St Lucia - A Varied and Scenic Island

At the southern end of the Lesser Antilles, in the Caribbean islands, St Lucia is just a drop in the ocean, 27 by 14 miles, with spectacular mountains, lush rainforest and fertile valleys fringed by sandy beaches.

Tossed 14 times between French and English colonial powers, the island has thrown both cultures into the melting pot with a generous helping of African folklore, a little East Indian spice and vestiges of early Amerindian settler.

English is the official language but Creole, a mix of African dialects and French, is coming back, in tune with the stirring rhythm of reggae and calypso.

St Lucia is tourist-hungry but eco-friendly and most developments have been limited to the north-west around Rodney Bay. There are fine sands and palm trees, a gleaming marina and out on the hilly peninsula, known as Pigeon Island, fabulous views over the shimmering Caribbean Sea on one side and foaming Atlantic breakers on the other.

Pleasure boats sail along the coast looking out for sunfish, dolphins and whales, past the lovely Marigot Bay featured in Dr Doolittle, the fabulous diving sites, hidden coves and sleepy villages strung with fishing nets and laundry drying on the beach. On a Friday night, when the beat of Afro-Caribbean steel bands echo along the shore, the village of Anse la Raye stages a gigantic fish fry al fresco, a lively family event where all sorts of delicacies bubble in the pots or sizzle in the pans - seafood, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, rice, callaloo soup and more. The national dish is salt fish with green bananas, but equally popular is the fiery pepperpot cooked in cassava juice.

Soufriere, the old capital, nestles below the luxuriant volcanic cones of the Pitons, seen on every postcard, but few visitors linger in town. The world’s only ‘drive-in volcano’ is just a stone’s throw away, seething with sulphurous fumes and gurgling mud, and there are Botanical Gardens with mineral springs, tropical blooms and a stunning Diamond Fall gushing down multi-coloured rocks.

To the north, the new capital, Castries, is famed for its Jazz Festival and duty-free malls, gleaming with Colombian emeralds and Amerindian craft, but the old town retains a quaint colonial charm. The cathedral has stunning murals and stained glass, designed by Nobel-prize artist Dunstan St Omer, no doubt a source of inspiration for myriad craftsmen and painters who have set up home on the nearby Hill of Good Luck.

Climbing the Pitons is strictly for the brave but there are easier treks through the hills and rainforest with jeep safaris heading for remote hamlets, banana plantations and Creole farms fragrant with cinnamon and nutmeg. There may be time to taste cassava bread, bathe in a waterfall and bargain for bird ornaments carved out of coconut shells.

At over 3000 feet, Mount Gimmie, the highest peak, rises above it all but views can be enjoyed with no effort at all in the eight-seater gondola offering an expensive but popular ‘sky ride’. There you glide up a hillside, skimming the tree tops, gazing at incense and fern trees, breadnut, blue maho and heliconia, spotting hummingbirds, butterflies, mongoose and tarantulas dangling inches from your face.

Rolling farmlands stretch into the distance, sprinkled with villages where the occasional beat of a Creole drum seems to touch the very heart of this varied and scenic island.

By Solange Hando

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