St. Lucia, amagnificent volcanic island, is located in the West Indies between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Saint Vincent, Barbados and Martinique are St. Lucia’s closest neighbors.
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The island's official language is English, even if many of the municipalities have a somewhat French accent. Reason being, the French and the British took turns ruling over St. Lucia. After much struggle, the island was finally ceded to the British in 1814. Although English is spoken by everyone, French Patios or Creole is also spoken by most people.
The East Caribbean Dollar is the national currency, just like in many other countries, including St. Kitts and Nevis. Don't stress too much about the currency exchange because I was able to pay for my souvenirs in US dollars. |
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There are plenty of excursions and tours you can choose from for your day trip. Normally your cruise will offer many, but you can always decide on the day and see what offer you can get once docked. I decided to take a ship's sponsored tour of the city. I'm not keen on being left behind if our tour doesn't make it back to the ship before sailing time.
Our first stop was Morne Fortune, which is 900 feet above sea level, where we could see captivating view of Castries & surrounding areas.
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Then we were able to relive history at Sir Arthur Lewis Community College where we saw old military barracks, war cemetery, and gun powder battery.
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I even got to see the Pitons off in the distance. These unique, cone-shaped volcanic peaks have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and are St. Lucia’s most famous landmark.
The Piton Mountains are situated between Choiseul and Soufrière.The second-highest peak on St. Lucia, Gros Piton, stands at slightly over 798 meters. Although it is somewhat smaller, the second peak, Petit Piton, stands at 743 meters. Both summits are climbable, although the government restricts climbing to Gros Piton and requires a guide if you want to do it alone. |
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Our next stop was Caribelle Batik. We got to see an artist demonstration of how they do batik.
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Then we were welcomed into a private residence, Stony Hill, a well manicured property edged by a tropical garden and breathtaking views of the Rodney Bay area.
We also go to see what fruits and vegetables they grew on the property and enjoy a complimentary fruit juice and local snacks.
One of the snacks was a fried fish and they had banana ketchup to dip it in. Banana ketchup, YUM!
It was so good! I wanted to buy a bottle to take home but we flew from Florida (where we live) to San Juan with only carry-on luggage I couldn’t bring it back because the bottle is larger than the allowable 3 oz. So I did the next best thing. I looked at the ingredients and made a mental note and vowing to make it when I got home.
UPDATE: I actually made a recreation of the banana ketchup. Here's my recipe.
UPDATE: I actually made a recreation of the banana ketchup. Here's my recipe.
Back on board the ship, it was business as usual: sitting on the deck watching the sun and the island disappear in the horizon. It’s a lovely way to end the daylight hours.
It was hard to pull away from the beach–I could have spent another few days there, easily. But my disappointment at having to leave was at least dimmed by having with a clear view of the Pitons.
It was hard to pull away from the beach–I could have spent another few days there, easily. But my disappointment at having to leave was at least dimmed by having with a clear view of the Pitons.
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