Players sometimes fold these regions into ‘Latin America’ and move on. That fold erases real difference: creole signage, Dutch leftovers, British road habits on islands that confuse your reflexes, and hurricane hardware that shows up in shutters you might mistake for mere decoration.
Island logic versus isthmus logic
An island town can feel vertically compressed: slopes, stair streets, paint that peels heroically in salt air. Central American cities may give you volcanoes in silhouette, different bus aesthetics, and Spanish that carries distinct local words if you can catch a shop name.
Heat etiquette in public space
People move differently in humid heat: slower errands, shade negotiated block by block. If you treat that as ‘low energy,’ you misread climate. Treat it as information, and your map guess stops being an insult to the place.