MOMENT OF BALUT

BY NATHAN MYERS

WHERE:

PHILIPPINES EGGS OVER UNEASY

THE FIND:

30 ISLANDS

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RECIPES 1-2-3

Ć

Ć

LOCO MOCO (KAUAI)

Servers at Lihue’s Tip-Top Cafe don’t carry trays. They push breakfast around on carts because the specialty is a 1,300-calorie hot mess: fried rice under a burger patty, a fried egg and (to fill hidden cracks) gravy. Fifteen minutes later I’m licking the plate clean. — Robert Stephens

cooing … yet it makes my heart skip a beat.“Baaaaa-luuut.”

It’s just a friendly elderly man on a bicycle. I watch from a distance as he stops under a street lamp. A cabbie leaps from his car and hurries across the street as if he doesn’t want the man on the bike to get away. I ease up behind the two of them and watch the transaction.

The eggs are wrapped in a blanket in the basket of the bicycle. A careful little nest. The cabbie hands over some loose cash, scoops up an egg, cracks it against the lamppost and gobbles it down. “So strong this will make me,” he says. “I have to wake up again at 3 a.m. — 3 a.m.!”

He grabs another, sprinkling it with salt and vinegar from the man’s basket.

The outside looks like a normal egg, yet inside it has come too far. Seventeen days.

Just shy of a cheep. The cabbie chomps it down. “Soooo strong!” he says again.

Motivated, I drop a coin in the basket and remove a shell. It’s just a hardboiled egg, I tell myself. The beer wasn’t strong enough. The dark isn’t dark enough. I crack my egg and imagine television cameras … my team cheering me on … fabulous cash and prizes.

I look up and see the cab driver. He senses me, a rookie, about to take my first swing at balut. He stays to watch.

The bones crackle in my mouth. A dry, eggy pulp sticks on my tongue. Feathers tickle my throat. For a moment I gag, and then it goes down, conscience and all.

There. I ate balut. I proved nothing.

The cabbie slaps me on the back. “So strong.” But I just feel limp. I need a beer. natural cures: islands.com

For some Filipinos, balut snacks provide protein that might otherwise be lacking in the diet. For visitors it’s almost always a dare.

TO P, F R O M L E F T: M A R C F. H E N N I N G /A L A MY; B O A Z R OT T E M /A L A MY; S I D E B A R , F R O M TO P : Z A C H S TO VA L L ; I S TO C K ( 3 )

I’ve come to eat duckling still in the egg.

Don’t get the wrong idea. This is not something my tongue or my conscience want to do. But I’ve traveled all this way to the Philippines to prove some highminded idea about “cultural relativity” and “psychosomatic taste buds.” And now, with my food staring back at me with the cutest little embryo eyes, I have no idea what those words even mean.

You might recall balut from such shows as Survivor and Fear Factor, where contestants choke down the infamous Filipino street food for cash and prizes.

But in Manila people choke ’em down for pure pleasure. Like cupcakes, except with bones. My taste can’t be that much more discriminating than theirs. Can it?

On the road out of the airport, I engage my cab driver in the usual “happy to be here” conversation. Married? Kids?

Have you ever tried balut?

He swerves to the side of the road and stops beside a row of food carts. “How many do you want?” he says.

“No, no, no,” I say. “I was just asking.

Keep driving, please.”

I ask the doorman at my hotel the same question. “I just ate three,” he replies. “You want one?”

“No, I mean yes,” I say, “but not just yet.” There was supposed to be a quest, but it’s too easy. It’s becoming just another Fear Factor. The doorman nods, understanding that I’m scared. “Best to wait till after dark,” he says, “and to drink some beer. Balut is good with beer.”

So I wait. I drink beer. And I channelsurf the TV in hopes of stumbling upon reality-show hosts to taunt or bribe me into the nasty task at hand. Darkness falls with no such luck. I step into the streets feeling alone and very far from home.

I wander aimlessly along the busy streets, peering at various foods like a moth seeking flame. I talk to strangers.

I drink more beer. And then I hear this voice rolling down the street, soft and

LIFE HERE

My Island Pololu Valley Lookout

WHERE MORE VISITORS SHOULD GO

Mauna Kea Summit

Hilo •

Roy’s at Waikoloa

Kailua Kona •

HAWAI‘I

Amy Greenwell • Ethnobotanical Garden

Hakalau National Wildlife Refuge

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park

KULA KAI CAVERNS: Tour lava tubes; true “insider” Hawaii.

AMY GREENWELL ETHNOBOTANICAL GARDEN: Showcases both native plants and “canoe plants.”

QUINN’S ALMOST BY THE SEA: Recharge with the Lo-Cal Plate.

ROY’S: We love this bar in Waikoloa for drinks and its seafood. Always a fun crowd.

• Milolii Honomalino Bay

Kula Kai Caverns

BIG ISLAND EVOLUTION I grew up beekeeping and came to Hawaii to work just one season. I’d never visited any Hawaiian islands and had zero expectations. But Java sparrows and mynahs greeted me at the airport, and I thought, “This is going to be cool.” That was 20 years ago.

I don’t call myself Hawaiian.

But I share a perspective on life nurtured by Hawaii nei (love). It didn’t hurt that I met my wife here too.

Leading hikes for a living can be tiring. My best nap

ROB PACHECO AGE

51 OCCUPATION

Owner, Hawaii Forest and Trail, hawaii-forest.com FORMER LIFE

Beekeeper

32 ISLANDS

FEBRUARY

was on a misty day in Hakalau National Wildlife Refuge. The photographer I took there set up to shoot an Akiapolaau bird. I dozed off in the Kikuyu grass. Birds came and went as I drifted half asleep for several hours. Raindrops fell from the leaves, and birdsong filled the forest around me. I felt guilty I was getting paid.

First-time visitors should feel no shame hitting places like Hawaii Volcanoes National

Park and sunset at Mauna Kea summit — wow and wow.

They’re famous for a reason.

There are places I never take guests. The drive down to the

village of Milolii is breathtaking. And the salt-and-pepper beach on nearby Honomalino Bay is worth the short hike.

These spots aren’t for van loads of tourists, but they’re perfect on your own.

Real Hawaii? Check out the Kohala summit. Bogs make it tough going — but if you’re willing to get a little lost and totally soaked, the rainforest is as real Hawaii as it gets.

Folks visit and want to stay.

Life-forms arrive here, take root, and then change. A friend of mine says, “We’re who we are because of where we are.” I love that. We have all the mainland’s modern trappings, but Hawaii is different. It’s not paradise; the trials of life can find you here.

Let aloha guide you. Over time you’ll find you’re different too.

Visitors say poi tastes like glue. I tell them it’s the islands’ nectar. If you love Hawaii, you learn to love poi.

y

WHEN IT RAINS ...

“Don’t complain.

This is the Big Island. Weather is a matter of geographical choices, and perfect weather is always nearby. Too hot?

Go makua (inland).

Too cold? Go makai (to the sea).” — RP

M A P : O L I V E R W I N W A R D ; P O R T R A I T: J O N W H I T T L E ; P O I : I S T O C K

A NATURALIST SHARES HOW THE ISLAND OF HAWAI‘I CHANGES /,)(ǩ)2506 Ǵ EVEN YOURS.

Do you have the

App?

With the Islands Magazine app, you can access all the latest issues and subscribe to Islands.

Search â&#x20AC;&#x153;Islands Magazineâ&#x20AC;? in the App Store.

ISLANDS’ 26TH ANNUAL

ENTER BEFORE

APRIL 15 ISL ANDS .COM/ FAC E B O O K

Last year’s Grand Prize-winning image. Taken off Maui with a GoPro. See more previous winners: islands .com/photocontest

TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT. WIN YOUR DREAM TRIP. Prizes will include: Two tickets to Oahu on Alaska Airlines and four nights at the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel • Three nights on Little Palm Island (see page 38) • The new Micro HD+ underwater camera from SeaLife • And more great travel prizes

IT’S EASY TO ENTER! GO TO: ISLANDS.COM/FACEBOOK PREMIER PARTNERS

LIFE HERE

Live the Lifethe Life

STRETCHED TO THE MAX

BY DA N I E L A P E T R OVA

Q: But things got better.

A: My husband began work as the as-

Jennie Green teaches fitness classes on a beach in St. Thomas. Her students wear outfits she created. This is a happilyever-after chapter. But ask Jennie about her intro to St. Thomas, when she landed here nine years ago at age 41, with $500 and a 10-year-old daughter in tow. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was hoping my husband would arrive soon.â&#x20AC;?

sistant manager of the marina store, and I got a job that I could do remotely. The hardest part was finding good friends.

Q: When did it start to feel like home?

A: It helped when I started a beachwear

company [Tryad]. I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find an outfit for exercising on the beach. Never did I imagine Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d move to the USVI, learn how to sew and make swimsuits.

Q: So where was your husband?

A: He was waiting out hurricane season

to sail our boat down from New York.

COURTESY JENNIE GREEN

Q: You were living on a boat?

A: My husband lost three jobs in four

years during the dot-com bust. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d bottomed out financially. So we swapped our Brooklyn apartment for a 37-foot sailboat in New York Harbor.

Q: Howâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d you wind up on St. Thomas?

A: A â&#x20AC;&#x153;dock mateâ&#x20AC;? was moving to St.

Thomas to manage a marine store and

Q: Is the ending always happy for expats?

A: Truthfully, the island is limited.

we tagged along. I thought getting out of New York would eliminate our money problems. But moving required money.

Then my husband had to leave the boat in New York and borrow money to fly down.

Entertainment is sparse, and you may not find edible tomatoes at the store. Many transplants leave after a few years.

Q: You got him, but lost your home.

A: We rented an apartment. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how

Q: But none of that fazed you.

A: After living on a boat for four years,

it began, in two rooms atop a pile of borrowed money overlooking Magenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bay.

we were proficient at the art of adapting. meet more expats: islands.com/bitlo

More Open Road.

Less Open Wallet.

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FAVO

Z AC H S TOVA L L

OUR

36 ISLANDS

FEBRUARY

2015 RESORT ISSUE

RITE ESCAPES The spot you’re looking at here is only 3 miles from a U.S. highway. It’s an escape, trust us (or turn the page if you don’t). So are an $80-a-night beach cabana in the Dominican Republic (p. 51) and a shelter with frozen food to go with the frozen landscape in the Falklands (p. 75). Our 25 picks prove that you don’t have to fly to Tahiti and spend $4,000 a night on a villa to escape, but you can if you want (p. 62).

WHERE TO GO BEST OVER-THE-TOP ESCAPES P. 38 | UNPLUGGED MAUI P. 42 BEST ESCAPES FOR SIMPLICITY P. 48 | INSIDE AN ALL-INCLUSIVE P. 52 BEST ESCAPES FOR AWE P. 62 | BEST ESCAPES FOR FAMILIES P. 66 THE HIDDEN SEYCHELLES P. 68 | AND ONE PRISON ESCAPE P. 76

FEBRUARY

ISLANDS 37

25 FAVORITE ESCAPES

OUR TOP 5 PICKS FOR OVER THE TOP

LITTLE PALM ISLAND Florida Keys Q WHY IT ’ S OVER THE TOP : “Disconnect from the world and reconnect with yourself,” reads a note in our bungalow, urging my fiancée and me to drop off our cell phones at the welcome station for the entirety of our stay. Our thatched-roof, waterfront digs with a bamboo-lined outdoor shower seem more befitting of the Maldives than an American archipelago. Not to mention that the island’s signature drink is named the Gumby Slumber because it makes stiffs like me as pliable as the green clay TV character.

When the Keys’ endangered miniature deer take the time to swim over from neighboring Big Munson Island to stroll down the beach and settlee near the bar, there can be little doubt about the island’s charms. Life’s encumbrances are nowhere in sight. Though I still can’t believe being this far removed is possible when my car is parked less than 3 nautical miles away. littlepalm island.com — Zach Stovall

38 ISLANDS

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Z AC H S TOVA L L

$690+

Florida Keys

THE DRIVE TO Driving the Overseas Highway above Caribbean-hued water is America’s most colorful interisland road trip. From Miami it’s three hours through Key lime pie territory till you reach Little Torch Key at mile marker 28.5.

AT THE FERRY DOCK Trade your car keys and overnight bag for a rummy Gumby Slumber, and slip into a Zac Brown Band song on the outdoor patio. Disconnecting begins here. There’s no rush to board: The boat leaves hourly.

THE RIDE OVER You’ll spend only 15 minutes aboard The Truman, an elegant 1930s replica wooden motor yacht finely polished for a first lady, or your only lady. And yep, the resort has hosted presidents, and celebrities.

