Florida’s spring-fed rivers are quiet stunners — underground aquifers surfacing to form short, crystal-clear waterways that wind through the state’s interior. The best way to experience them is slowly, standing on a paddleboard, drifting where the water tells you to go.
First, let’s get the pronunciation right. It’s Domi-neek-ah, as in nothing to do with the Dominican Republic. Dominica, the birthplace of my parents, is a remote, wild, and hilly island, a cross between Costa Rica, Jurassic Park, and New Zealand, and where “Pirates of the Caribbean” was filmed. Packed with wonder, the following is merely an amuse-bouche of things to do and see on this appropriately nicknamed “nature island.”
Whistles blow, the station master, starched and spotless in white, nods at the guard, who waves a green flag, and off we go, rolling out of Hatton station in Sri Lanka’s tea-covered hills, where I had spent three glorious days. For $12, I got an AFC ticket — air-conditioned first class, which isn’t really first class, or even second for that matter. But, my reserved seat is comfortable, although the air-conditioning means the windows are sealed shut and foggy, obscuring the gorgeous views.
Dracula. Dracula. Dracula. Dracula. Now that’s out of the way, we can get to the real reasons why this central Romanian region, where the Carpathian Mountains dissolve into forested valleys, meadows, and medieval settlements, is a great place to visit.
