Don't let them win, TRAVEL!!!

ou heard it here first: Few places in the Caribbean – perhaps the world – are as satisfying to the senses as the cane fields of St. Kitts. It's a true “Be Here Now” kind of experience. On our August trip to the island, after hiking with Greg's Safari Tours to the summit of Mt. Liamuiga, St. Kitts’ volcano, we returned to the trailhead and then rode in the back of his pickup truck from the base of the rainforest down the rough back roads used by the cane cutters. The sensory immersion was palpable: the fields of tall cane writhed like a blanket being shaken out for a picnic, the wind gusting in whispery patterns that were visible across the panoply of green (aren't we poetic?). The air was fresh, and as crisp as the tropics allow, while the view extended to volcanic cone of St. Eustatius, across the sea channel. Because the rutted path was narrow, the cane was close enough that the wind would ripple the ribbons of green across our outstretched arms. Soon we passed the Rawlins Plantation, which is surrounded by the magnificent fields, and then across the undulating tracks of the quaintly outmoded railroad that circles St. Kitts to pick up the crop – the cane train is the last operating locomotive in the region. So it is with greatly mixed emotions that we report how the cane fields that ring this island are about to become history.

ugar production in the Caribbean has always been a blessing and a curse. In addition to the slave industry that sugar nourished, fields of cane have been an environmental disaster for many islands. A look at the denuded landscape of Antigua – now sugar-free – tells the sad story. In recent years, cane in the Caribbean has become another kind of problem: It is an unprofitable crop for most of the islands. For the last few years in St. Kitts, the government has subsidized sugar to the tune of US$10 million annually to keep it in production. That figure becomes grotesque with irony when one discovers that most of the muscle working these fields today is not Kittitian, but workers imported from the Dominican Republic and Guyana – places were the standard of living is such that some are still lured to work the fields, despite the meager wages and arduous labor conditions (thus, the subsidies have really only benefited a few local sugar producers, not the Kittitian populace at large). So, in many ways, the decision to abandon sugar is a positive development for St. Kitts. But since the island doesn't have the money to convert these thousands of acres to their original forested slopes, what will become of these lands?

The answer should be no surprise: development. The two-island government of St. Kitts-Nevis is evaluating various proposals, big and small, that deal with the future of the cane fields after the last crop is harvested (in 2002). There are ideas to convert the cane train to either public transport or to refashion it as a tourist ride – both of these concepts have merit, but the latter is perhaps more realistic (public transport on a dilapidated train might be a bigger drain on the government coffers than even the cane subsidies). There's a bizarre idea to convert the north end of the island to a grand villa and marina development for foreigners – hey, did they happen to notice that there are no beaches to lure yachty types? And we really don't like the idea of building a tram car to whisk weak-kneed cruise ship passengers up to the summit of Mt. Liamuiga. But one idea that intrigues us is the one being floated by the owners of Ottley's Plantation Inn – they are proposing a villa and golf development on the slopes above their existing inn.

One big Kittitian project is well underway: the construction of a mammoth new hotel at Frigate Bay, to be run by the Marriott folks starting in 2003. With more than 400 rooms in four-story buildings lining the beach, it's difficult to see the potential for much beauty or grace in this project today, but at least it's being built in an area that is already strewn with resorts. Of course, other St. Kitts hoteliers are delighted about the Marriott – the hotel will bring a name brand to the island and help lure more flights (currently the only scheduled service from the US is on American Eagle commuter planes out of San Juan).

e admit, it didn't take a great leap of faith to predict in last month's newsletter that vacation deals – post September 11 – would come out of the woodwork. And the list of Caribbean hotels offering great winter rates is long, and grows by the day. A few of the offers that have landed on our desk are from some of our favorite landings. For example, swank La Samanna in St. Martin will give you the seventh night free this winter – for a resort that charges $740 and up per night, this is a big savings; reservations: (800) 854-2252. Olde Yard Inn on Virgin Gorda is offering two free nights for each seven-night visit – the offer is valid through December 21, and again January 5-31; reservations: (800) 653-9273. Act quickly for this one: Tortola's Long Bay Beach Resort is providing a 20 percent discount off rack rates through December 21, 2002, but only if you book by November 5, 2001; reservations: (800) 729-9599. All of Martinique's three- and four-star hotels will provide a 20 percent discount to anyone who books a room and identifies themselves as American; details through the Martinique Promotion Bureau: (800) 391-4909. The new Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall in Montego Bay, Jamaica is offering an “Early Bird” package valid January 4-April 30 – book it by January 15 to secure a nightly all-inclusive rate of $570 per couple, which includes three meals and drinks daily, a massage, a spa or golf credit, tax and gratuities, and more (the regular winter room-only rate starts at $395); reservations: (800) 241-3333. And Hyatt properties throughout the Caribbean are offering 35 to 40 percent off normal winter rack rates – you need to book this one with a travel agent, by December 15, for travel through January 31. This is only a brief sampling of the kinds of offers out there – in fact, a travel agent will be able to provide the latest hot deal, but you need to act fast.

an we digress for a moment? The annual Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards are out, and we can't help but make a few observations. Particularly since the UK edition of Conde Nast Traveller, with its different editorial staff and readership, has also published its reader survey, with notably divergent results. In the category of favorite islands, the UK readership selected Barbados as tops in the world, with St. Lucia and Cuba landing on the list in the number 5 and 10 positions. US readers, however, neglected to mention a single Caribbean destination on its list of ten favorite islands. As for accommodations, the US edition of the magazine selected the Four Seasons Nevis as the best resort in the world – Anguilla's Malliouhana, the Aruba Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas, Virgin Gourda's Little Dix Bay, and The Ritz-Carlton San Juan rounded out the list of top Caribbean resorts. But when UK readers were asked to name their top 20 leisure hotels, not a single Caribbean resort made it to the list.

What gives? First, on the subject of islands, we'll posit that both sets of readers are inclined to lowball what is close to home – perhaps equating distance with exoticism. UK readers didn't think much of places like the Canary or Channel islands, both of which are within a three-hour plane or ferry trip from London. So it goes with American vacation favorites like Jamaica or the US Virgin Islands – they're not as rarefied as Bali or Bora Bora. Second, and more importantly, these readers can only vote what they know. So, although all five Hawaiian islands made it to the US list of favorites, they were ignored on the UK list, because few Brits actually make the trip to the other side of the world. Similarly, Mauritius earned the number 2 slot on the UK list, but was ignored by the Americans, who are a distinct minority on this antipodal Indian Ocean island. It is for this reason that surveys like these are highly suspect: The results are only as knowledgeable as the respondents, and although Americans are traveling farther from home than ever before, it takes the expertise of well-versed travel agents and – dare we say it – opinionated guidebooks to evaluate the merits of one island against another. Well-traveled experts can make comparisons between Aruba, Bermuda and Barbuda that go well beyond linguistics. There is also the issue of expectations delivered. The Aruba Marriott is an above-average Caribbean resort – but third best in the region? Hardly. It's fair to say that the guests of this Marriott, that is, the US Conde Nast readers who elected to stay at the resort, got what they wanted. To say that all the guests of the lower-ranked Little Dix Bay would have been happier if they had stayed at the Marriott is hard to imagine.

ou can probably guess where we go next. It's just a 10-minute plane trip or 30-minutes by ferry from St. Kitts to Nevis, and we'll give you the lowdown on our recent visit, including a full report on the revamped Four Seasons Resort, in December's newsletter (if we are prompted with a ti punch or two we might even compare it against the Aruba Marriott). Until then, Happy Thanksgiving!