FIRST IMPRESSION The only reminder you’re still in America: the waving Stars and Stripes above a five-acre jungle paradise, where thatched bungalows hide amid thick palm fronds, and prehistoric-looking birds guard the beach.

FEBRUARY

ISLANDS 39

25 FAVORITE ESCAPES

SONG SAA RESORT Cambodia, $1,117+

C A Y O E S P A N T O : L O R I B A R B E LY

Q WHY IT ’ S OVER THE TOP : This villa’s infinity pool is merely a toe dip. I’ve just been handed a scuba breathing regulator, and I’m not going diving, nor am I a certified diver. For the underwater meditation experience at Song Saa Private Island resort, it doesn’t matter. I sit on the seafloor under 3 feet of water, wearing a weighted vest. Stars sparkle overhead, visible through the water’s surface. The moon shines over the mountains of Cambodia’s Koh Rong archipelago. A voice guides me through a breathing sequence via ear buds. Surreal relaxation, and this is just one of the resort’s wellness offerings. Private beach picnics, Khmer cooking classes, rainforest encounters, monk blessings — they’re all on tap. Q HOW I LANDED HERE : A 45-minute flight from Siem Reap landed me in Sihanoukville, where a speedboat awaited for the hour-long ride to Song Saa (champagne flows throughout). songsaa.com — Holly Kapherr

40 ISLANDS

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3 NAMALE RESORT Fiji, $989+ Q WHY IT ’ S OVER THE TOP : It never occurred to me that a villa atop a palm-treed paradise would change our lives.

But it is tugging hard at my wife’s heart — mine too. The pull happens in our plunge pool overlooking a coral reef, glass of shiraz in hand. It pulls just as hard when we leave the villa for a private picnic at a nearby waterfall. When the romance continues as we play like kids in the resort’s Kava Bowl (it’s a game room), I realize a deeper force is also coming into play.

Maybe I sold the resort short.

Because it sure seems to be changing our lives.

Q HOW I LANDED HERE: After an 11hour flight from Los Angeles to Nadi, it’s a half-hour flight to Savusavu, and a 10-minute taxi to Namale. namalefiji.com — Jad Davenport

4

up your towels to save laundry soap, and the planet. Yesterday the resort biologists had me planting live coral colonies at sea. Today I’m going to swim with a giant manta friend, just outside the door to my villa.

Q HOW I LANDED HERE : From the Maldivian capital of Male, it’s a 30-minute seaplane flight over stunning Indian Ocean water. fourseasons.com — JD

5 CAYO ESPANTO Belize, $1,695+ Q WHY IT ’ S OVER THE TOP : “I like the older movie stars,” says my masseuse at this extremely private island resort in northern Belize. She shines up my shoulders with peppermintinfused eucalyptus oil and adds, “They’re more relaxed.”

I can’t get anybody to name names on the tiny cay, but a houseman keeps referring to Casa Aurora, my villa, as “Mr. Connery’s room.” The rest is

LANDAA GIRAAVARU FOUR SEASONS Maldives, $1,550+ Q WHY IT ’ S OVER THE TOP : The phone rings in my room. I know what it means. A manta ray has shown up in the snorkeling garden of Landaa Giraavaru (I’ve signed up for the “mantaon-call” program). There’s no reason for decorative fish tanks, not in the heart of a far-flung atoll in a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. This isn’t a place where you simply hang

left to imagination. I wonder if the shoulders of the stars smelled like mint too.

Q HOW I LANDED HERE : It’s 19 minutes by helicopter from Belize City. aprivateisland.com — JD

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UNPLUG MAUI MAUI IS MANY THINGS, BUT ON ITS QUIETEST COASTLINE THERE IS SOMETHING MOST VISITS LACK: PURE ALOHA. STORY BY MICHAEL BEHAR PHOTOS BY ZACH STOVALL

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GED Red Sand Beach near Hana, Maui

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ISLANDS 43

F

or more than three decades my parents have wintered on Maui. In that time they have witnessed their once tiny community of Kaanapali transform. Traffic lights, strip malls, construction — what surrounds them today isn’t what originally brought them to the island. And it isn’t what attracted my wife, son and me here for a two-week visit.

“Dad, let’s go to Hana,” I suggest on day 10.

“Your mom gets carsick. ” I turn to Mom. “No, thanks,” she says. “We’re fine here.”

She knows about the 620 switchback curves and 46 single-lane bridges. The Road to Hana, a

Travaasa offers quiet cottages and coastline classes. In this case, throw-net fishing with Andrew Park, a Hana local.

three-hour stomach-churning drive that separates Maui’s tourism boom from its empty beaches, is just too daunting for my folks. So my wife, son and I depart, opting to travel bare-bones, packing little more than toothbrushes, bathing suits and cellphones.

THE CELLPHONE “Would you like me to check that in?”

Jonnie, a receptionist at Travaasa Resort in Hana, is pointing to my wife’s phone. Ashley is an attorney.

Her cellphone might as well be epoxied to her hand.

Check it in? The proposal smacks of an amputation.

“We call it cellphone baby-sitting,” Jonnie explains.

Ashley looks pale. We’ve just spent six hours on the Road to Hana with Simon, our 3-year-old. We

stopped at every waterfall, 18 named, countless unnamed, and he kept begging for more. But now that we’ve arrived at Travaasa, Simon’s patience is fading. Ashley is holding up check-in.

“If you leave your phone with us, we’ll answer it when it rings,” Jonnie tells her. “We’ll take a message.”

“Do guests really do this?” Ashley asks.

“Absolutely,” she says, pointing to a shelf cluttered with smartphones. “We’ll get you if it’s important.”

Ten minutes later, Simon and a cellphone-free Ashley have crashed out on the king-size bed in our ocean-view cottage. For the first time since we arrived on Maui 10 days ago, we can hear Hawaii. The only sound: mynah birds squawking somewhere far away.

WHAT TO BRING ; Toothbrush Necessary after smoothie-making classes. Travaasa’s locally sourced fruits are good for your body, but their acid isn’t any better for your teeth. ; Undershorts Wet baggies and beach walks are a recipe for rashes — especially keeping up with Andrew Park. Nylon undershorts keep the glide in your stride. ; Denim Hawaii’s cowboys (paniolos) predate their mainland counterparts.

Joining one for a horseback ride doesn’t require riding experience, but you’ll want jeans.

WHAT TO DO Soar Helicopter tours on Maui are old hat.

Hopping in a glider flying up and over Haleakala is not.

Travaasa offers it.

Strum Pluck each ukulele’s string from the top down and you’ve learned “My Dog Has Fleas.” Lessons start at 10:30 a.m. daily. Imagine what you’ll play by 10:35.

Sew Leis can be strung with a needle, or braided or twisted.

But in a lei-making class, the lesson is not in the making, but in the giving.

THE LESSON I’m belly-deep in the Pacific Ocean

wearing the only pair of board shorts I brought to Maui. A 10-foot-wide nylon throw-net is wrapped around my torso, and I’m uneasy. Head-high swells have been rolling into Hana Bay every few minutes.

I’d be a sitting duck for a rogue wave if it weren’t for the man standing next to me.

“Turn perpendicular to the surf.”

Andrew Park, 51, is my human breakwater: 5-foot11 and 270 pounds. He is a master throw-net fisherman and the activities director for Travaasa, which bills itself as an “experiential resort.”

“Fling the net like you’re tossing a Frisbee — and put your weight into it!” Andrew instructs me.

I do so, expecting the net to splash down in a tangled heap. Instead it unfurls in a near-perfect circle.

“Good,” says Andrew. He points to a gap between coral heads where glints of moi (Pacific threadfin) dart through the shallows. “Now throw there.”

Getting schooled by Andrew here in Hana (population 1,235) feels like going to Wharton to get an MBA. Travaasa’s cultural courses include ukulele playing, hula dancing, lei making and surfing. All are taught by Hawaiians who share a Hana lineage. Andrew’s family has resided in Hana for seven generations.

We stand in the shallows, throwing and bundling our nets, utilizing life-sustaining techniques refined to their essentials and passed down over centuries.

Andrew promises me he’ll grill whatever I catch today. I’m determined to make good on the offer. My only distraction is a wish that we’d come to Travaasa sooner. Perhaps I would’ve packed more board shorts.

There they are again! Moi, just a few feet away. I toss my net true. Andrew is smiling. So am I. Forget the board shorts. Everything I’d ever need is with me.

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Bridges on the Road to Hana date back to 1910. Travaasa Resortâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offerings are more modern, but the propertyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ties to Hana span centuries.

THE KID “Where are the toys?” Simon asked us this

question the first morning he woke up at Travaasa.

We didn’t pack any toys. So we told him and held our breaths. Ever since, I’ve been holding his hand, leading him to a new friend.

“Let’s go find Andrew,” demands Simon. Their friendship began when Andrew gave Simon the green light to set halved coconut shells adrift in the hotel pool.

In that moment, my fears about Simon — whose manic energy prompted a friend to describe him as “a dwarf on LSD” — disappeared.

I have Andrew to thank for this. Since we have arrived, he has been indulging Simon’s obsession with Hawaiian flora, even helping him invent games with seeds from the pods of African tulips.

Today, Simon and I find Andrew leading a class on how to properly choose ripe coconuts, husk them on a pickax blade, extract natural “cotton candy” from the flesh, and fashion the dried shells into various functional objects, including drinking mugs, candle holders and a puniu — a Hawaiian knee drum.

All of that is impressive. But my eyes are fixed on Simon. Watching him sit calmly listening to Andrew’s 120-minute coconut brain-dump is enough to make me want to remain at Travaasa forever.

THE ROOTS Folks born in Hana stay in Hana. That’s

an easy conclusion when strolling Travaasa’s grounds with Danny Mynar, Travaasa’s general manager.

“My grandma was in housekeeping. My mom bartended here for 30 years. My grandpa was the gardener. My stepdad still works here.”

He adds that of the resort’s 84 employees, 90 percent are locals, nearly all with kin who toiled in the sugar-cane fields that once ringed Hana, where Hawaii’s first plantation was established in 1849.

It’s easy to imagine Hana back then amid Travaasa’s quaint cottages and suites (70 total). The property’s landscaping blends seamlessly with the rainforest that girdles the slopes of the adjacent Haleakala volcano. The scent of plumeria — in full bloom — permeates the damp air.

A squall rumbles in, and with it a stiff wind that makes the palm trees dance. Danny and I part ways.

On my way back to our cottage, I bump into Andrew, watching the palms sway from under an awning. He points to a string of palms and tells me he has had to scale every one of them — 222 at last count.

“I ran the landscaping here for 20 years,” he says.

“When I was a kid, I’d surf all day and get hungry, so I’d climb palm trees to get the coconuts. I had to fight off the rats and centipedes that lived up there.”

HER LAW PARTNERS TAKE XANAX IF AN EMAIL GOES UNANSWERED FOR 10 SECONDS. ASHLEY HASN’T TOUCHED HER CELLPHONE FOR THREE DAYS.

Kaanapali Kahului

MAUI

Hana Highway

Hana

He was also a lifeguard and a dishwasher for the resort. And, no surprise, Andrew is related to several co-workers. His uncle, now retired, did grounds maintenance beginning in 1947, the year Hotel Hana-Maui, Travaasa’s predecessor, opened.

“See that banyan tree?” says Andrew, pointing to a 30-foot-tall goliath. “My uncle planted it.”

Of course he did.

IF YOU’RE CURIOUS

Taking on the drive to Hana is a tall order. But it’s also what keeps Hana pure. And for those who make a day of the drive by stopping at waterfalls, it’s pure fun. But there are options to avoid the road trip entirely (see below).

IF YOU’RE SERIOUS

The three-hour drive from Kahului to Hana is just a 20-minute flight.

Yep, 20 minutes.

And guests of Travaasa who stay for more than three nights can fly for free.

THE RESULT God help Ashley’s law partners back in Colorado. They start gulping Xanax if an email goes unanswered for 10 seconds. Ashley hasn’t touched her cellphone for three days.

“Pass me the pineapple.”

I hand her a pineapple. Her palms are dry. Her face is relaxed. She exhibits no signs of cellphone withdrawal during this smoothie lesson held poolside.

In fact, it’s me that’s beginning to sweat. Today we’ll make our way back to my parents’ place in bustling Kaanapali. The traffic, the construction, the noise — all of it looms. So does the thought of retrieving our big suitcases, full of items we thought we’d need for a trip to Maui. In Hana, and at Travaasa, we’ve needed none of those things. And of all the things we’ve learned, that’s easily the greatest lesson. From $350 per night. travaasa.com 10 must-do’s on maui: islands.com/top10maui

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25 FAVORITE ESCAPES

OUR TOP 5 PICKS FOR SIMPLICITY

CANEEL BAY St. John (USVI)

$459+

Q WHY IT ’ S SIMPLE : The concierge at Caneel Bay Resort, like most people on St. John, is speaking plain English. But his offer to help me get up early tomorrow morning doesn’t make sense. One of his words throws me.

