As lush as Caribbean islands get, with great local food, an extraordinary beach, friendly people, and the most picturesque capitol in the Caribbean. Diving is sadly average, with one exception: a mile off the beach is the biggest wreck in the Caribbean, the Bianca C., a 592 foot liner that burned in 1962 and was towed offshore to die. Unfortunately, it is not fertile ground for coral and fish. And the surface current is often strong enough to splay you on the downline. If this vessel ever grew coral and fish, it would be an unparalleled Caribbean dive. . . . South of Barbados, Grenada is out of the hurricane belt, though it's pelted by summer rains, which is why it's so lush. A fine way to visit the old Caribbean, get a little no hassle reef diving, sit in the sun, and drink rum in the rum houses along a harrowing perimeter road - which is about as safe as a Boston turnpike on St. Paddies day. Hire a cab, preferably the singing cab driver who hangs out at the Ramada. . . .

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