Southampton To San Francisco, 27 Nights

Fort Lauderdale, (lô´der-dâl´) city (1990 pop. 148,377), seat of Broward Co., SE Fla., on the Atlantic coast; settled around a fort built (c.1837) in the Seminole War, inc. 1911. The city has more than 270 mi (435 km) of natural and artificial waterways and one of the largest marinas in the world. A major beach resort, it has a performing arts center and art and science museums. Products include electronic devices, boats and yachts, and various light manufactures.

After the Mexican government’s mastery with Cancun’s resort development, it decided to convert the tiny town into the luxurious resort that Huatulco has become. Bahias de Huatulco consists of nine bays extends over a 20-mile stretch. Santa Cruz, the original town, is now the center of Huatulco’s development. Not long ago it was a sleepy fishing village
of simple adobe huts, now its a resort town with wide, palm-lined boulevards, rolling golf courses, and large hotel complexes. The colorful silver and handicrafts market along the town’s main boulevard, Juarez, is a good place to pick up souvenirs. It’s also fun to watch people in the “zocalo,” the grassy town square, or take a glass-bottom boat ride into the pretty harbor of Santa Cruz Bay.

Montego Bay, (mòn-tê´go) city (1991 pop. 83,446), NW Jamaica. A port, railroad terminus, and commercial center, it is one of the most popular resorts in the Caribbean. There is an active trade in sugar, bananas, coffee, and rum and some light industries.

Jamaica’s north-western node is the thriving port city of MoBay. This is resort Jamaica at its purest and most puerile, where a crowded touristy mishmash of one-way streets full of honking cars and pedestrians almost obscures the scintillating beaches, the golf courses, the historic houses and the mountain-village life going on behind the narrow coastal strip. Despite MoBay’s reputation as a hustlers’ city, there are attractions which make it worth being asked ‘Hey, Jake! Smoke? Coke?’ every few steps. Many admirable Georgian stone buildings and timber houses still stand downtown, and there is an excellent variety of arts and crafts. Every kind of water sport is offered, although most of the good beaches are the private domains of resort hotels. Those seeking a budget holiday with a lively nightlife and shops and markets packed with bargains will be right at home, as will those seeking to spend a week idly sunning at an all-inclusive upmarket resort. However, if you’re interested in Jamaica beyond the tourist ideal of ‘Caribbean-ness,’ you’ll find little in Montego Bay.

Each of its five boroughs is a county: Manhattan (New York county), an island; the Bronx (Bronx county), on the mainland, NE of Manhattan across the Harlem River; Queens (Queens county), on Long Island, E of Manhattan across the East River; Brooklyn (Kings county), also on Long Island, on the East River adjoining Queens and on New York Bay; and Staten Island (Richmond county), an island SW of Manhattan across the Upper Bay.

The nation’s largest city, New York is a major U.S. port, the country’s trade center and with its banks and stock exchanges, the financial center of the world.

Theaters, nightclubs, shops, and restaurants draw millions of visitors. With all the sights to see, New York is sure to be a fun filled getaway!

Puerto Quetzal is our gateway to the natural wonders and ruins in this untouristed nation. Visit Tikal, once the most resplendent city in the Mayan world. Tour Antigua Guatemala with its rumbling volcanoes. Or go in search of the rare quetzal, the spectacular but shy bird with iridescent feathers that cannot live in captivity. So revered by Guatemalans, its graceful image appears on the country’s national coins called “quetzals.”

San Francisco one of the nation’s cultural centers. Founded by the Spanish in 1776 as Yerba Buena, it was taken and renamed by the Americans in 1846. The California gold rush of 1848 led to great growth; with the arrival of newcomers from all over the world in the late 19th century the city took on a cosmopolitan air.

A gracious, picturesque city with a mild climate, it is famous for its individuality. Notable features include its cable cars, which carry passengers on its steep hills; the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (opened 1936) and Golden Gate Bridge (opened 1937); Chinatown; Fisherman’s Wharf; Telegraph Hill; the mansions of Nob Hill; the opera house; symphony hall (1980); the Yerba Buena arts and gardens complex; and numerous institutions of learning.

Southampton Parish, on Main Island, is one of the nine parishes each of 2.3055 (two point three zero five five) square miles. It was named after Henry Wriothesley, Third Earl of Southampton (1573-1624), an English aristocrat, one of the most colorful Elizabethans, the patron and friend of William Shakespeare.

Thirty seven sandy beaches, sparkling Caribbean seas, soothing trade winds, fine dining and incredible duty free shopping combine to make St.Martin/St.Maarten a true vacationers paradise.

Destination St. Martin is proud to represent a number of smaller hotels on the French side of the island; generally not the type of places found in the glossy tourist brochures but rather more intimate yet immaculate properties which allow the visitor to experience true island life. Accommodations are available on the beach in the beautiful French village of Grand Case, in Nettle Bay near the town of Marigot and at popular Orient Beach.

The smallest island in the world ever to have been partitioned between two different nations, St. Martin/St. Maarten has been shared by the French and the Dutch in a spirit of neighborly cooperation and mutual friendship for almost 350 years.

The border is almost imperceptible and people cross back and forth without ever realizing they are entering a new country. The only marker is a monument between Union Road and Bellevue, testifying to centuries of peaceful cohabitation and the treaty that made the arrangement possible.

All the same, each side has managed to retain much of the distinctiveness of its own national culture. The French tend to emphasize comfort and elegance. The beaches are secluded, the luxury resorts provide lavish accommodations, and the restaurants offer some of the finest dining experiences anywhere in the Caribbean. The latest French fashions can be found in many of the shops, and the smell of fresh croissants and pastries mixes everywhere with the spicy aromas of West Indian cooking. Small caf’e9s and charming bistros add a decidedly Gaelic and cosmopolitan flair to the place. On the whole the atmosphere remains very relaxed.