“Would I like a wake-up what?” I ask as he walks me to a waterfront room.

“Would you like a wake-up knock,” he repeats matter-of-factly.

After I take a look around, his words start to register. In a place so very connected to its pristine national-park surroundings, anything but a gentle morning tap on the door would create the unthinkable: noise.

Caneel Bay was founded in 1956 by one of the pioneers of ecotourism, Laurance Rockefeller. In keeping with the resort’s unplugged pedigree, I’ve ditched my mobile device. With it went any chance of waking up on my own to snorkel the reefs near Honeymoon Beach — one of seven slices of sugarwhite sand on the sprawling 170-acre property. Rooms at the low-key luxe resort have no television, alarm clock or hard-wired phone. The concierge has a solution, and it sounds like a smart one. caneelbay.com — David LaHuta

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The resort hides inside the Virgin Islands National Park, as do deer and donkeys that tend to show up out of nowhere.

St. John

THE FLIGHT TO ST. JOHN There are no airports on St. John, so you take a nonstop flight to St. Thomas from one of seven U.S. cities. When you see cruise ships in the harbor, you’ll be glad that your itinerary is about to take you far away.

AT THE AIRPORT After downing a few Cruzan rum samples, claim your bags at the open-air carousel and take them to the resort’s airport lounge. This is where you check in, and it might be the last time you use your phone.

THE ROUTE TO CANEEL BAY A 10-minute taxi ride takes you to a private ferry on the Charlotte Amalie waterfront. Sit on the sun-splashed deck, grab a rum punch and enjoy views of the “other” Virgin Islands (belonging to the British).

FIRST IMPRESSION It’s almost impossible to look away from the turquoise Caribbean and its white sand. But entering Caneel offers a distraction: the welcome gift of a cool lavender-scented towel for the face.

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25 FAVORITE ESCAPES

Riviera Maya $785+

Q WHY IT ’ S SIMPLE : Who would dare describe Cancun as peaceful? I would, from this 29-room hideaway nestled within a jungle sanctuary. Crisp, all-white rooms include private plunge pools. Empty beaches include clairvoyant service. Even the ceviche is customized to each guest’s personal tastes. All this, and I still feel like something’s missing. Perhaps it’s that I have yet to see another guest or hear a single thump from a discotheque. Or that my worries melted off me during the Maya sweat-lodge experience (the temazcal) I had earlier. All that’s left is to bask in the basics — beach, sleep, eat — and ponder visiting the Maya ruins of Tulum, just a half-hour away. The thought of leaving Esencia’s 50-acre estate doesn’t go far. I’ll see Tulum tomorrow ... maybe. Q H O W I LAN D ED H ERE : From the entrance, a golf cart whisked me to my room deep within a garden. The first thing I noticed was the silence. Then a question: This is Cancun? hotelesencia.com — Cami Webb

LOS GRINGOS: JON WHITTLE

ESENCIA CANCUN

5 BOARDWALK SMALL HOTEL Aruba, $185+

3 YEMAYA ISLAND Little Corn Island, Nicaragua, $400+ Q WHY IT ’ S SIMPLE : Cabanas on a palm-shaded beach, an open-air exercise studio, fresh tropical fruit — it’s a recipe for bliss, no need to stir. The island, just 1 square mile, has no cars and no roads to drive them on. There are footpaths and thriving coral. Meditation sessions, daily yoga classes and the use of snorkeling equipment are as free as the sea breezes. Too simple? It’s a half-hour walk to the “downtown” side of the island for a slice at Mango’s Pizza. Q H O W I LANDED HERE : “We got soaked,” passengers say after the open panga-ferry ride from Great Corn Island. Wear a raincoat, even if it’s sunny. littlecorn hotel.com — Matthew Miller

afternoon eating snapper and finding conch shells in the surf.

The restaurant’s chef, Patrick Verleije, asks if we want to stay.

“For dinner?” I ask.

“Overnight,” he says, pointing to a cabana sitting in the sand as if it washed up under a pile of thatch. For the past three days we’ve been spoiled in a hilltop villa, with massages and appetizers on the veranda.

So as we stand in this little cabana, my wife’s words cling to the humid air: “This is exactly what I imagine when I think of staying in the Caribbean.”

Q H O W WE LAN D ED H ERE : The turn off Highway 5 to Playa Magante seems wrong. Through overgrowth and over potholes.

Pay dirt is in the form of a sand parking area and the smell of broiling fish. losgringos dr.com — Robert Stephens

Q WH Y IT ’ S S IM P LE : My quiet place is away from the crowd of festive jet-setters who have arrived at the beachfront bar in front of Aruba’s sprawl of highrise resorts. I finish my drink and follow a path to the threshold of Aruba’s untouched north, crossing a road and returning to my casita at Boardwalk Small Hotel, one block from the beach. So peaceful.

In my casita I reach into a wooden “treasure box.” These boxes are found in all the casitas, and they’re stuffed with suggestion cards written by the hotel staff and previous guests. One card guided me to a paddle-board excursion into mangrove-lined waters.

Another led me to a seafood shack and a beach no one else seemed to know about. This card says: “Walk to the docks and buy fresh snapper for your patio’s barbecue.”

I put the card down and write my own tip for the box: “Lie in the hammock outside until the moon is visible through the rainforest canopy.”

And then I go outside and follow my own suggestion.

Q H O W I LAN D ED H ERE : Drive 15 minutes north from the airport toward “resort row” on Palm Beach in Oranjestad.

Boardwalk Small Hotel isn’t on the beach, and that’s a good thing for anyone looking for a real quiet time. boardwalk aruba.com — Noah Lederman

4 LOS GRINGOS Dominican Republic, $80+

Local herbs provide a special touch in Esencia’s kitchen (top left) and in the spa.

Q WHY IT ’ S SIMPLE : An expat told my wife and me to come to Los Gringos for lunch. “Best food on the north shore,” he said. So we spend the

4

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TO FIND THE REAL SECRETS BEHIND THE ALL-INCLUSIVE EXPER

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IENCE, WE GO WHERE NO GUEST WANTS TO GO: TO WORK.

In four hours there will be 180 people at this pool. For now it’s just Errol (page 58).

S TO RY BY R O B E R T S T E P H E N S P H OTO S BY M AT T D U T I L E

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ISLANDS 53

< AINSLEY

BUTLER SUPERVISOR

and a hunger to find out what it’s like on this side, the serving side, of the all-inclusive experience.

As I slide my dirty tray over to the dishwashing team, I take another long look at one of the many mottos on the walls behind the scenes: “Watch your attitude. It’s the first thing people notice about you.”

T

he busiest restaurant at the Sandals Resort in Whitehouse, Jamaica, is nowhere in sight. To get there I have to pass the crowds at Giuseppe’s, Jasmine’s and Eleanor’s, and find a foot-worn path that none of the resort’s 720 guests will ever notice. At the end of that path is a humid cafeteria with small windows near the ceiling desperately directing air in and out. The place is called Nyammings, slang for “eat,” and eat is just what the resort’s 650 employees, or “team members,” do here in privacy.

Today’s special is a Nyammings exclusive: rice and cow heel. Team members are eating, resting and occasionally looking up at the guy who must be lost: me.

Understand, resort guests have eight places to dine, and Nyammings isn’t one of them. And let’s just state the obvious: The tall white guy sure looks like a guest. But for the next four days I’m crossing the line. I am at Sandals to work. Six uniforms, six jobs

A landscaping job during the construction of Sandals Whitehouse led to an interview with the resort manager in 2005. “He saw I was easygoing and asked if I’d heard of butler service. It wasn’t what I had in mind, but jobs were scarce. This one changed my life.”

ima butler. no, that is not a typo. it was the maiden name of my dad’s mother. My family always thought it was so unique. Ima Butler. Little did I SAREIKA know that one day (today), I would make an effort CONCIERGE HOSTESS to live out grandmamma’s name: I’m a butler.

My supervisor, Ainsley, is all business when I meet him in uniform at 9 a.m. He’s phoning in an order for papaya and champagne that he will pick up for a guest in exactly one hour. Ainsley gives me a visual MRI. “Where’s your belt?” he asks softly.

“Funny story, I meant to bring one …”

Worked in her grandmother’s “What’s that, a bracelet?” he asks. restaurant while “Oh, yeah. My daughter made it for me.” growing up. She “Put it away. And lose the bow tie. It’s too hot.” greets new arrivals. “Long travel It’s going pretty well so far. days can make Like most Jamaicans, Ainsley speaks in first gear. people grumpy.

He has no crease in his brow or anxiety in his step. But But I learned from I do notice that while he instructs me, he’s constantly grandma that the looking around. “Never say ‘yes ma’am’ or ‘yes sir.’ We guest is always right.

There’s no one here want the guest to relax. It’s ‘most definitely’ or ‘cer- to fight with.” tainly.’ And there is no such thing as a problem. There MR. MILLER are only opportunities to make things better.”

GENERAL MANAGER No problem. They are the most common words Grew up in Kingsspoken in Jamaica, and at a venue where people ton learning hard work from his mom from around the world will complain about waiting (catering) and dad for their beach umbrellas to be raised, the best way (farming). “No one can fake a smile to keep one’s cool is to say it out loud: No problem. every day. We hire Ainsley pulls out a lighter. “You have a fire starter?” attitude and train skill. My grandThat’s a problem. It must be next to my belt. mother taught me “A bottle opener?” a proverb that I Ima Terrible Butler. think about often: Real butlers go through 2½ months of training. ‘A gentle word turns away wrath.’”

I’m trying to get this in four hours.

“Very important,” says Ainsley, who was looking for a landscaping position in 2005 and wound up almost as surprised to be a butler as I am. “We want maximum contact, minimum intrusion with the guest.”

“Can you be more specific?” I ask.

Oh, yes. Yes, he can. “OK, for example, this

IT MUST BE OBVIOUS I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M DOING BECAUSE THE HUSBAND ASKS, ALMOST OUT OF SYMPATHY, “DO YOU WORK HERE?” 54 ISLANDS

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Butler is a coveted job because tips are openly accepted. It isn’t what you think, though. “We’re like swans,” one butler says. “On the surface we glide, but underneath we’re in constant motion.”

SHANICE

>

PASTRY SPECIALIST

morning I know that you walked from the fitness center to the coffee shop. You carried two cups of coffee out. You talked with Errol at the side of the pool. And then you went back to your room.”

My smile is now held in place by nerves. I dumped one cup of coffee in the grass. I might have picked my ear too. Ainsley knows everything.

His phone vibrates. One of his guests wants a haircut. It’s Sunday. Ainsley calls his personal barber and asks him to open his shop in the village as a favor, then turns me over to shadow another butler, Damion.

Ainsley is gone before I can ask: Who goes on vacation and asks a butler for a haircut?

I follow Damion up three flights of stairs for a better view. “I love this part of the job,” he says. From up high we can turn and look in the general direction of Whitehouse, where typical wages are $50 to $90 a week. Or we can face the beach and see two of Damion’s guests in the distance. He can tell their drinks are half empty, and from the color he knows they’re dirty bananas. Five minutes later we’re delivering another round of dirty bananas to the surprised couple.

Helps her father at the family’s farm store on her days off from Café de Paris. The proximity of the pastry shop to the resort’s giant pool bar makes this the busiest place on the property at midday. “We know how to have fun instead of getting flustered. It isn’t in our blood.”

DAMION BUTLER

When he wasn’t fishing or milking cows growing up, he was learning how to host feasts with 40 or more people at his aunt’s home. “When I first meet a guest, I’m looking for a scar or a tattoo or any permanent physical characteristic, so I always remember their name.”

KARALEE ENTERTAINMENT

Was hired when she came to the resort as part of a visiting dance troupe. Home is 90 minutes away, so she lives in housing on site that’s set up for team members who work split shifts. “The most challenging time is right after lunch, when we’re trying to get guests into activities, away from the pool bar.”

“They’ll be occupied for a little while,” says Damion.

Which means we have time to go to their room and shape their bath towels into dogs. “I found out they have a dog at home, and they miss her.”

Maximum contact. Minimum intrusion.

“You were made to be a butler,” I say to Damion.

“Actually,” he says, “I started in pastry. I worked there for two days before this job came up.”

At the end of my shift, not quite fired and definitely not hired, Damion asks where I’m headed next. I look at my schedule. “Café de Paris,” I say. The pastry shop. every so often i wake up from a dream where I’ve shown up to work in my underwear. A stress dream, my wife calls it. The moment I walk into Café de Paris, I feel like I’ve forgotten my pants.

