Fantasy Islands Close to Florida

Chris Sherman | 8/1/2008

» Guadeloupe. Guadeloupe loves its cuisine of croissants and baguettes and wild thyme and trees of peppers strong enough to cook seven court bouillons. You can taste the blend of France and West Africa in humble markets and gourmet restaurants. Local pots stills refine sugar cane juice into fine rhum agricole, vintage dated and of Cognac quality. On Iles des Saintes, I found a tropical Brittany, where Bretons fish from traditional boats and women wear the old white caps in the glare of the Caribbean sun.

El Yunque rainforest, Puerto Rico

» Puerto Rico. The best part of old San Juan that’s still old is El Convento, now a grand hotel and a grand place to retreat. For a sense of the Spanish city, I like the old churches and the Plaza del Mercado in the central Santurce district. By day, it’s a busy market; by night, it turns into a jolly street party. Art museums from Ponce to San Juan explode with the color and energy of Puerto Rican artists, especially the Museo de Arte, which exhibits brilliant architecture and the culinary aesthetic of Wilo Benet, who makes the island’s old favorites deliciously new at Pikayo. You can find secluded paradores and eco-lodges and in a lush remote crater, the world’s largest radio telescope, scanning the universe and listening for signs of intelligent life.

Tags: Dining & Travel