Smattered in the Salish Sea off the coast of Vancouver Island, the destinations are rare pockets of calm in a busy world.

Vancouver Island-based marine biologist Amanda Swinimer spends her days harvesting some of the healthiest food on Earth.

NUVO Magazine: White Truffles

FROM THE ARCHIVE: For many years, there has been a specialized tool lying in the bottom of my kitchen drawer—a tool designed to shave papery slivers from that most precious fungus, the truffle.

NUVO Magazine: Soju

Soju is Korea’s answer to grappa or vodka, a simple clear spirit that’s quaffed with friends, most often for the intoxicating effects and with little concern for the after-effects (which, apparently, can be particularly brutal if you over indulge).

NUVO Magazine: Mount Gay Rum

FROM THE ARCHIVE: Bajans like to lay claim to a rather auspicious title in the booze business—that their beloved Mount Gay is the oldest rum distillery in the world. So it’s no surprise that the golden elixir flows like water around here, and that a Barbados “rum safari” is a popular pastime.