Island

Puerto Rico, rich port

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Puerto Rico is an island in the Caribbean Sea and is the fourth largest island in what is known as the Greater Antilles. It is an unincorporated territory of the USA and is close to both the British and United States Virgin Islands and has many smaller islands of its own, with Mona among its largest.

Puerto Rico also has a tropical climate and is affected by hurricanes. It is one of three countries in the Caribbean with Spanish as its official language. The island is mainly mountainous with the main mountain range in the centre of the country. There are coasts on the north and south while there are also several man-made lakes and more than 50 rivers.

The Puerto Rican culture relies heavily on music… singers such as Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, and Ricky Martin all hail from Puerto Rico.

There is a large road network with the major towns and cities connected by freeways and expressways much like in the United States. The main areas are served by a public bus and there are also mini buses. There are three international airports in Puerto Rico 27 smaller ones.

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Barbados, where the sea become blue

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barbados
The island of Barbados is the easternmost of those of the Lesser Antilles with one coast on the Caribbean Sea and the other in the Atlantic Ocean. The island is mostly flat with the high point being Mount Hillaby.

The capital city of Bridgetown is in the parish of Saint Michael. Other major towns include Holetown, Oistins, and Speightstown. A major proportion of Barbados is encircled by coral reefs while there are numerous limestone caves the most famous being Harrison’s Cave which is a major tourist attraction. Another is Welchman Hall Gully.

Barbados has two main seasons -wet and dry. June to November is wet with December to May dry. The island was colonised by the British and still has many English influences.

Cricket is the main sport with some major cricketing figures including Sir Garfield Sobers and Sir Frank Worrell hailing from the small island. One of the major events on the island is Crop Over which is similar to carnival.

The festival features musical competitions and other activities and local calypso and soca music. A king and queen are usually crowned.

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The Grantley Adams International Airport is the main airport on the island.

Sardinia, very nice

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sardinia

Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the geologically oldest in Europe. It’s a close neighbour of Corsica to the north, Italy, and Sicily. Its capital city is Cagliari.

The island is mountainous with high rocky coasts and several bays, inlets, and rias. The island has a Mediterranean climate on its coasts, plains, and lowlands while a continental climate exists in the centre.

The island has come under influence from Romans, Byzantines, Italians, Austrians and theSpanish and some of their traditions are still practised in Sardinia today. Sardinian and Italian are the main languages spoken on the island. It is also site of several megalithic structures and aUnesco World Heritage Site.

The Sardinian diet relies heavily on meat, dairy products, grains, and vegetables. Sardinians also drink more beer per capita than anywhere else in Italy.

Sardinia has three international airports connecting it to the mainland of Italy and other parts of Europe. There are ferry companies which operate between Sardinia and cities in France and there is a rail network which connects towns across the island.

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Corfu, castle island

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In the Ionian Sea sits the Greek island of Corfu. The birthplace of the Duke of Edinburgh, the whole island of Corfu is made almost entirely of limestone formations.

The island was heavily fortified against the Ottoman Empire and its capital city, also named Corfu, is enclosed by castles. It has been declared a Kastropolis or castle city by the Greek government. Among the islands sites is the Achilleion palace. The palace is famous for itsItalianate architecture and was after the Homeric hero Achilles.

The palace is is filled with paintings and statues of Achilles and depicts the scenes of the Trojan War. The historic Palaiokastritsa monastery on the west coast has beautiful coastal views of small, picturesque bays.

The Nymphes waterfalls in the north and the deserted 14th century village of Perithia high in the mountains near the highest peak of Mount Pantokrator are also worth seeing.

The foods of Corfu are similar to those of mainland Greece such as olives, olive oil, cheeses,fresh fruits, vegetables and seafood.

Things to try include Bourou-Bourou Vegetable and Pasta Soup, Bourtheto a Scorpion Fish in a Spicy Sauce, Pastitsatha Rooster with Pasta and Sykomaïtha – Spiced Fig Cakes. The island is served by the Corfu International Airport, two miles south of Corfu Town.

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Corsica, Napoleon’s birthplace

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Somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea, west of Italy, southeast of France, and north of Sardinia is the French island of Corsica.

The island, an departement outre-mer or overseas region of France, is dominated by amountain chain which comprises two-thirds of the territory. Corsica is the most mountainous of the Mediterranean islands.It has three separate climatic zones – hot coastal zone, temperatemountains, and an alpine zone.

For the nature lover there is the Parc Naturel Regional de Corse which boasts several protected species while the Scandola Nature Reserve is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Ajaccio, the capital is in Corse du Sud while the second largest city Bastia is in Haute Corse. The Corsican culture is a unique blend of French and Italian.