A midday crowd has formed in front of a display case of individually portioned pecan rolls, blueberry cheesecakes ... a buffet of buzzes. The cafe serves 500 plates a day, more than any restaurant on the property (not counting Nyammings) because don’t we all crave sweet snacks after spending six hours drinking at the pool, especially when they’re free?

Denese, one of the young ladies maintaining control behind the counter, motions me over to a hot circular griddle. “Have you ever made a crepe?”

Let me think. No. In the audience of four hungry resort guests, Denese gives me a two-minute lesson on ladling, massaging, flipping, filling and …

“Excuse me, could we get two Italian coffees?”

A lady and her husband are looking at me. It must be obvious that I’m no more versed in Italian coffee than I am in crepe making, because the husband, almost out of sympathy, asks, “Do you … work here?”

During this humbling exchange, Denese has finished the crepe and now she has horrific news. “My shift is over.” The stress dream begins. I stand behind the crepe machine to hide my groin.

For the next four hours sunburned guests ask for more than they should (really, two cheesecakes and three chocolate puff pastries?) and order ice-cream drinks that sound like LinkedIn contacts you’ll never actually meet (Alexander Freeze).

The pastry kitchen team of 13 will go through 120 pounds of sugar and nearly 200 pounds of flour today. When I ask my new teammate, Shanice, if she can take any leftovers home, she shakes her head as if I’ve asked whether we can eat off our shoes.

“We can eat in the back, away from the guests.

But everything that’s left goes into containers.” She means the garbage. “I don’t like to see food thrown away, but I love to make people happy.”

THE MINUTE I WALK INTO THE CAFE, I FEEL LIKE I’VE FORGOTTEN MY PANTS. FOUR UNHAPPY AND HUNGRY PEOPLE ARE WAITING FOR CREPES.

Four unhappy and hungry people are waiting for crepes. A lady from Ukraine studies my technique and looks up at my name tag. “Have you ever done this?”

“I’ve been doing this since 3 o’clock,” I say.

Any hint of humor is lost in a light smoke filling the shop. It’s coming from the griddle. My crepe. I use a long spatula to pull the blackened dough off the

griddle and hold it at arm’s length like a dirty diaper.

Then comes the walk of shame. Around the display case. Past the guests. To the trash. Feeling very naked. i’m running late for work. not that anyone will notice. The man raking the beach at sunrise — it has to be the loneliest job at the resort. By the time I

More than 10,000 eggs and 600 pounds of melon hit the loading dock weekly. About 1,000 pounds of flour go to the pastry kitchen. Leftovers find a special place.

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ISLANDS 57

The beach has to be manicured and rid of sand ďŹ&#x201A;ies by 9 a.m., when guests claim their territory. The main pool (until recently the biggest one in Jamaica) will need 600 towels neatly rolled and stacked so they can be yanked back out.

THE NEED IS SO GREAT IN THE COMMUNITY THAT IT CAN BE PARALYZING. WE HAVE TO SEE IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP. < ERROL

POOL MAN

Never knew his father growing up and wants to provide for his wife and three daughters. He wakes up every morning at 3:30 to get to work and clean the pool (and has never been late in nine years).

“The pool is like a plant. It needs to be nurtured with TLC.”

SHAMONEY BARTENDER

The job came at a great time in her life. Five years ago, at 17, she had to start taking care of her brother and two sisters.

“Working here has allowed me to provide for them and to set a good example in a tough family situation.”

O.B. WATER-SPORTS MANAGER

Started at another Sandals property raking the sand, where he once saw a beached whale.

He now coordinates an average of 60 snorkeling guests and 60 dive guests daily. “Know what? I still like to pick up the rake when it’s quiet.”

arrive down near the ocean, my trainer, Dwayne, has been beautifying the sand for two hours.

“It’s the best time of the day,” he says.

It will stay this way, quiet, until 9 a.m., when all of Dwayne’s turf has to be as perfect as a vacuumed rug. And then it will be trampled.

“I’m not sure I get this, Dwayne,” I say. Truthfully, I can think of few places where I’d rather be than in the shade of sea-grape trees, 10 feet from the sleepy Caribbean Sea. But still, raking sand?

“We want it to look nice,” he says. “But it’s also the sand flies. Their larvae are under the surface. We rake them to the top so the sun will bake them away.”

Some of the guests will get baked too. And that’s when the most serene job at Sandals has its moments, after the bars open. “Alcohol can change people,” Dwayne says, calm as the surf. “But it’s no problem.”

We dig holes to bury the leaves and seaweed. Rake and dig. Rake and dig. I’m not sure how much time has passed when I hear a voice coming from the walkway.

“Mr. Miller wants to see you.” Uh-oh. Courtney Miller. The general manager. My boss. honest, i didn’t take any leftovers from the cafe. And even though my alarm didn’t go off, I made it to the beach on time. It turns out Mr. Miller doesn’t want to fire me, yet. He wants to make sure I understand a few things about where I’m working.

“What you see here? At the resort? It is natural for us. Serving. It is what we do in our homes in Jamaica.”

I mention how hard it is to make sense of that when the only thing standing between indulgence and poverty is a long entrance drive.

“Sometimes it’s hard,” Mr. Miller says. “The need is so great in the community, it can be paralyzing. We have to see it as an opportunity to help.”

Courtney’s heart is as soft as his voice. I’ve heard stories of his personal giving in Whitehouse, so much so that he’s sometimes referred to as “the mayor.”

“There are letters on my desk from people asking for jobs or help. We do all that we can possibly do.”

One last question. “What do I need to work on?”

Mr. Miller looks at me. “Your Jamaican accent.” true story. a lady walks up to neptune’s bar.

Orders a mojito. Watches the new bartender look for mint or a glass or anything related to mojito making.

“Are you … from here?” she asks.

Everyone at the bar is privately asking the same thing. I’ve been seeing it in faces all week. “Is he from here? Does he really work here?” It’s OK. The quizzical responses are due to my not being Jamaican (more than 95 percent of the team is hired from the area) and not being competent (what’s a Jamaican Smile?).

So while my bar supervisor, Shamoney, balances a stack of 40 cups on her nose for entertainment, I’m drawing nothing but foam into a beer glass.

It’s a mystery to me how Shamoney keeps her cool.

Guests at the resort consume 130 kegs of Red Stripe and 200 bottles of Appleton’s Rum every week. And there she is, walking around the bar with a bottle on her head and mixing icebergs and coconut kisses.

“This job changed my life,” she says while we prepare 30 rosemary gin fizzes in back of the bar. “I have

Montego Bay

JAMAICA

Whitehouse

THE REAL WHITEHOUSE

Kingston

to keep my cool, and my job, so I can provide for my

Whitehouse is still a sleepy fishing village, but now it has other career options.

siblings. My boss believes in me. I’m taking leaderThe settlement of Whitehouse ship training classes so I can be a manager someday.” is an hour south A guy from Ohio calls out for “something special.” of Montego Bay, Shamoney looks at me. “You do it. I believe in you.” with a population of about 4,000.

With that I start speaking fluent Jamaican. “No Because Sandals problem.”

I draw Red Stripe into a glass, no foam, and does not hire from slide it over. “It’s called Bubbly Jamaican Honey.” abroad (except for certain chefs), the Shamoney still has to guide me through the mixteam is virtually all ing of Miami Vices and Bob Marleys, but I’m taking Jamaican. Sandals, founded in Jamaica, the advice that Mr. Miller gave earlier when I asked, is the largest “How do you make 720 people feel special?” private employer “One at a time,” he said. in the Caribbean (more than 13,000 team members). the picnic basket feels pretty good in my hand. < KENOI

JUNIOR CONCIERGE

Only 22 years old, he has worked here for four years and is paying his way through pharmaceutical school. “I have to work harder because I don’t want a student loan.

My mother had it tough. When I get married, I want to be debt-free, and to have a better situation for my wife and kids.”

THE NEXT TEAM

Funds donated by guests at checkout have helped build or improve nine area schools and clothe the kids. Every Thursday, guests have an opportunity to take a ride into the community with school supplies. The trip usually includes loud singing and ends with louder soccer games.

Much more stable than the silver platter I carried around during butler duty (by the way, champagne makes a stain when it spills onto the sidewalk). On this night I’m a concierge. It’s one step down from butler service, so I’ve had a little training. When I take bottled waters to one room, the man and wife are grateful, curious, and not entirely satisfied. “Actually, we wanted ice.”

“Certainly,” I say. “Please accept the water as well.”

On the boardwalk a couple from Quebec asks if I know where they might find some chocolate. “Most definitely. Café de Paris is that direction. You can get Nutella in your crepe. Don’t overdo it, though.”

That’s one problem I can’t overlook at an allinclusive: waste. The endless breakfast buffets. The never-ending fruit tarts. Whatever goes uneaten will go down the corridor past Nyammings, across the loading dock where 3,000 pounds of chicken and 900 pounds of pineapple will arrive this week, and land behind a wall with the most appropriate motto of all painted on it (“Give the customer more than he or she expects”), at the feet of Robert Carpenter.

“The resort saved my business,” Robert tells me during a break on the Venetian Plaza. He’s a pig farmer. When the price of feed went from $276 a bag to $1,500 in nine years, all but one of Robert’s friends had to give up their farms. He thought of getting out too, until Sandals offered its leftovers.

“My pigs aren’t picky,” Robert says. Pecan rolls, cow

heels, burnt crepes. Four times a week, 200 pounds a load. The resort saves on disposal costs, and Robert has the best-fed pigs in the Caribbean. “It’s been a blessing. I can now stretch out my hands to the community and give meat to friends in need.”

A problem recycled into an opportunity. a day off. for the first time all week i pull on a swimsuit. It’s early. Guests haven’t yet struggled to their feet. I say hello to Errol cleaning the pool and to Veron, one of 28 landscapers on staff, and continue toward the ocean, pausing to drape a towel over a beach chair. Leaning against a nearby lifeguard stand, in total solitude, is a rake. I can’t help myself. This is an opportunity too good to waste. best family all-incs: islands.com/beaches20

ONE PROBLEM I CAN’T OVERLOOK IS THE WASTE. LEFTOVERS LAND BEHIND A WALL AT THE FEET OF ROBERT CARPENTER. FEBRUARY

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25 FAVORITE ESCAPES

OUR TOP 5 PICKS FOR AWE

THE BRANDO Tetiaroa

$4,000+

Q WHY IT ’ S AWE - INSPIRING : No overwater bungalows? How could Tahiti’s newest privateisland resort be awe-inspiring without them? Perhaps Marlon Brando knew better. Privacy and preservation were so paramount to him that he banned overwater bungalows here on Tetiaroa, a 12-island atoll he fell for in 1960 while filming Mutiny on the Bounty. By 1967, he’d purchased the atoll for $270,000. On a boat tour of the islands’ lagoon, I applaud his decision. The resort’s 35 villas leave virtually no footprint — drawing energy from solar, biofuel and seawater — seawater I’m standing in right now. Sharks dart harmlessly around me in the shallows of a lemon-shark nursery. My boat driver suggests I try something the Brando family still loves to do, even today. I’m told to scoop handfuls of clay from beneath the sand and spread it over my skin to make it softer. He tells me that long before the Brando resort, Tetiaroa was the summer home of Tahitian royalty. I look at the motus around us, untouched for centuries. Pure Tahiti. On the boat ride back, I can barely spot my villa behind palm trees. Overwater bungalows? This might be better. thebrando.com — Lori Barbely

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AT THE AIRPORT Air Tetiaroa, the island’s private airline, has its own terminal at Tahiti’s international airport.

Perks include arriving at the airport a mere 30 minutes before my flight, no security line and free snacks in the waiting area — no day-old sandwiches!

THE INTERISLAND FLIGHT The 20-minute flight to Tetiaroa is uneventful until the atoll appears in front of our eight-seat plane. Twelve palmtree-dotted motus ring a lagoon that has more shades of blue than painter Bob Ross would know what to do with.

THE ROAD TO THE BRANDO After a welcoming Tahitian serenade at the airstrip, a golf cart ride reveals a rare sign of infrastructure on the island. My driver has to stop and point it out to me. It’s the island’s cell tower, disguised as, you guessed it, a palm tree.

FIRST IMPRESSION “This is my favorite moment,” the concierge says as he opens my villa. He’s there to catch my jaw before it hits the floor. Something sits between me and the ocean, but I’m not complaining.

It’s my plunge pool that’s obscuring the view.

Tetiaroa 20 min.

