9781422286357

(Opposite) A view of Curaçao, an island to the west of the others in the Windward group. It is located 35 miles (56 km) north of Venezuela. (Right) A waterfall cascades over mineral-encrusted rocks tinted yellow and green in Diamond Botanical Gardens, St. Lucia. 1

Jewels of the Ocean

SCATTERED ACROSS THE deep blue of the Caribbean Sea are the lovely Windward Islands: St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Martinique, and Dominica. Located in the southern group of the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies, these islands curve southward toward Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago, covering over 300 miles (483 kilometers) of ocean. To the north are the Leeward Islands, which curve northward toward the British Virgin Islands. While the islands of the Windward chain have many things in common, they also have intriguing differences. They vary greatly in size, as well as in the quality of infrastructure and the degree of European influence. Some islands have a distinct English air or a French flavor, while others are a charming blend of African, English, French, and Creole .

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