Saint Lucia

My Saint Lucia travel summary:

Visited: November 2017

Duration of visit: 3 days

Capital city: Castries

Population: 182.000 (2017)

Saint Lucia travel blog reading time: 5 minutes

• Natural attractions: Soufriere hot springs and Gran Piton
• Airport location in Castries – next to beautiful sandy beach and cemetery.
• Renting a car and exploring the island.

Saint Lucia was part of my Caribbean Islands Trip in 2017.

The ferry from Dominica arrived at the port of Castries in the late evening. I had already booked a place through Airbnb, so I knew exactly where I was going. For the first time in the Caribbean, it was really hard to negotiate a decent fare for a taxi ride. It was not that far, but impossible to walk from the port, especially at that time of the day.

Sabrina and her husband, Ndeye, were waiting for me in front of their house. An interesting young couple of French – Senegalese origin. We had a long and pleasant conversation that night. It’s so easy to find common topics with someone who has been travelling, is knowledgeable about different cultures and willing to find out about other’s travelling experience.

Living on an island like St. Lucia is pretty simple and straightforward. You won’t find many things to do here, and if you don’t arrange a job beforehand, you won’t find work easily.

Sabrina had a well-paid job and had already made some friends. Ndeye, on the other hand, was a foreigner without a work visa, so he had almost no chance to find a job and struggled to get involved in local life.

In general, it was very easy to communicate with local people and they were all extremely friendly. English is the official language of Saint Lucia, although 95% of the population speak Saint Lucian French or Patois. According to the official numbers, roughly 20% of the population doesn’t speak English at all.

I wanted to see more of the island and visit the attractions in the south. So, I decided to rent a car.

I walked to the main airport, which is located just next to a beautiful sandy beach, while the runaway is along the central cemetery of Castries. No agency had a car available for that day. I wasn’t happy at all.

A lady at the entrance noticed my disappointment and pointed toward a guy who was just about to leave. He was an owner of another car rental agency that had its office on the northern part of the island.

“Come inside. I will take you to my agency!” an older guy invited me to join him.

“Do you have a car available to rent today?” I asked, wanting to confirm availability before traveling to his office.

“No problem. We will sort it out. We are Saint Lucia Travel Expedition,” he assured me.

He drove me to his office, where I was offered the last available car. An old, run down Nissan Sentra would never be a safe choice in other circumstances. Since my options were so limited, I decided to take a risk and gave it a go.

My main destination was the Pitons, the main landmark of Saint Lucia. The two mountainous volcanic plugs are located in the southwestern side of the island Soufrière.

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, the Gros and Petit Pitons are two volcanic spires that rise from the sea to create a natural secluded bay by the shore.

Gros Piton is just under 800 meters high, and you can climb it as well. Mountaineering was not on my agenda in Saint Lucia. I chose to swim instead and admire the peaks from the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea.

The Pitons are definitely the natural highlight of Saint Lucia and my favorite place to visit, rising from the turquoise sea like two giant pyramids.

My next stop on Saint Lucia travel adventure was The Sulphur Springs, which is supplied with water from the “world’s only drive-in volcano“. The Soufrier Volcano erupted last time in the 18^th century! The Sulphur Springs emerged from a weak spot in the crust of the enormous collapsed volcano crater creating an upheaval of lava approximately 300,000 years ago.

A few hundred meters downstream from the springs, the water is still hot (around 45°C), but cool enough for me to get in and enjoy a mud bath. The pool is small, yet comfortable enough to hold about a dozen visitors, mostly locals.

It was fun and refreshing to cover myself in mud, let it dry, wash it off, and then relax in the pool.

Some people believe these mud baths have medicinal properties. Apparently, the treatment detoxifies the body and helps heal sunburns, eczema, arthritis, and sore joints. It’s considered one of the most unique things to do in Saint Lucia.

I drove back to the beach where some restaurants are located. I finished my day with delicious fresh fish, perfectly cooked rice, and cold lemonade. Sitting by the sea, I watched the water and listened to the soft waves.

What else could I ask for?

The mix of French and British colonialism in the past shaped Saint Lucia in a unique way. Locals proudly share two very important facts:

• Saint Lucia is the only country on earth that is named after a woman.
• Sir William Arthur Lewis won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 1979. Sir Derek Walcott won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992. They were both citizens of St. Lucia.

I didn’t find the public beaches in St. Lucia as spectacular as those on some other Caribbean islands. The best stretches of sand were mostly reserved for private resorts, limiting access for everyone else.

Maybe the most peculiar beach is the one next to George F. L. Charles Airport in Castries, called Vigie Beach. Is there any better location to wait for your flight than a perfect sandy beach, located a few steps from the airstrip?