Papeete

L O R I B A R B E LY

TAHITI

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2 IVERLOCHY CASTLE Scotland, $600+ Q WHY IT ’ S AWE - INSPIRING : “There’s no door.” I’m in the great hall of this imposing retreat in the Scottish Highlands, trying to figure out how to get into the library for dinner. The hostess feels around near an oil painting. Click. The wall opens to the glow of a roaring fire and a table set with whisky and venison. The

the voice of an older woman, explaining how she makes the local paratha bread in the herb gardens of the exquisitely remote Shanti Maurice. She flattens the unleavened dough with a coriander fairy dust, and my synapses backflip. Her voice is from a happier life, a crackling accent, muffled in waves and salt wind. I open my eyes and I’m fully conscious on the resort property, making bread in grandma’s kitchen.

Q HOW I LANDED HERE : The bread served on the 27-hour plane ride from Los Angeles was the worst. Along the coastal road to the resort, I stop for a sandwich that costs $35. This is when I decide to make my own bread. shanti maurice.com — Nathan Myers

4 castle that Queen Elizabeth called “the most romantic spot in the world” is still full of secrets. Q HOW I LANDED HERE : It’s a pretty three-hour drive from Edinburgh. inverlochy castlehotel.com — Jad Davenport

3 SHANTI MAURICE Mauritius, $500+ Q WHY IT ’ S AWE - INSPIRING : I close my eyes, inhale and I’m gone. Scents of spiced rum, ginger and tamarind. Salt air and fresh dough. I’m definitely not sitting at an open window in my office. The air here is ripe with living scent — and

3

ROSEWOOD LITTLE DIX BAY BVI, $650+ Q WHY IT ’ S AWE - INSPIRING : Ms. Venita, a longtime server, gives me a hug. We’ve just met and, somehow, the hug feels genuine. I’m told it’s because the resort’s guests are so loyal — some have visited through three generations — that the staff is regarded as extended family, and the feelings are mutual. Here, it’s impossible not to feel a part of it. Q HOW I LANDED HERE : A 45-minute flight from San Juan to Tortola, then a two-minute van ride to a dock. There, the resort’s catamaran sailed me across the Sir Francis Drake Channel. rose woodhotels.com — Zach Stovall

25 FAVORITE ESCAPES

ICONIC SANTORINI Greece, $617+ Q WHY IT ’ S AWE - INSPIRING : Breakfast is sitting on the private terrace outside my cave: strong Greek coffee, freshly baked croissants and the chef’s jam made from the roses in his garden. Wait, cave? Yes, it’s a cave. Views of distant islands and neighboring cliffs are reminders that the hotel wasn’t just built, it was sculpted into the side of a caldera wall.

I draw my gauzy robe around me and pad over the cool tile to a seat above the rooftops and the Aegean Sea. My eyes are wide open, and not just because of the coffee. Q HOW I LANDED HERE : The 45-minute flights from Athens run about every two hours. Late-afternoon flights can be delayed — go earlier. Taxis are scarce, so arrange a transfer through Iconic Santorini. (Note: The resort closes from November to late April.) iconicsantorini.com — Michelle M. Winner

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25 FAVORITE ESCAPES

OUR TOP 5 PICKS FOR FAMILIES 5

PETER ISLAND RESORT British Virgin Islands Q WHY IT ’ S FOR FAMILIES : See that white villa on the hilltop across this bay? It’s called the Crow’s Nest. It’s one of three villas on this 1,800-acre private island. It offers four private suites, each with private veranda, private whirlpool and private entrance. It’s perfect for, well, my family. We get along great when all we have to share is a seamless-edge pool, a view of the Virgin Islands, and a personal butler and chef. Dinner? Taken care of. Activities?

We take our pick: sailing, snorkeling, diving, conching and more. And tomorrow? We’ll picnic on one of the island’s eight empty beaches. Here, my family is functional. Q HOW I LANDED HERE : Easy. The Peter Island staff picked me up at the Beef Island Airport on Tortola and dropped me off at the ferry dock. The boat ride to Peter Island is 30 minutes and costs $60 a person, round trip. Helicopter fly-ins are available too. peterisland.com — Jon Whittle

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PETER ISLAND: JON WHITTLE

$3,780+ (Four-bedroom villa)

two-bedroom villa, eat conch fritters like gumdrops, and act like we’re the only ones on the beach. It’s OK. Fernandez Bay is light years from Nassau.

Really. Just look at that freewheeling Milky Way overhead at night. Q HOW I LANDED HERE : Cat Island is a one-hour flight from Nassau. fernandezbay village.com — Jad Davenport

4 HARBOR VIEW HOTEL Martha’s Vineyard, $189+ 2

2 JEAN-MICHEL COUSTEAU RESORT Vanua Levu, $1,580+ Q WHY IT ’ S FOR FAMILIES : When the world’s most childloving people — Fijians — sweep my kids off upon arrival, it’s clear they get that I’m here for a holiday too. While my husband and I dive on pristine reefs, the girls are outside our two-bedroom beachfront villa racing crabs or learning to dance. Best part: Children under 5 get a dedicated nanny for free. When was the last time my husband and I had a midday nap? Q HOW I LANDED HERE : From Nadi, Fiji’s capital, Vanua Levu is a scenic one-hour flight. The resort is a 20-minute drive from the Savusavu airport. fijiiresort.com — Amanda Jones

3 FERNANDEZ BAY VILLAGE Bahamas, $271+ Q WHY IT ’ S FOR FAMILIES : Don’t get me wrong. Nassau is great. Atlantis is a blast.

But a 140-mile hop farther east takes my wife and two daughters to Cat Island, where our shoes will come off — and stay off. The kids make noise.

They run in and out of the

Q WHY IT ’ S FOR FAMILIES : Drive east on Water Street until you can’t anymore, and you’ve arrived at this grand 1891 fixture in tony Edgartown. Come in fall (fewer crowds and lower prices), and watch from rockers on the front porch as the kids run out to the lighthouse and skip rocks on the water. You know, like you used to do, before there were iPhones. harbor-view.com Q HOW I LANDED HERE : The car ferry from Woods Hole, Massachsetts, brought me to a place more affordable than I thought. Cottages on the Vineyard rent for $800 a week in shoulder season. Pack the car with groceries before boarding the ferry. — Audrey St. Clair

5 TURTLE BAY Oahu, $279+ Q WHY IT ’ S FOR FAMILIES : If your family is anything like my family, sitting by a pool during multi-generational vacations just doesn’t cut it. There have to be activities, and Turtle Bay has them galore. For my husband and me, there’s surfing.

For the kids, there are calm beaches, horseback riding, kiteboarding, hula lessons and snorkeling. And for the grandparents there are scenic helicopter rides and, well, sitting by the pool. Q HOW I LANDED HERE : Turtle Bay is on Oahu’s north coast, just a one-hour drive from the Honolulu airport. turtlebayresort.com — AJ

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The Seychelles is home to the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oldest (and hardest) granitebased islands in the world.

BEYOND THE ROCKS THIS GRANITE FLANKS THE WORLD’S MOST ICONIC BEACHES. IT DEFINES AN ISLAND CHAIN. BUT ASIDE FROM THESE STONES, W H AT D O W E K N O W A B O U T T H E S E YC H E L L E S ?

P H O T O E S S AY B Y J O N W H I T T L E

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69

SLOW CROSSINGS In the Seychelles, the beaches beckon. And for good reason. But on the island of La Digue, one of 155 islands in the archipelago, odd collisions stand out. When I order a fish platter, it’s joined by macaroni salad, spaghetti, coleslaw and pakora vegetables.

There is not one identifying feature to my meal, and the dynamic is echoed in the islands’ 90,024 residents. Their roots go 500 years back — blending European, African, Indian, Chinese and Arab ethnicities. When I ask locals about their race, most answer simply, “I am Seychellois.” And on La Digue, the Seychellois move slowly. Only a few roads are paved, and ox carts like this are how locals get around.

CURIOUS:

Lying 994 miles east of Kenya, the Seychelles boasts a 100 percent literacy rate and is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Neither involves beaches. The first is a fertile valley where giant seeds (coco de mers) grow to resemble the human buttocks. The second is the world’s largest raised coral atoll. SERIOUS: The best time to visit is May to November, when cooling trade winds kick in. seychelles.travel

Seychelles

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URBAN MIX These images are from Victoria, the Seychelles’ capital. Most visitors skip past it — flying on to the sand-fringed islands of La Digue or Praslin. But walking a single block in this city of 25,000, I pass a Hindu temple, a store run by Rastafarians, a Catholic church and an Arab sheik with an entourage. I don’t get a sense of any one group’s dominance. It’s no different in an outdoor market, where scents of cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg mingle. Agriculture, once this nation’s main industry, now employs just 3 percent of the workforce. Tourism drives today’s economy, thanks to those iconic granite rocks. They’re worth a visit. But they’re just a starting point.

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25 FAVORITE ESCAPES

OUR TOP 5 PICKS FOR OFF THE GRID

1 Q WHY IT ’ S OFF THE GRID :

3

Entertainment comes not from TVs (there aren’t any) but from lazing in a wicker chair on the veranda of a 200-year-old thatched teak hut and watching armies of hermit crabs shuffle out of the ocean, and schools of small blue fish jump out of the lagoon like popcorn.

Q HOW I LANDED HERE : From Espiritu Santo a small boat navigates a narrow channel in the Coral Sea past small huts on stilts and copra plantations. ratua.com — David Lansing

Q WHY IT ’ S OFF THE GRID : Sea snakes nap on the resort’s bar floor. Cousteau dubbed the island an “underwater nirvana.”

And my best dive wasn’t off a boat, but off the resort’s pier.

Topside, decadent villas and daily meals smack of triumph far from civilization. Q HOW I LA N D ED HERE : Via Bali, where Wakatobi’s chartered plane awaited. wakatobi.com — Erin Quigley

2

4

ANANTARA MEDJUMBE ISLAND Mozambique, $646+

KANDUI RESORT Mentawai Islands, $290+

Q WHY IT ’ S OFF THE GRID :

Untouched by nearly half a century of war (now over) and totally forgotten, Medjumbe is a Shangri-La. An evening cruise in a traditional dhow is trumped only by the hospitality in another (very warm) world.

QHOW I LANDED HERE : A flight to Johannesburg, a flight to Pemba and, lastly, to this outpost. medjumbe.anantara .com — Jad Davenport

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WAKATOBI Sulawesi, Indonesia, $315+

Q WHY IT ’ S OFF THE GRID : The local language has no past or future tense. Shamans are the region’s healers. And waves, the best in the surfing world, abound. But the resort’s draw is luxury cabins, a rarity in this area of Indonesia. Food, drinks and surf trips are included.

Q HOW I LANDED HERE : Kandui helps arrange travel (two days). One wave ride made it all worth it. mentawaiislands .com — Eddy Patricelli

Believe it or not, this rookery of rockhoppers is rather empty.

Bird populations spike in the summer (December-February).

FA L K L A N D S : J O N W H I T T L E

RATUA PRIVATE ISLAND Vanuatu, $460+

FALKLANDS Saunders Island, $111+ Q WHY IT ’ S OFF THE GRID :

Modest digs. Reheated meals. And I don’t dare ask for turndown service. Instead, I’m handed folded linens with a mandate: Make your own bed. And that’s fine. Just outside are rockhopper penguins (some 6,900 pairs), blackbrowed albatrosses (11,000 pairs) and gentoo penguins (6,400 pairs). This island, one of 770 lesser islands in the region, is their home. If I sit still, they do their thing. Rockhoppers hop over my lap. Albatrosses with 11-foot wingspans soar inches overhead.

Gentoos peck at my camera lens ... on my iPhone ... that I’m holding. Q HOW I LANDED HERE : Flights to the Falklands operate once a week via LAN airlines. Interisland flights access Saunders Island, where I’m instructed to stock up on frozen lambsagnas (sheep farmers own the island). Then I, my lambsagnas and the freshly folded bedsheets were driven 40 minutes from civilization to the Rookery, a lonesome cabin. That is, till I met the neighbors. saundersfalklands.com — EP

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AMANDA JONES

The fragile Painted Cliffs have stood through time partly because so few people are here to disturb the landscape.

MARIA TWO LONG SKIPS FROM THE AUSTRALIAN MAINLAND IS AN ISLAND OF THE HARD (TOWERING ROCK), SOFT (RARE ANIMALS) AND JUST RIGHT (BASIC BEDDING). IT’S AN ESCAPE TO THE AUTHOR’S FAIRY-TALE SPOT.

