As I ramble through the rain forest, its pristine wildness envelops me like a warm quilt: a banyan tree with roots like the banisters I slid down as a child; bromeliads and orchids strangling mahogany trees in their embrace; green vervet monkeys stealthily clutching fallen, overripe mangoes like treasure; iridescent butterflies and hummingbirds competing for prize blooms. But when the trail suddenly disappears into the lush, fragrant undergrowth, I panic momentarily. Then a shifting breeze carries tinkling laughter and clinking cups. Following the sound, I emerge within minutes, sun-blinded, onto a vast, immaculately groomed lawn rolling down to the sea. A quartet of casual yet worldly Brits waves from a table set by a restored 18th-century sugar factory. "You look like you could use a drink," one trills. As I approach, a smiling staffer intercepts me with a tray bearing a cool mint-scented towel and iced bush tea "to calm da nerves." More »
Photo: Thomas Crosley/Shutterstock
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