Nearby in Papillote, the double deluge of Trafalgar Falls
encompasses the hot "father" flow and cold "mother" that borders
the 17,000-acre Morne Trois Pitons National Park, home to many a
wondrous hike. None more so than the trek to Boiling Lake, an
all-day affair (engage a guide) over challenging, often rainy
ridges, past puddles of bubbling mud to the volcano-heated lake.
Tempted to swim? Try the park's waterfall-fed Emerald Pool. Or
strap on mask, fins, and snorkel and take the offshore technicolor
plunge at Soufriere Scott's
Head Marine Park.
DETAILS: Dominica Tourist Office, (888) 645-5637,
www.dominica.com.
Papillote Wilderness Retreat, from $95, (767) 448-2287,
www.papillote.dm. Fort
Young Hotel, from $95, (767) 448-5000,
www.fortyounghotel.com.
GRENADINES
A string of pearls scattered south of St. Vincent and north of
Grenada, the Grenadines are what many mean when they say paradise.
Surely Mick Jagger and Tommy Hilfiger, two of many renowned
homeowners here, do. Stars love the islands for their distance from
the limelight, sailors for their steady winds, and island hoppers
for their easy proximity.
Yet despite proximity, travel around the Grenadines requires
careful study of ferry schedules and inter-island commuter flights.
Navigate the islands yourself aboard a sailboat from The Moorings,
which just opened a new charter-boat base on little-developed
Canouan at the Tamarind Beach Hotel, where rooms rank among the
best deals in the upscale archipelago.
Ports of call range from sophisticated to uninhabited. Beginning in
the north, boat-building Bequia puts the local woodworking talents
on display in lovingly trimmed harborside houses. Mustique
maintains its mystique through regular off-loading of A-list
resorters who rub elbows with the hoi polloi at the 20-room
beach-chic Cotton House hotel.