About.com "Virgin Islands National Park is the third-smallest in the U.S. national parks system, but don't let that fact fool you: it still encompasses 63 percent of the island of St. John. The lush forest seems ancient and eternal, but in fact all of the trees on the island were cut for timber by the 19th century, so this is technically a recovering forest, albeit about 200 years old. Officially protected in 1956, the forest will take another 100 years to fully return to its original natural state."
Forbes I recently spent a week in Turks and Caicos , my first time out of the country since the pandemic hit. Like many Caribbean countries, Turks and Caicos rely almost entirely on tourism to power their economy, so they’re desperate for travelers to return. I’m happy to report that these beautiful beaches felt like an escape from the despair of this global pandemic, and here’s how they are keeping travelers safe.