The French general and emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsica and his home is currently a museum while the town of Calvi claims to be the birth place of the explorerChristopher Columbus.

Along with French, Corsica has its own language which is recognised as an official language by the French government.

Corsica has interesting cuisine which includes wild boar, seafood and river fish, ficatellu coppa, lonzu made from Corsican pork and cheeses such as brocciu, casgiu merzu, casgiuand veghju made from goat or sheep milk.

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Crete, cradle of European civilisation

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The island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea is the largest of the Greek isles and the most populous.

The second largest island in the Mediterranean after Cyprus- Crete is teeming with history. It was once the centre of Minoan civilisation which is recorded as the earliest known European civilisation.

The culture is rich. Known for Mantinades poetry and music, and dances the most notable being the Pentozali. Crete is also rich with archaeological sites such as Knossos and Phaistos and there are also Minoan, Roman, and World War II ruins.

Crete is mountainous and has three different groups of mountains forming part of a range running from east to west. The island is plush with fertile plateaux, valleys, caves, and gorges. The climate is primarily temperate and there is snowfall in the mountains between November and May.

Heraklion is the largest city and capital, with more than a fifth of the island’s 600,000 people.

Crete has a road network larger than that of Britain and is well-served by ferries from the mainland city of Athens.

Crete is a veritable den of flora and fauna not seen anywhere else in Greece or other parts of Europe. There are no large or dangerous mammals or snakes on the island.

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Cyprus, Mediterranean paradise

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Cyprus
Very mild winters and warm dry summers make the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea a hotspot for tourists. The island gets almost twice the sunshine of cities in Northern Europe with as many as 12-13 hours of sun during the summertime.

Cyprus sits south of Turkey and east of Greece and is the third largest island in the Mediterranean. The island of Cyprus is divided into Greek and Turkish rule and is unique in that it is the only one which has a divided capital city – Nicosia. Nicosia is divided by a “green line” with part in Turkish Cyprus and part in Greek Cyprus. The city is surrounded by a Venetian wall.

International flights arrive at Larnaca International Airport in the south of the island. The island is mountainous in the north and south with plains in the centre while there are also plains on the island’s southern coast.

There are many archaeological sites scattered across Cyprus that date from the Stone Age through the Roman Empire and the island also boasts a beautiful coastline.

Cyprus is a great place to buy leather goods including shoes and handbags, jewellery, lacework from the village of Lefkara, and Cypriot wine. It boasts interesting cuisine and meze, a dish that can be made from meat or fish, is a must try.

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Malta, where centuries of history live

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malta
One of the most densely populated countries in the world, the small Mediterranean island of Malta remains popular among British tourists. The island sits south of the island of Sicily and just north of Libya in the Mediterranean Sea.

The island has a warm climate and many recreational areas which makes it a tourist favourite.There are three Unesco World Heritage Sites on the island which is filled with architectural and historical monuments.

Among them are the Megalithic Temples which are some of the oldest free-standing structures in the world. The island has a strong historical background having once been a base for Phoenicians, Hapsburg Spain, Romans, Aragonese, Arabs, Norman, French, and British.

Carnival has had a strong place in Maltan culture and it also has a strong Christian legacy. The architecture has been highly influenced by its Roman culture with classical and marble structures. Mosaic floors and Christian frescos decorate catacombs and Romanesque as well as Southern Gothic movements also have a place in Maltan culture.

The Italian artist Caravaggio painted seven of his works in Malta, two of the most notable being on display on the island.  

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St. Martin, a double dose of delight

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The island of St. Martin in the Caribbean is unique. It is the smallest island in the world that is governed by two sovereign nations.

One side of the island is ruled by the Kingdom of The Netherlands and is called Sint Maarten while the other is governed by France and is known as St. Martin. It is the only land border shared by those two nations anywhere in the world.

The Dutch side’s main city is Phillipsburg while the French side’s capital is Marigot. The island is served by one airport – the Princess Juliana International Airport.

The island of St. Martin/Sint Maarten is hilly and tends to by dry. Like most of the other islands in the Caribbean it has a dry season from December to April and a wet season from June to November.

The Dutch side of the island is quite festive. A cruise ship port sits in Great Bay near Phillipsburg and tourists can enjoy fine restaurants serving French, Chinese, and Indonesian cuisine.

There are also loads of little shops where interesting jewellery and clothing can be purchased. The € is the unit of currency on the French side while the guilder is used on the Dutch side.

The main languages spoken here are English, Dutch, and Papiamento. French is the main language spoken in the other half of the island. Here is like a little slice of France in the Caribbean with exotic boutiques, cafes and patisseries all around the narrow streets. Duty free shopping with high-end brands makes St. Martin very attractive to visitors.

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