STORY BY AMANDA JONES PHOTOS BY JON WHITTLE

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THE BOAT BEACHES A FEW FEET FROM THE SHORELINE, waves slapping the hull. “Might be a wet landing,” the captain says. I look down. There’s no “might” about it. I fling my boots onto the sand, hoist my backpack overhead and lower myself into thigh-deep water. “See you guys in four days,” the captain yells. He and the boat disappear. Wading beside me are two guides, Ben Dawe and Louisa Stredwick. We are alone.

“Welcome to Stinking Creek,” says Ben. Stinking Creek. This is how my dream escape starts. Wringing out my pants and looking over a wild outback. For years I’ve been intrigued with this tiny speck on the map known as Maria Island (Maria is pronounced like the name of the pop diva, Mariah Carey). It sits about 10 miles off the eastern coast of Tasmania, which itself would qualify as a distant escape, being 150 miles south of the Australian mainland. But Maria is the far outback, the wayward bush, the “backabeyond,” as the Aussies say. There are no hotels, no restaurants, no bars, no spa tables, no swimming pools, no cell reception, no Internet, no man-made entertainment. The only residents are park rangers, wombats and the occasional Tasmanian devil. Maria is 100 percent national park now, its breathtaking nature spliced by hiking trails and the sound of your own breathing. Around the island are some of the oddest, most random sleeping arrangements I’ve ever encountered.

This is exactly what my hectic life needs.

“Come on,” says Louisa, a bonny redhead, wearing fashionable shorts and massive hiking boots that she didn’t bother taking off when we had to jump in the water. “Let’s get going.”

The four days and three nights begin. For the first 2 miles I’m grateful that neither Ben nor Louisa is a gabber. They seem to enjoy the quiet of the outdoors as much as I do, and only speak when I ask a question. What sounds like small talk back in the U.S. carries a deeper meaning on the island.

“Where were you raised?” I ask.

“Tasmania,” Ben says about the two of them.

Simple answer. Translated, it means they were raised to cope, bred to never complain. I decide to say nothing about my wet boots.

As if to prove the meaning of tough, we divert from the trail to a place called Robeys Farm, or what’s left of it. Louisa tells me the former landowners, Viv and

Shelter, with beds, appears in the bush with the guidance of Louisa (left).

Wombats are the only neighbors, and their cuteness can be deceptive.

Hilda Robey, farmed here alone for 40 years. The abandoned homestead stands out in the empty surroundings. So do the farm equipment and a pile of hobnail boots. Hilda died in 1964, and the next year Viv left so suddenly that the table was still set with tablecloth, crystal, cutlery and a pudding in the oven.

“I guess when you’ve had enough isolation, you know it,” says Louisa.

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But we will not be eating pudding or sleeping at Robeys Farm. We pick around the place for a while and continue on the trail, which takes us up cliffs, through gum-tree forests and onto red, rocky promontories. Close to sunset I see our lodging through the bush: the concealed Casuarina Camp. It has a simple curved-roof canvas sleeping tent on a wooden platform. Inside are twin beds and a clean sleeping bag.

The “dunny” (toilet) sits in another tent, and toward the beach is the dining tent with an outdoor deck.

Still in their shorts and hiking boots, Ben and Louisa rattle around in the kitchen tent over a gas stove, calling out answers to my questions as they work. Then, in the light of a hurricane lantern, they emerge with a dinner that seems impossible considering the surroundings and the size of their gear.

Scallops. Wild greens. Duck and kangaroo sausages.

Crispy-skin salmon. It keeps coming. Shitake mushrooms. King Island cheeses. Organic wine.

“Where did this come from?” I ask.

“From our backpacks,” Louisa says matter-of-factly.

As darkness falls, the camp is as quiet as a cave.

T

he sound of wattlebirds wakes me at the first sign of daylight. Not that there’s much of a sign. Outside the tent is a sky heavy with fast clouds, likely rainladen. I pull on my fleece and a ski jacket, and begin the morning exercise of rubbing my hands together.

Louisa and Ben show up in shorts and T-shirts.

“Lovely day!” Ben says.

I let his words, and my mission, burrow into my mindset. Lovely. Never complain. Dream escape.

The trail is not at all rugged. It’s wide in most places, and aside from our wet landing in Stinking Creek yesterday, everything is dry. Actually, it really is lovely. I unzip my hood and walk next to Ben and Louisa, who seem to bound with every step. We barely pause at two beautiful beaches and then head inland, up a ridge. The gusts increase. Kangaroos stand gazing at the sky. A gaggle of Cape Barren geese stop their grazing to ponder options. A wombat and her baby shuffle hurriedly nearby and dive under a bush.

I don’t complain about my hair whipping into knots.

Louisa leads us up to the top of a blustery hill where a series Colorful rocks and abandoned of empty shelters awaits. We shelter are step into a 10-by-4-foot cubicle, among the made of brick, as a respite. curiosities on Maria. So are “Was this a stable?” I ask. the wrapper“Solitary confinement,” less meals that Louisa says, handing me a emerge from Ben’s backpack. pesto chicken sandwich.

AU S T R A L I A

Ta s m a n i a IF YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;RE CURIOUS:

Sporadic remnants of civilization on Maria make you wonder what went on here. Two centuries back, the island housed prisoners from overcrowded Tasmania, but only for a while. An Italian investor planted 50,000 vines for winemaking and built a 30-room hotel in the late 1800s. The plans were scuttled because of the isolation. Efforts to bring a cement industry here had the same fate.

IF YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;RE SERIOUS:

The journey with Maria Island Walk (mariaislandwalk .com.au) starts on the east coast of Tasmania. With guides, you take a 40-minute boat ride to Maria. The transportation, four-day hike, food and accommodations cost $2,062 per person.

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some water. I figure it’s for coffee or tea. He hands me a cup and a bucket, and sends me behind a bush.

“That’s your bath,” he says. I take the supplies and disappear into total freedom. When I return, clean, Ben has set up tea and bruschetta canapés. The tent is similar to the one at Casuarina, set back in the wild growth with two beds, a sleeping bag and a flashlight.

“Any chance I could get a vodka tonic?” I ask.

Ben grins. “Goodonya.” Good idea, but unlikely to be fulfilled from his backpack.

M

The trail on the Like much of the main 45-square-mile island of Tasmania, Maria island passes Island has a history of housgum trees, beaches and ing convicts. How ironic that a old buildings former prison cell is, right now, that serve as part of my escape. reminders of a community that Rain begins to fall, and Ben came and went. and Louisa finally don thin windcheaters as I huddle in my lab-tested extreme-wear layers. Raindrops and birdcalls are the loudest sounds I’ve heard in days.

“Do you see any Tasmanian devils out here?” I ask.

A devil is about the size of a skunk, and the pictures I’ve seen make it look like a hyena crossed with a rat. It is endemic to Tasmania, the name coined by settlers referring to its chilling screams and habit of attacking predators, or even its own.

“We almost never see ’em, but they’re here,” Ben says. “Last month a hiker had his boot taken at night.

Found it shredded on the path. Work of the devil.”

When we depart the prison cell, I stop using the term “hike.” This is a walk. Lots of quiet. Lots of cute.

Lots of lovely. Until we arrive at White Gums Camp.

Inside another tentlike structure, Ben boils up

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FEBRUARY

ornings on Maria are lazy. Sitting under the trees. A gradual glow filling the sky to the east.

Fresh-pressed coffee. Watching for wombats. Phone batteries long ago drained. There’s no reason to rush.

But eventually we do pack up and move slowly through primitive forest and up the coast to the Painted Cliffs. We pause in the shadow of striated ochre and cream sandstone bluffs, concave and seaworn — unlike anything I’d ever seen. To our backs is an infinite horizon, the rest of the world.

We also see something for the first time in three days: other people. They’re wandering around Darlington, the only settlement on Maria. Tourists come out for the day before catching a boat back to Tasmania, reattaching themselves to a schedule, a mental cellblock. A few people might stay overnight, rolling out sleeping bags in yet another prison that’s been converted into a bare-bones bunkhouse.

“No more prisons for us,” Louisa says, walking through a gate, past a rose garden, and up to a settler’s cottage. “We lease this place.”

It’s the old postmaster’s house, a relic from when Darlington was a colony, or an attempt at one, with limestone quarrying, a hotel and a population of human beings. But just as for the Robeys, isolation proved to be too much.

The cottage is furnished with polished antiques and four-poster beds, frozen in place from a century ago. Ben lights a fire and, before preparing a quail dinner, he points to something out of modern times: a bathroom. I step into the shower and remain there for what feels like an hour. Soaking in the most simple form of “backabeyond” indulgence: hot water.

Before dinner, I take a stroll into the hills, refreshed. Spokes of light sluice through the foliage as if penetrating stained-glass windows. The trees stand as grand pillars in a high-end hotel lobby. The wind in the leaves shushes like gentle waves on a beach. I’m alone in nature’s cathedral, perhaps the finest resort I’ve ever checked into.

60 seconds in tasmania: islands.com/videos

WHAT TO BRING For the body: The weather is a stew of unpredictable forces (don’t believe the forecasts).

When there’s a 0 percent chance of rain, be armed with rainproof and windproof jackets.

Fleece is a must because evenings in the dining tent are more chilly than formal. mountain hardwear.com For the head: Behind

the clouds is a hot sun ready to burn through — thus the wide-brimmed hat seen in some of the pictures with this story. tilley.com For the feet: Boots made for walking are an obvious need. But instead of clomping around the camps in boots at night, wear sandals (remember, everything you aren’t wearing goes in your backpack, so keep it light).

WE SEE SOMETHING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THREE DAYS: OTHER PEOPLE. THEY WANDER AROUND BEFORE GOING BACK AND REATTACHING TO A SCHEDULE.

BUY ONE FLIGHT, GET ONE

FREE FROM NASSAU There’s never been a better time to get away and share your love for the Out Islands. Share a Goombay Smash. Share a conch salad. Or, share a secret beach! Enjoy a four night stay at the properties below and get free companion airfare.* But hurry, the free airfare love ends soon.

FERNANDEZ BAY VILLAGE

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TIAMO RESORT

PIGEON CAY CLUB

CAT ISLAND

Discover the breath taking beauty and relaxed atmosphere of Fernandez Bay Village. 16 beachfront cottages on a mile of sugary white sand, outdoor dining, tiki-bar, water sports.

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CAT ISLAND

ANDROS

A remote piece of paradise, the cottages offer the ultimate in seclusion and breathtaking views.

Located steps from a private 3-mile stretch of white, powdery sand beach. 242-354-5084 www.PigeonCayBahamas.com

Our luxury boutique resort on South Andros Island is an idyllic place for an amazing escape. Relax on the private, white sand beach or enjoy activities such as diving, snorkeling, fishing, and canoeing.

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EXUMA CAYS

HARBOUR ISLAND

SCYC is perfect for guests who value casual yet comfortable beauty in a remote, pristine setting.

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Superb beaches and water sports; beautiful rooms-cottages-villas; attentive services, and many complimentary activities. On tranquil Long Island, in the southern Bahamas.

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ABACO

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Shaman, Mentawai Islands, Indonesia

ASK A TABOO QUESTION

GHOST STORIES

HOW TO TICK OFF A LOCAL

BROWN W. CANNON III/INTERSECTION PHOTO

PERFECTLY HORRIBLE MISTAKES HAPPEN. HERE ARE A FEW YOU CAN AVOID.

1 HAND

2 BOAT TOASTS

3 HEAD TAPS

GESTURES For

Off the coast of British Columbia, aboard Canada’s oldest tall ship, I offered a toast and — to the horror of the captain and crew — clinked wine glasses with a woman seated beside me. Clinking glasses aboard a ship means a sailor will die. I’ve since run into warnings that bananas and women on board cause bad luck. Is it really any wonder that sailors are a lonely bunch?

— Jad Davenport

In a Fijian village, I’m invited to play soccer. The game includes kids whose parents line our field in smiles.

A child scores the winning goal. The two of us celebrate with high-fives and hugs. The crowd cheers, and then abruptly goes silent. A mother wags a finger at me. Others point to their heads.

While celebrating, I had touched the boy’s head. In Fiji, the head is sacred.

— Eddy Patricelli

five days I’d been photographing Indonesian locals — motioning for them to move closer to me with my palm turned up and my four fingers curling back and forth. The gesture sparked looks of contempt (like those pictured above). I was later told the hand gesture is akin to showing someone the middle finger, and simply to turn my palm down for the desired effect.

— Zach Stovall

“Zombies? We don’t have zombies on Cat Island.” The sharp answer to my question, often whispered, is always the same.

I’ve come to this remote island in the Bahamas because I’ve heard that a real-life zombie is loose. Cat Island is a bastion of Obeah — West African witchcraft — and driving around I’ve seen spider-filled bottles dangling from trees and homemade charms hanging on doors.

