Caribbean Ports of Call
CRUISING THE CARIBBEAN
The Caribbean Has A Warm Spot for You

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS - Something about these islands, 60 miles east of Puerto Rico, seems to trigger the best in cruisers. It begins with dazzling white beaches and turquoise water. Add your basic warm tropical breeze, festive steel-band music, exotic rum drinks, and you have a musical quality that quickly infuses tourists.

The darling of sailors, the BVI remains substantially free of commercialism and television; there's no hustling or hawking, no billboards or glitzy nightlife spots, no stop lights or street signs. And crime is virtually nonexistent.

The BVI is where Hemingway and Bogart would feel at ease. Sailors from throughout the world glide in to experience the Sir Francis Drake Channel and Virgin Gorda where large boulders form caves flushed by swells rolling in from the mouth of Sir Francis Drake Channel.

Anegada, a coral and limestone atoll rising only 28 feet above sea level, harbors more than 200 shipwrecks, including a Spanish galleon, and is one of the Caribbean's exciting dive locations. The BVI consists of some 50 islands, most of them uninhabited. The British Crown Colony is 60 miles east of Puerto Rico, the gateway. TOP

CAYMAN ISLANDS - The Caymans consist of three coral islands: Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. Regarded as the Mecca for scuba divers because of the clear water, interesting coral formations, and countless fish, the Caymans offer these adventures even to those; who can't swim in submarines.

if not into prowling the depths of the Caribbean, try Jack Nicklaus designed Britannia Golf Course. Whatever you choice, the Cayman's will show you a good time. TOP

DOMINICA - Not to be confused with the Dominican Republic, Dominica offers an incomparable opportunity to experience one of the last spots of unspoiled nature on earth.

29-mile-long island of volcanic formation, with its towering mountains, 16,000-acre rain forest set aside as a national park, Trafalgar Falls, Emerald Pool, and Boeri Crater Lake (the Boiling Lake)--the second largest of its kind in the world--is the most beautiful of the Lesser Antilles.

The Sisserou or Imperial and Rednecked Parrots are both endangered species found only in Dominica, as is the last tribe of the Carib Indians, who live in the northeast portion of the island on a 3,700-acre reservation. TOP

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - The Dominican Republic is steeped in history. Santo Domingo, the oldest city in the Western world, also is home to the oldest cathedral, and Columbus's final resting place. The Spanish streets of Old City take you back to Spain and the days of conquistadors.

Not far from the town of Puerto Plata on the north coast, resorts are in full swing. On the southeast coast, is a relaxed beachside lifestyle. The Dominican Republic is also a baseball hot-bed and feeds a steady stream of players to the major leagues. TOP

GRENADA - With the help of the cruise industry, tourism is now the number two industry, following agriculture. St. George, the capital, is a bustling city of narrow winding streets and high energy. Eighteenth-century French and English provincial houses line one of the most attractive harbors in the Caribbean.

Favorite attractions are the Grand Etang Nature Center, a primeval and pristine rain forest in the crater of an extinct volcano, and Market Square, where the scent of spices and stacks of exotic fruits entice the senses.

A sidetrip is to Carriacou Island, a 13-mile gem south of Grenada in the Grenadines. Wander through the island on foot, talk with the boat builders and farmers and snorkel in the superb reefs. TOP

GUADELOUPE - A joke in the Leewards says, there are U.S. Virgins and British Virgins but no French Virgins. Guadeloupe, virgin or not, is where cooking is an art and a steaming souffle sets the French islands a skillet apart from its neighbors.

The two-island country--Grande-Terre and Basse-Terre, connected by a drawbridge--has 270 miles of bicycle trails and views of La Soufriere Volcano, which rises 4,813 feet to crown a 74,000-acre stretch of waterfalls, lakes, flowers, and rain forests.

Schooners, yachts, and cargo and cruise ships line the harbor. Veteran cruisers claim that off Pigeon Island, on the west coast, is one of the world's 10-best diving areas. TOP

HAITI - Haiti, the world's first black independent republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, is having difficult times, both politically, economically and the whims of devastating storms.

The capital, Port au Prince, combines nearly 200 years of African folkways with the refinement of French culture. Browse the galleries where artists apply vivid color to canvas in a style so unique it beckons collectors from around the world.

Cap Haitien, the country's second largest town is the gateway to the Citadel, a massive fortress, and Haiti's main attraction. The National Museum in Port au Prince, reportedly houses the anchor from Columbus's flagship, the SANTA MARIA. TOP

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