AttractionsLovely little
towns, beautiful beaches and bays, mineral baths, banana
plantations--St. