Costa Fascinosa: LRM - AGP - LRM19A04

     Barbados offers UK visitors an enticing mixture of the exotic and the familiar. The tropical landscape, coral reefs, white sand beaches and some 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, along with a vibrant nightlife, mouth-watering Bajan cuisine and strong cultural links to England - particularly an obsession with cricket - add up to a delightful and thrilling destination.
     The island capital of Bridgetown, situated on the south-western Carlisle Bay (named after the Count of Carlisle who founded Bridgetown in 1630), is a bustling town that encapsulates the verve of Barbadan life. More than a third of the island's 300,000 inhabitants, 'bajans', live in Bridgetown. One of the most pleasant tourist spots in the city is the Careenage inlet waterway, which is lined with recreational boats and dissects the centre of the town.
     The English colonial influence in Bridgetown is widely evident, from the street obelisks to the Anglican Cathedral. Broad Street and Trafalgar Square represent the heart of the town, peppered with numerous historical monuments such as a War Memorial and statue of Lord Nelson in addition to the Parliament. The Parliament building has been rebuilt several times, notably after being struck by fire in 1860. Of distinctive interest is the historically important Bridgetown Synagogue on Swan Street - formerly called Jewish Street - originally built in 1654 and restored in the 19th Century. The Barbados Museum and Barbados Garrison will provide history buffs with ample fascination.
     When a sightseeing break beckons the numerous foodstalls and rum shops along Bridgetown's streets should provide some suitable refreshment. The town is also a convenient starting point to explore some of the rest of the 33km by 15km island of Barbados. There is an extensive public and private bus service that covers most of the island. The 'mini-moke' is very popular, together with bicycles and scooters.

     The beautiful island of Guadeloupe is part of the French Antilles and is geologically two islands joined together, Grande Terre and Basse Terre. Point a Pitre is on Grande Terre and is Guadeloupe's largest commercial centre. When Christopher Columbus landed on the southern coast of Basse Terre in 1493 he baptised the beach Santa Maria, and the island Santa Maria de Guadeloupe de Estremadura, subsequently changed to Guadeloupe.
     First Spanish settlers, and then French, developed sugar cane production on the islands, which also became centres of the slave trade. Eventually, with the initial help of French revolutionary Victor Hugues and later Victor Schoelcher, the slaves of Guadeloupe were freed. The island is still French territory, administered by a governor appointed by the Paris Ministry of the Interior. The two halves of Guadeloupe are quite different in character.
     Grande Terre has a gentler landscape, but is the more lively side, with Pointe a Pitre market, narrow alleyways, picturesque villages and large sugar cane plantations. Basse Terre is more lush and mountainous. It also has one of the Caribbean's few national parks, complete with rivers, rainforest and the dominating presence of the 1,467-metre high Soufrière volcano. The hot springs of Soufrière Park are masterpieces of nature. Both sides of the island have some excellent beaches.
     The lifestyle of Guadeloupe is simple and relaxed. A substantial number of the island's villagers still barter for their goods and services rather than use money. And although tourism has flourished, the local economy is still largely based on agriculture. Island attractions include a museum dedicated to local poet, St. John Perse, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1960, the Schoelcher Museum, dedicated to the slavery abolitionist, and the beach resort of Gosier, one of the most bustling tourist centres in the Lesser Antilles.

     St Kitts and its sister island Nevis comprise a tiny nation with a unique history. St Kitts - on which Basseterre is the main town - is the popular derivation of St Christopher, the name given to the island by Christopher Columbus in 1493. Its inhabitants are called "Kittitians". Nevis gets its name from the Spanish word for snow in description of a curtain of white clouds that at one time supposedly always covered the top of the mountain that dominates the island. In 1623, the two islands became a British colony.
     The islands maintain a close link to their English heritage, although throughout their modern history the English dominance has been regularly challenged, particularly by the French and Spanish eager to control the islands' considerable sugar cane crop. Nevis in particular attracted much commercial interest - and rivalry - as well as considerable piracy. Many of the islands' 45,000 inhabitants can trace their ancestors to the African slave trade of the 17th Century.
     The symbol of contemporary culture on the islands is a carnival, which starts of Christmas Eve and embraces the entire population - and visitors - in a joyous celebration. The St. Kitts Music Festival is also very popular, attracting musicians from all over the Caribbean. The islands, which are part of the British Commonwealth, became independent on September 19, 1983, and have since continued to attract thousands of visitors from around the world.

     Road Harbour is the port of Road Town, the capital town on the island of Tortola (Turtle Dove) and the British Virgin Islands. Tortola is blessed with glorious secluded beaches, crystal clear waters and lush mountain scenery. The first inhabitants were Arawak and Siboney Indians, to be followed by Spanish, Dutch and English colonists. As in the rest of the Virgin Islands, Tortola was once blighted by pirates and privateers, including Sir Francis Drake, who gave his name to the channel that separates the two main groups of islands. The islands remain a Crown Colony of Britain, with a governor officially appointed by the Queen. Since the 1960s, however, the islands have attracted massive investment by Americans, one of the first being Rockerfeller, to develop tourism. The island's landscape is dominated by Sage Mountain, the highest peak in the Virgin Islands.
     The upper section of the mountain is covered in beautiful rainforest. Most of the 17,000 inhabitants of the British Virgin Islands live on Tortola. The commercial and cultural centre of the island is Road Town and its busy port. In the centre of Road Town is the four-acre J.R.O'Neill Botanical Gardens which features 62 species of palm tree, multitudes of tropical flowers, birds and parrots. Popular attractions on the island include picturesque Cane Garden Bay, a frequent venue for street festivals and beach parties. It is also the home of celebrated local musician Quito Rymer, who regularly performs at his restaurant, Quito's Bar & Grill. Another highlight is Mount Healthy Windmill , which preserves one of the first plantations in the archipelago. Bicycle rides and jeep exploration are popular activities on Tortola, as is trekking.

     Although they are relatively new destinations for tourists from Europe and the United States alike, the Dominican Republic and La Romana, a city on the island's beautiful eastern coast, have been attracting visitors for many centuries.
     Their vocation is the legacy of what anthropologists have identified as the island's earliest settlers. The Taino Indians are thought by historians to have been a friendly, peace-loving race who farmed the land and lived quietly and simply in harmony both with nature and their fellow men.
     Extensive historical evidence of the Taino people has been painstakingly collected and can now be seen in the country's two main museums in Santo Domingo and Puerto Plata. Historians who have studied the island's social and cultural development believe that the Dominican Republic had a highly complex structure. So much so, in fact, that Santo Domingo and La Romana (which was once much smaller than it is today) were once considered the only two cities on the entire continent.
     Fact or fiction, legend or history... what is certain is that Taino farmers had their own manuals for farming and fishing, and led highly active lives with plenty of religious activities as well as work. Evidence of this has been passed down through inscriptions and various artefacts, most of them made from the ceramics at which the ancient people of the Dominican Republic excelled.
     The first hint of revolution arrived of course with Christopher Columbus's first voyage. The explorer landed in the bay on 5th December 1492. He founded a small village, setting in motion a process of colonisation which soon led the island and its various activities to grow beyond measure.
     La Romana emerged as a city of traders and seafarers. Its port became a flourishing cultural hub thanks to its close linguistic ties to the nearby coasts: art and music did the rest. Santo Domingo and La Romana have always been a focal point for trade, wellbeing and entertainment, although they have only been recognised as such universally in the past few decades.
     La Romana is not only a thriving, bustling port: it is a beautiful city which boasts all the positive aspects of sea trade. La Romana lies towards the eastern area of the island: with the town of Punta Cana it is the key focus of culture and tourism along the entire coastline. La Romana is also known for its vicinity to San Pedro de Macorìs. Americans are more than familiar with this small village which nestles among sugar cane plantations: it has been feeding the US professional baseball league with natural-born talent for many years.
     Near to La Romana lie some of the most stunning beaches on the American continent, including Bayahibe and Dominicus. A short hop from La Romana and the coast, the Saona and Catalina islands have also become enormously popular tourist destinations in recent years. These paradise islands are the ideal location for lovers of the sea at its most unspoilt. Here the beaches stretch for kilometres, and swathes of white sand are lapped by the turquoise waters. It is the perfect setting for a number of beautiful nature reserves, foremost of which is the Parque Nacional del Este, or Eastern National Park. The Park is considered an international heritage site and covers an area of over 420 square kilometres.
     Saona Island and the village of Bayahibe lie within the park. In this setting, La Romana is shaking off its image as a port and emerging as the capital of a booming tourist trade. Every year thousands of tourists flock to its beaches, seeking their own corner of paradise where they can forget the stresses and strains of daily life, at least for a few days.

