As print newspapers fight to stay alive, travel sections lose pages and steadily increase service journalism while operating under more scrutiny than ever. In support of our paper/e-ink colleagues, here’s the Sunday print travel news that’s fit to post about.

After months of recession-friendly travel sections focused on the usual suspects — England, the Caribbean, Western Europe — it was nice to see a few stories covering far-flung destinations in this week’s sections. The New York Times finally managed to stay out of Spain, and took us instead to Africa, Portugal,and Chile. First stop: the barely discovered Bijagós islands, off the coast of Guinea-Bissau in West Africa. Written by the paper’s West African bureau chief, the story starts off a bit clunky, but makes up in insightful observation for what it lacks in narrative flow. “The usual relationship of tourist to native — that mix of wariness, guilt and hostility — doesn’t exist,” Adam Nossiter writes. “That the accommodation ranges from spartan to simple but comfortable (no luxury) helps. The usual large distance between Westerner and West African isn’t grossly amplified by obvious outcroppings of privilege.”

Elsewhere in the section, Robert Goff introduced us to Alto Alentejo, Portugal’s new playground for the rich and famous, via dinner parties with the locals, a trip to the Saturday morning market, and rustic dinners paired with local wines.  And, although heavy on service, Vanessa Gregory’s celebration of Valparaiso’s newly improved culinary scene — and declaration that “the days of smuggling green hot sauce into restaurants to covertly enliven whatever brown dish appears” are over — made me want to give the Chilean port city another shot.

SCORE: 8/10 carry-ons

There was a time when Mexico was one of the usual suspects in the travel sections of American newspapers, but in the past year too much travel coverage of the country has focused on either swine flue or drug wars. So I was surprised and happy to see the L.A. Times’ Mexico-dominated section this morning, although it’s probably more about influence from Mexico’s tourism board than extending a helping hand south of the border. Mexico’s colonial cities never really get the props or tourists they deserve, but Christopher Reynolds’ feature on Querétaro gives credit where it’s due and wins the prize for most engaging lede of the week: “There are plenty of reasons to visit Querétaro, but it’s the instability and conflict and violence that finally won me over,” he writes. Then goes on to explain: “The instability of 1810, that is. The conflict of 1848. The violence of 1867. All set amid 18th century colonial architecture, surrounded these days by commerce and calm.”

For its part, Kurt Hollander’s piece on Mexico City’s literary circle manages to breathe new life into the tired, “Hey, have you checked out the artsy side of Mexico City?” story by focusing its attention on the used- and antique-book shops on Calle Donceles. Unfortunately, Riviera Maya features fail to put a new spin on that popular tourist destination. And despite valiant efforts to focus on ways to eat great food and avoid annoying tourists in Riv. Maya, it was pretty clear that the writer went on a press trip to the new Banyan Tree Mayakoba and needed to figure out a way to write about it in a not-too-obvious way.

SCORE: 6/10 carry-ons

Although far less exotic than the Bijagós or colonial Mexico, Florida’s Gulf Islands got the star treatment in the Washington Post’s Florida issue this week. The lead story — “In the Gulf, enough islands to match any personality” — was a round-up feature, and writer Andrea Sachs managed to turn what could have been a very boring piece into an entertaining narrative. Sachs gives each island its own personality, often vis a vis an engaging local. “Anna Maria Island is Florida as a living diorama, with no chain hotels, a speed limit that never exceeds 35 mph and a building limit of three stories,” she writes. Then she introduces Rhea Chiles, the wife of former Florida governor Lawton Chiles, whose family has owned property here since 1958: “It is also home to a genteel first lady.”

The rest of WaPo’s Florida issue almost made me reverse my decision to never again waste a holiday in Florida. It’s pretty easy to make Miami sound fun and exciting, and writer Necee Regis is up to the task with a short piece on the city’s Design District. The real hat-tip, however, goes to Paul Abercrombie for his story on Tampa’s golf-course fishing ponds, which managed to make me forget everything I know about Tampa and fishermen long enough to find the charm in both. “We crouch, tiptoeing with cartoonishly exaggerated slowness toward the water’s edge,” he writes. “Our extreme stealth is only partly about not spooking the fish. We’re mostly hiding from the guy in the golf cart cruising by barely two fly-rod lengths away this misty early morning.”

The only downside? The whole section was about Florida.

SCORE: 8/10 carry-ons

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