A tasty mix

In Argentina, olive groves grow amid the vineyards

Quick trips: Rincon

A Puerto Rican island getaway with surf and son

I see her as I step out from among the sea grape trees and onto the golden sands: tanned, blond and bikini-clad, she is walking toward me. And she possesses the one characteristic I’m yearning to see in a woman on the beach: a little kid.

Quick trips: Santo Domingo

In search of a quality Dominican feast

Strange as it may sound, finding good Dominican food isn’t so easy in Dominican restaurants.

Culinary excursions

Peru: Sampling the pleasures of ceviche, potatoes, guinea pig

Before journeying to Peru, I jokingly asked a Spanish-speaking friend to teach me one phrase, and one phrase only, to guide me in my upcoming travels: “Dame todo su comida,” or “Give me all your food.”

Quick trips: Puerto Rico

Ponce recalls 19th century colonialism

There was a time, not that long ago, when visitors to Puerto Rico’s second-largest city were cautioned not to stray from the central plaza after dark. Many of Ponce’s ornate 19th century buildings were vacant and falling to pieces, and the poorly lit streets were made even shadier by some of the characters who roamed them looking for handouts — or worse.

Lima

Spending a night with the dead in Peru’s capital

When Presbitero Matias Maestro cemetery in Lima received its first body in 1808, the best plots went to the elite, unless the noble had been dishonored or disgraced.

Travelwise

Staying safe in Mexico: Try these tips so you’re not a target

As a frequent traveler to Mexico, I’m often asked about the safety issues due to the amount of violence and dramatic imagery shown in U.S. news.

Caribbean Carnival

A party to remember, an island at a time

We all have exultant moments: memories made to be bottled up, then uncorked and sniffed during dimmer times. In mine, I am in Trinidad. The sun is rising. I am drinking rum, dancing my way through the streets of Port of Spain during the staple of all Caribbean Carnivals, J’Ouvert: a dawn-till-lunchtime parade during which revelers smear themselves in many things — paint, oil, cocoa, mud. Vanity and identity are replaced by unadulterated joy in simply, magically being there during a sublimely over-the-top ritual.

Argentina

The forests of Misiones province are rich with rare birds

“The key to spotting the rarest hummingbirds and manakins is finding their territories,” said Emilio White, as we crouched among sun-specked leaves on the steamy forest floor of Argentina’s northern province of Misiones. “You find where they court, where they dance or come to feed, then you cut trails that almost guarantee sightings.”

Quick trips

St. Kitts: Volcano hiking, and liming, by the sea

There’s relaxing, and then there’s liming. You’ll know — and feel — the difference after a few hours in St. Kitts.

Mexico

Mayas complain of ritual ban at pyramids, temples

Maya priests started off ceremonies aimed at marking the end of the current era in the Maya long-count calendar this week, with dancing, incense and rituals designed to thank the gods.

All-inclusives: Resorts offer myriad of styles

Order breakfast while still in bed at the new Aura Cozumel Wyndham Grand Bay. You'll have just enough time for a dip in the private plunge pool above your third-floor suite before room service delivers smoked salmon, fruit and coffee.

QUICK TRIPS

Turks and Caicos Islands are booming

This tiny group of islands in the West Indies has one of the world's fastest-growing economies, sparked by high-end resorts and a booming real estate market.

GETTING THERE

Nonstop flights make Caribbean, Bahamas just a hop away

While airlines are cutting flights from other parts of the country, South Florida is actually getting new service.

Rambling all-inclusive near Puerto Plata, D.R.

On a sun-drenched afternoon in the Dominican Republic, a young bride stood under a cloudless sky, draped in lace and her dark hair covered in a wisp of veil. The groom was dapper in a light linen suit, his fingers interlaced with hers. The woman said ''I do'' in Spanish; he responded in kind. Family and friends toasted the union with champagne; I raised my Happy Happy cocktail, wishing them well despite not knowing their names or their love story.

CURACAO

Curacao: An underwater wonderland

Curac¸ao is blessed with a diverse reef environment on a foundation of volcanic limestone.

Mellow with Marley at Jamaica all-inclusive

In retrospect, it was pretty unnecessary to go searching for Bob Marley in Jamaica. At Club Ambiance, the all-inclusive resort at Runaway Bay on Jamaica's north shore where my friend Jay and I stayed for a long weekend, the gazebo bar at the end of the pier started playing the reggae star's songs at breakfast and didn't quit till sunset, and a three-foot-tall statue of the singer perched on the railing, his back to the Caribbean Sea.

Young and restless at Cancun all-inclusive

It was like a scene out of CSI: Cancun. I awoke on an achingly bright Saturday morning to find that the curtains in my fifth-floor room at the Golden Parnassus resort had already been parted (or never drawn). The door to the balcony was wide open, so the room was as hot and sultry as the air outside. The TV was on, clothes littered the floor, and I'd fallen asleep in my bathing suit and T-shirt. I got out of bed and stepped into the remains of a burger and fries sitting on the floor that I'd gotten...

PUERTO RICO

Taking the kids to Puerto Rico

Accidental tourists find an island filled with natural attractions.

Booking an all-inclusive resort: Trip tips

Booking an all-inclusive in the Caribbean can be all-consuming. Unlike a standard hotel, there are myriad variables to consider: Do you want a full bar in your room or will bottled water suffice, full or limited access to the pools and restaurants, freedom to roam the town or guided tours only?