The zombie story had come from locals on a nearby island who said two sisters were feuding on Cat, and one paid an Obeah man to curse the other. The Obeah man, the story went, summoned up a deceased islander but then somehow lost control. Cat Islanders, I was assured, were living in fear.

Obeah is a delicate subject in the deeply Christian Bahamas, and I’ve spent a week gently prying. So far, the sum of my intel is “Don’t go out after dark, avoid the cemetery, and never go inside the ruins of the 18th-century Deveaux Plantation.” When I ask why, I’m greeted with closed lips.

Near the end of my stay, I return to my rented coral-stone cabin and find the threshold sprinkled with a line of salt.

There are also small salt cones in each corner of my room. And a Bible under the bed. Exasperated, I ask the landlady again if it’s for the zombie. “I told you there were no zombies on the island, darling,” she says. But as I turn to walk away she whispers, “It’s to protect you from the manwho-comes-a-rushing.”

It turns out I was asking the wrong question all along. — JD REAL ZOMBIES? On Guam, the Chamorro people believe zombies have haunted the island for centuries. Mysterious stone pillars are said to be proof.

LESSONS LEARNED IN AREAS OF BORNEO, NEWLYWEDS MUST GO THREE DAYS WITHOUT RELIEVING THEMSELVES.

FEBRUARY

ISLANDS 85

HOW TO

STRETCH A DOLLAR

WHAT YOU GET FOR $1,000 A WEEK All Caribbean islands are not the same, especially when it comes to costs. Often, the name of the saint gives it away: Thomas vs. Barth. Who sounds swankier?

Daily bike rental

3 lunches

1 night in luxury villa S T. B A R T H 1 four-course French dinner for two

4 nights in budget hotel

S T. T H O M A S

2 taxi rides a day

Flight from Miami 5 nights in rental condo

1 half-day snorkel trip

1 half-hour helicopter tour P U E R T O R I CO 6 authentic mofongo lunches

1 bioluminescent kayak tour

2 fancy dinners Weeklong car rental Ferry to Culebra for family of four

2 local beers a day

Barefoot Cay Roatan, Bay Islands

Want to stay on a budget and leave the island better than you found it? Join a volunteer trip to the Caribbean, and get to know the landscape and the locals (human and reptilian alike).

Working Abroad: Hike through the elfin forest on tiny St. Eustatius, clearing trails, improving signs and helping control erosion. Or hit the beach in Grenada for night patrols on nesting sea turtles. Even snorkel and dive to do water surveys. Four-week programs start at $1,000 and include food, lodging, gear, etc. workingabroad.com Jamaica Volunteer Expeditions: Spend one to four weeks in Jamaica’s Blue Mountains making new friends: Help local kids with homework, teach music, coach football, impact a life. One-week trips kick off at $450 and include two daily meals and lodging to start. jamaicavolunteerexpeditions.com

RELAX in a beachfront bungalow on our private island, DELIGHT in sumptuous dining, indulge in a massage, DISCOVER the incredible coral reefs of our Caribbean paradise.

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ISTOCK; OPPOSITE: JON WHITTLE

WHAT YOU GET FOR $1,000 A MONTH

STRETCH YOUR LEGS

CHEAP RIDES B Y LY N N F R E E H I L L- M AY E

A Seychellois woman rolls out two used mountain bikes when we arrive on La Digue. This is a place, like the islands below, where cars are nonexistent.

You can walk, but to really fit in you pedal from place to place. “Do you have locks?” I ask our innkeeper.

“You will not need locks,” he says, laughing. At the market, rows of bicycles are secured only with kickstands — an entire island on the honor system.

LA DIGUE, SEYCHELLES

MACKINAC, MICHIGAN

CULEBRA, PUERTO RICO

Ox carts have just recently started to fade away here. Now, 1,000 miles off Madagascar, bikes wheel by so often it’s like Africa meets Amsterdam.

The local bike: You can tell a Seychelles bike by the colorful grocery basket on the handlebars. At “rush hour,” just before school starts, it’s common to see kids riding in each other’s baskets.

It’s either horse and buggy or bicycle out here in the middle of Lake Huron. The bikes are not the ones leaving messes on the network of trails.

The local bike: You can tell if a bike belongs to one of the island’s 400 residents or to one of the thousands of tourists by the basket. Bag of fudge in it? Tourist. Bungie cords and tools? Resident.

Cycling’s appeal on this “Spanish Virgin” lies in its seclusion. Ride out to beaches so untouched, you can skinny-dip at noon.

The local bike: You can tell a bike lives on Culebra if it’s the hardy sand-dusted mountain type. There are no steep, rocky climbs on the island, but there are potholes — and lots of beach.

E DO NOT follow the local habits when riding bikes in isolated destinations. Carrying kids on handlebars? Riding with no helmet? Accidents will happen. This is one activity where you should do as you do at home — not as the locals do.

HOW TO

LIVE ON

ROATAN: EXPAT ISLAND BEST FOR:

STARTING OVER WITH NO SHOES (BUT WITH LOTS OF NEW FRIENDS)

One of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest barrier reefs lives in my neighborhood. You know what else lives around Roatan? Connections. I can have 24 expats to our Barefoot Cay Resort for a reception tomorrow â&#x20AC;&#x201D; partly because the coconut telegraph still works. A nurse from Ohio.

An architect from Canada.

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s even a mostly expat church. Transplants like me sprinkle ourselves into the Latin and Caribbean culture because we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to change the charms that drew us here â&#x20AC;&#x201D; even a dusty, bumpy road can be charming. DAILY SNAPSHOT Visitors sometimes wonder why we go to bed early on Roatan. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because we

look forward to waking up in the morning. We might start a day by swimming to the reef and showering outside. There are adults on the island who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have TVs, and kids who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have PlayStations. Our entertainment comes from snorkeling gear, tire swings and mango trees. I know a woman whose wardrobe is a weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth of bikinis and four sarongs. Shoes? We wear them to the bank or grocery store, and otherwise weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re barefoot. One friend who moved to Roatan before the first road was paved (itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still one of the only paved roads) says in the early 1990s â&#x20AC;&#x153;we had to travel with two spare

tires and provisions, including rum, in case of a breakdown.â&#x20AC;?

The side roads are still rough, doing the favor of slowing you down. And there are reminders that you arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t in Seattle anymore, like when vendors go through neighborhoods selling tortillas and brooms.

MOVER BEWARE Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe the negative hype about Honduras. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re 30 miles away in the friendliest place Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever known. So when people have conversations in the middle of the road, be patient. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dust. There are roosters. Mail from home can take forever.

Even with expats, Roatan is still Roatan. And thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re here. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Milesse Kennedy

Homes on the east are cooled by sea breezes, not Freon.

ERIC ANDERSON THE ORIGINAL EXPAT

Landowner, Dad YEARS ON ISLAND

44

MY 3 CENTS 1. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good for expats to provide jobs. It might be sweeping a patio or tending a garden, but that small wage will support a local family.

2. A 15-mile drive can take 45 minutes along our â&#x20AC;&#x153;unspoiledâ&#x20AC;? roads on the east end. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still more enjoyable than a commute in Washington, D.C.

TO BUY OR TO TRY A NICE HOME THATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S LIVABLE FOR EXPATS WILL START AT . %($&+ÇŠ FRONT RENTALS *2 )25 ÇŠ $4,000 WEEKLY DURING MAY.

BEST ISLANDS FOR INSTANT FRIENDS: ST. JOHN, VITI LEVU (FIJI), VIEQUES, IRELAND (CHECK YOUR ANCESTRY)

88 ISLANDS

FEBRUARY

JON WHITTLE

3. I have to explain to puzzled visitors the fireplace in my house. A strong wintertime â&#x20AC;&#x153;northerâ&#x20AC;? can send temps down into the high 60s.

Best it’s a TOUGH life.

But someone’s got to live it ;-)

to Live on

Quit your job.

Move to an island.

Be happy.

800.227.3483 | 954.929.0090 Mention code ISL15 info@anthonyskey.com | anthonyskey.com

We show you how on islands.com/BITLO.

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FREE TRAVEL INFORMATION! Free brochures, catalogs and other advertiser information. Simply mail the attached Reader Response Card, FAX tollfree to 888.847.6035, or visit islands.com/freeinfo for direct access to each Advertiser’s website and free information.

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FEBRUARY

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Accessible via the Islands Magazine app.

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HOW TO

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one rockfall and one volcanic earthquake tallied the previous week — Montserrat isn’t exactly deluged with tourists. The reminders are hard to ignore. A government pamphlet advises island kids that when “the volcanic activity increases … always try to carry an ash mask with you.” I’m told one of the biggest eruptions occurred just a sobering four years ago.

Annie pours a healthy (I use the term loosely) sample of Volcano Rum and gestures toward a dish of longish, flaccid animal parts slathered in sauce.

“Barbecued pigtails,” she says. “You have to taste.” No, respectfully, I don’t.

I stick to the rum, which is no easy task either. I take a very tentative first sip — and gasp. It’s fiery. Likely volatile.

Accurately named.

“My husband does the rum,” Annie says, waving off questions and payment, and pointing the way to Howe headquarters. “You’ll find Mr. Howe there.”

Half a mile up the hill, back the way I came, I spot the small, dark rum shop.

Inside, bottles, jars and unruly stacks of paperwork spar for space on lavenderpainted shelves. Seventy-year-old Robert Howe holds court behind the counter, entering orders by hand into an old-fashioned ledger book.

Montserrat. It has been that way since “My wife does pepper sauce and chutSoufrière Hills woke from a 400-year neys and t’ings,” he says. “That’s ladies’ nap in 1995 and turned two-thirds of the work. I take care of the rum.” island uninhabitable. Nearly 40 feet of But when I pry about the recipe, he mud covered Plymouth (Brades became clams up. “Family secret,” he says firmly. the de facto capital). Most Montserratians have left. Today, the remaining Distilled through volcanic rocks? With 4,922 people, squeezed into the island’s water from a vent deep in the island’s “safe” northern third, seem remarkably crust? Mr. Howe merely smiles. upbeat. Cheerful, even. Along one of the There is one detail he’s happy to reveal. “I am The Mighty Ash,” he confides. few still-navigable roads, I spot a vehicle “I put out the warning to leave.” When named “Never Give Up.” The phrase carries weight here. Maybe the local rum the volcano started erupting — it blew 76 times during one 30-day helps. It can’t hurt. period in 1997 — he and Behind the Volcano Mrs. Howe wrote a calypso Rum sign, I enter a turLANDING HERE quoise and canary-yellow called “Run to the North.”

After the airport bar. “Would you like a The song (excuse the term) was destroyed in taste?” Mrs. Annie Howe caught fire.

1997, island access pulls out a bottle with a “The audience went was by helicopter tidy home-printed label wild,” Montserrat’s newsor boat only. A paper reported later that newer 2,000-foot on it. She seems pleased runway opened year when The Mighty to see a stranger. Even in 2005.

Ash performed the song though Soufrière Hills is in a quiet phase — only in Gerald’s Bottom (no

B Y A N N VA N D E R H O O F

WHERE: MONTSERRAT THE DISCOVERY: REAL

FIREWATER

What I’ve seen of Montserrat so far

is a landscape of, how do I describe this?

Nothing. From the top of Jack Boy Hill, high above the eastern Caribbean, I’ve watched the infamous Soufrière Hills Volcano belching sulfurous steam over an eerie monochrome land of ash. It’s dotted with the occasional volcano-spewed truck-size boulder. In the distance there appears to be a chimney poking through the ground here, and the top of a tower rising there, but that’s about it. The international airport marked on my map is nowhere to be seen with the naked eye. Neither is the official capital city of Plymouth. So on the hike back down to sea level, it’s no wonder that I stop in my tracks at the sight of a sign: “Volcano Rum.” This I have to try.

The word “volcano” has become the first thing that leaps to mind whenever a conversation turns to the island of

THE MOST POPULAR SOCA SONG EVER IS “HOT, HOT, HOT” BY ALPHONSUS “ARROW” CASSELL, BORN IN MONTSERRAT.

92 ISLANDS

FEBRUARY

STEVE MANLEY; OPPOSITE: ZACH STOVALL

WHERE THERE’S SMOKE

laughing; it really is an island village) at an outdoor concert attended by more than half the population. Things got real interesting when Annie “dusted them with powder to simulate an ash cloud.”

The Mighty Ash pours himself a finger of his own rum, swallows it in one go — “to loosen up the voice” — looks straight into my eyes, and starts to sing.

“Listen to de update, listen to de latest, and hear what they’ve got to say, Oh God/ When de mountain crash, and you see de ash, just run, run, run to de north ...”

His voice trails off with an extravagant flourish of his arms and an electrifying smile for his audience of, well, two: me and a local customer, who knew the lyrics and sang along, sotto voce.