     In 1493, when Christopher Columbus first set foot on the white sand beaches of St Maarten, he declared: 'I was looking for the Indies and I found the Garden of Eden'. Named after a priest who lived on the island from 330AD-397AD, St Maarten has been historically influenced by the Dutch, English, French and Spanish.
     Today the island is shared by the Dutch in the south, who call it Sint Marteen and the French in the north, who refer to it as St Martin de Tours. But the first people to leave their mark on the island were Arawak Indians who were skilled farmers and developed a thriving community on St Maarten. In the 17th Century, the existence of salt pans soon attracted the attentions of the Spanish, later displaced by the Dutch and the French. The initial agreement between the Dutch and French to share the tiny island dates back to 1648, although it was broken many times and there were frequent skirmishes between the two sides, at times with British involvement.
     The Caribbean curse - piracy - befell St Maarten for some 150 years and stories still persist of as yet undiscovered treasure buried on the island or sunk with galleons. The more notorious pirates and buccaneers included John Hawkins, Francis Drake, Henry Morgan and William Dampier. The border between the Dutch and French sides of the island is marked by a monument between Union Road and Bellevue. Each side of the island has splendid beaches and the crystal clear waters offer excellent bathing and numerous watersports. The tiny port of Philipsburg extends along a sandbank between the sea and a reclaimed salt pond.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the capital of the island of Tenerife and one of the most important urban centres in the Canary Islands. Located on the northeastern coast, the city blends a relaxed island atmosphere with a vibrant cultural life and modern architecture. The city centre is full of squares, promenades and green spaces, with Plaza de España and García Sanabria Park standing out as ideal spots for a walk or a break. The city is also known for the contemporary concert hall Auditorio de Tenerife, whose striking design has become one of the city’s landmarks.

Not far from the centre lies the popular Las Teresitas beach, covered in golden sand. Santa Cruz de Tenerife is also home to one of the largest carnivals in the world, whose festive atmosphere and colourful spectacle attract visitors from all over.

The local cuisine features traditional specialities such as papas arrugadas with mojo sauce, fresh fish, and seafood. The city is well connected by transport, and its mild climate makes it an excellent destination all year round.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the perfect place for those looking to combine urban energy with natural beauty and a laid-back life by the ocean.

Tangier, located at the very northern tip of Morocco, is where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. For centuries, this city has captured the imagination of travelers, artists, and adventurers. Its location—just 14 kilometers from Spain—has made it a crossroads of cultures, continents, and worlds. Tangier exudes a cosmopolitan spirit, where Arab, Berber, European, and African influences blend into a city of truly unique character.

The old town, or medina, enchants with its narrow winding streets, whitewashed houses with blue doors, vibrant markets, and hidden courtyards. Every step through this labyrinth reveals a surprise—a vintage café, a quiet mosque, a local spice shop, or a tucked-away art gallery. Above the medina stands the Kasbah, a centuries-old fortress offering stunning views over the sea and the Strait of Gibraltar, and housing a museum rich in Moroccan art and history.

In the 20th century, Tangier was known as a “city of spies,” artists, and writers. It was home to and inspired figures like Paul Bowles, Tennessee Williams, Henri Matisse, and many others. That bohemian spirit still lingers—in bookshops, cafés, old hotels, and the stories of the people who live here. Beyond its cultural heritage, Tangier offers natural wonders as well. Nearby are the famous Caves of Hercules, steeped in legend, and a rugged coastline perfect for exploring. Along the seafront promenade, the city reveals its modern face—with hotels, restaurants, galleries, and sweeping views of the water.

Tangier is a place where history and modernity intertwine at every turn. A city that does not hide its complexity, but wears it with pride. This is not just a place to visit—it’s a place to feel, to listen, and to absorb the rhythm of a city that has never had just one face, but has always been a world of its own.

Malaga is one of the oldest cities in Europe, with a history spanning over 2,800 years. The city was founded by the Phoenicians around 770 BC, and was later ruled by the Romans, Visigoths, and Moors, each leaving behind a rich architectural and cultural legacy. Some of the most notable landmarks are the Roman Theatre, the Moorish Alcazaba fortress, which offers a stunning view over Malaga and the coast, and numerous museums. The most notable ones include the Picasso Museum, the Carmen Thyssen Museum, and the La Manquita Cathedral.

The city is also known as the birthplace of Pablo Picasso, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, and is home to La Concepción, one of the most significant botanical gardens in Europe and the modern Muelle Uno promenade.

Malaga offers beautiful beaches, such as Playa de la Malagueta, close to the city center, and Playa del Palo, as well as a rich gastronomic scene focused on fresh local ingredients. Specialties include espeto (grilled sardines), gazpacho (cold tomato soup), a wide variety of tapas, and sweet wines like Moscatel. The Atarazanas Market is the perfect place to sample local food and buy souvenirs.