Alas, The Mighty Ash has no CDs left to sell, so I leave with the next best thing: a bottle of made-in-Montserrat Volcano Rum. “After you drink the rum, keep the bottles,” he says as I tuck them into my backpack. “It’s a sign you’ve been on the volcano island.” Without a doubt. win free trips: islands.com/newsletter

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OUTRIGGER ON TAHA’A

The breakfast is familiar on any island: eggs and fruit. The delivery method is unique at Le Taha’a: a shirtless guy rowing a woman wearing a flower crown and holding your meal on a tray. She leaves the food at your bungalow’s deck, which becomes a perch for watching them paddle away.

MINI MOKE ON PETIT ST. VINCENT

If you get thirsty on this Caribbean outpost (no phones or TVs), raise a yellow flag and leave a note outside your villa. A staffer hustles over by Mini Moke (a cross between a dune buggy and golf cart).

There’s something special about a rum and Coke by Mini Moke.

ZIP LINE ON SAINT LUCIA

ROOM SERVICE The Tahitian islands of Taha’a and Bora Bora are among those places where you don’t want to be in the shower when breakfast is delivered — you need to be wide awake, with the video camera rolling.

You might have seen it on The Bachelor: an engagement ring sent via zip line at Cap Maison to a deck made slippery by a puddle of tears. On a halfway normal evening (i.e., sans camera crew), the staff will use the same zip line to send guests champagne. See the Moet literally fall from the trees.

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T H E 2015

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C ALENDAR

PL AN YOUR WISH LIS T FOR THE Y E AR AT ISL ANDS .COM / WISHLIS T PH OTO CRE D IT S: Cover Zach Stovall January Zach Stovall February Jon Whittle March Jon Whittle April Jon Whittle May Lori Barbely June Jon Whittle July Zach Stovall August Zach Stovall September Jon Whittle October Zach Stovall November Jon Whittle December Jon Whittle January 2016 Jon Whittle J A N UA R Y 2016

B O N N I E R CO R P O R AT I O N 4 60 N O R T H O R L A N D O AV EN U E , S U I T E 200, W I N T ER PA R K , F L 32789; P H O N E: 407-628-4802; FA X : 407-628-7061; I S L A N D S .CO M

Order online today at islands.com/cal or call 888-224-0137 in the U.S. (Canada and Intl: 515-237-3697).

HURRY! QUANTITIES ARE LIMITED!

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ΫΫ Brilliant, affordable pricing άά —Arthur Frommer, Travel Editor Affordable Guided Vacations 10 days $1295 Guatemala & Tikal 9 days $1095 Costa Rica 8 days $1195 Panama Tour & Canal 10 days $1395 Nova Scotia & PᅧEᅧIᅧ 9 days $1595 Canadian Rockies 8 days $1395 Grand Canyon & Zion 8 days $1295 California Coast 8 days $1295 Mtᅧ Rushmore Costa Rica 8 days $1295 New England

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CAYO ESPANTO – A PRIVATE ISLAND Our five-star, world-class Belize resort is for the discriminating few who demand the best life has to offer. 888-666-4282 • aprivateisland.com

Luxury Villas

Guided Vacations Since 1952 U.S. POSTAL SERVICE STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCULATION (Required by 39 USC 3685) 1. Publication Title: Islands; 2. Publication No. 0745-7847; 3. Filing Date: 10/1/2014; 4. Issue Frequency: Jan/Feb, Mar, May, Jun, Jul,Aug/ Sep, Nov, Dec; 5. No. of Issues Published Annually: 8; 6. Annual Subscription Price: $24.00; 7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: Bonnier Corporation, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200,Winter Park,Orange County,Florida 32789;8.Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher: Bonnier Corporation, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200, Winter Park, Orange County, Florida 32789; 9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor: Publisher: Laura Walker, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200, Orange County,Winter Park, FL 32789; Editor: Robert Stephens, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200, Orange County,Winter Park, FL 32789; Managing Editor:Audrey St. Clair, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200, Orange County,Winter Park, FL 32789 ; 10. Owner: Bonnier Corporation, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200,Winter Park, Orange County, Florida 32789; 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Securities: None; 12. Tax Status (for completion by nonprofit organizations authorized to mail at nonprofit rates): Has Not Changed During Preceding 12 Months; 13. Publication Title: Islands; 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: Aug/Sep 2014; 15a. Total Number of Copies: 212,147 (Aug/Sep 2014: 202,359); b. Paid Circulation: (1) Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions: 176,136 (Aug/Sep 2014:158,253);(3) Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including SalesThrough Dealers and Carriers, StreetVendors, and Counter Sales, and Other Paid Distribution Outside the USPS: 7,470 (Aug/Sep 2014: 10,089), c. Total Paid Distribution: 183,606 (Aug/Sep 2014: 168,342); d. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution by Mail: (1) Free or Nominal Outside-County: 1,999 (Aug/Sep 2014: 2,011); (4) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail: 13 (Aug/Sep 2014:5);e.Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution:2,012 (Aug/Sep 2014: 2,016); f.Total Distribution: 185,619 (Aug/Sep 2014: 170,358); g. Copies not Distributed: 26,529 (Aug/Sep 2014: 32,001); h. Total: 212,147 (Aug/Sep 2014: 202,359); i. Percent Paid 98.92% (Aug/Sep 2014: 98.82%). PS FORM 3526: a: Requested and Paid Electronic Copies: 9,298, (Aug/Sep 2014: 8,333); b. total Requested and Paid Print copies & Paid Electronic copies: 192,904, (Aug/ Sep 2014: 176,674); c. Total Print Distribution & Paid Electronic copies: 194,917, (Aug/Sep 2014: 178,690); d. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation: 99.0%, (Aug/Sep 2014: 98.9%).

ANTIGUA

ST. JOHN, USVI

ANTIGUA VILLAGE Personally styled, luxury beachfront villas and condos set in lush tropical gardens on one of the most beautiful and famous beaches on Antigua. antiguavillage.net

CATERED TO VACATION HOMES Our private homes are beautifully furnished and landscaped, all with spectacular deck views and most with pools or spas. cateredto.com

FEBRUARY

ISLANDS

FREE 24-Page Brochure

Tax & fees extra; Photo: Keel-billed Toucan

Join the smart shoppers & experienced travelers who rely on Caravan to handle all the details while you and your family enjoy a well-earned, worry-free vacationᅧ

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DAVID P. VIRTUE

Express your passion & lifestyle with a hand-crafted band, available in 14K & 18K gold and platinum. Created in NH using 100% recycled gold and platinum. Full money back guarantee.

DavidVirtue.com

Give yourself permission! Enjoy an upscale, all inclusive clothing optional vacation for couples and singles. Near Cancun is Hidden Beach Resort, the most luxurious clothing optional boutique resort anywhere. Castaways Travel was instrumental in developing this luxury, 42 suite resort, dedicated to folks who enjoy sunning and socializing in an adult atmosphere. Are you ready? Call (800) 470-2020 and see: hiddenbeach.net Castaways Travel, Houston, Texas.

Castawaystravel.com • 281 362 8785

BOARDSHORTSWORLD.COM

The world’s largest selection of board shorts & board skirts. Now available in any length you want.

Hand crafted in the USA.

BoardShortsWorld.com

ISLANDS

Travel Partners

CASTAWAYS TRAVEL

KOKOMO – ELEUTHERA BAHAMAS

THE CLUB AT LITTLE CAYMAN

17 years experience. 3 islands. 100% freehold ownership. 10% down owner finance. Off-grid small island living or main island luxury. Invest, retire, surf, dive, and fish.

Sprawling 3-bdrm home on secluded pink sand beach. A/C, generator, Wi-Fi, phone, TV, pool table, huge decks, grill, hammocks, kayaks, and bicycles. $1,795-$2,395/wk. Call (800) 454-2299

The Club at Little Cayman, renowned for it’s carefree luxury lifestyle consists of eight units in either two or three bedroom floor plans.

fijirealestate.com

kokomo1.com

theclubatlittlecayman.com

FIJI REAL ESTATE

PARADISE VILLAS, LITTLE CAYMAN

EL CANARIO

TURKS & CAICOS RESERVATIONS

Paradise Villas is Little Cayman’s all oceanfront resort. 12 one bedroom villas, seaside dining at the Hungry Iguana, and world class diving at Bloody Bay.

“The Place to Stay” in San Juan, PR. Moderately priced newly remodeled rooms w/ flat screen TV’s and free WiFi. Walk to the beach, casinos, and nightlife. (800) 533-2649

Island Based vacation booking service for full packages with exclusive discounts. Call (877) 774-5486.

paradisevillas.com

canariohotels.com

turksandcaicosreservations.com

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FEBRUARY

ST. CROIX, SHOYS BEACH

Lovely 3 bedroom villa with a large pool and deck, gorgeous views, and steps from swimming, snorkeling, and golf. From $1,600/week.

shoysparadisefound.com

ROATAN - BAY ISLANDS

MAUI BEACHFRONT CONDOMINIUM

Travel Partners

www.roatanrealestate.com • 011 504 3358 3191

mauikondo.com

DOWN ISLAND LIMITED

Based on Carriacou, Grenada, Down Island offers a selection of peaceful privately owned villas, cottages, and apartments in the best locations.

Call (473) 443-8182.

islandvillas.com

MERMAID BEACH BRACELET BY KAREN FRANCIS

BAJOR YACHT CHARTERS

#1 Absolutely! The best vacation ever!

Personally designed yacht vacations since 1988. Bajor Yacht Charters, Virgin Islands. Call (800) 524-8292.

bajoryachts.com

ISLANDS

Watch the humpback whales from your private lanai, sleep to the sounds of the surf fifteen steps away. Come listen! $129 per night.

Margot and Matt and Associates have been helping Roatan investors in all price ranges since 1998. Beachfront land is available with 100’ of frontage for $150,000. A 2-bedroom home on a white sand beach can still be found for $239,000. If golf is part of your Caribbean dream, a 3-bedroom beachfront home on Roatan’s Pete Dye golf course is available for $875,000. Call 011 504 3358 3191 or visit our website to see all property available on the Roatan MLS.

Elegant “Island Style” bracelets available in your choice of solid sterling silver, the popular two-tone gold & sterling silver, or custom 14K solid gold. All bracelets are handcrafted, cuff style, and sized to fit your wrist measurement. View all designs online, including The Nantucket Bracelet and The Martha’s Vineyard Bracelet. Pictured above are The Mermaid Beach Bracelet in solid 14K gold (custom order per gold pricing), The Mermaid Beach Bracelet Two-Tone for $350, and The Ocean Wildlife Bracelet Two-Tone for $385. Limited quantities available.

mermaidbeachbracelet.com • 508 737 8664 FEBRUARY

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W H AT N O B O D Y T E L L S Y O U A B O U T ...

OV E R WAT E R H O M E S

OVERWATER PERILS

OV E R WAT E R ACC E N T S

Tahiti has“huts.” Fiji has houses. Made with native woods, these bures are built solid to withstand a 6-foot tidal change.

It’s why Likuliku resort has the only overwater offerings in all of Fiji. It’s also why I never heard honeymooners “honeymooning” here.

SNORKEL OFF YOUR DOCK AND YOU MAY FORGET WHICH HOUSE IS <2856 :$/.ǩ,16 ON NEIGHBORS HAPPEN LOTS.

Yes, there are glass floors.

But see the small window at the right on each home?

A giant bathtub sits on the other side. Even dual sinks feature a window straight to the sea. Take a bath, wash your hands — overwater reminders surround you. From $935 a night. likulikulagoon.com

STORY BY EDDY PATRICELLI

ISLANDS, VOL. 35, NO. 1, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 (ISSN 0745-7847), is published 8 times a year (Jan./Feb., March, April/May, June, July/Aug., Sept./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, and at additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ISLANDS, P.O. Box 6364, Harlan, IA 51593. Printed in USA. PUBLICATION MAIL AGREEMENT NUMBER 40612608 CANADA RETURN MAIL: IMEX, P.O. Box 25542, London, Ontario N6C 6B2

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H A M I LTO N LU N D/CO U RT E SY L I K U L I K U L AG O O N R E S O RT

Likuliku Lagoon Resort, Fiji

M t our Motu

Spend a day on our private islet, Motu Mahana. This exclusive retreat is just one of the many all-inclusive features we offer, including 50% off cruise fares plus airfare from Los Angeles.

Embrace the magic of the South Pacific with the world's best.

For more information, contact your Travel Professional, call 877-440-6119, or visit www.pgcruises.com/islands

TA H I T I | F R E N C H P O LY N E S I A | F I J I | S O U T H PAC I F I C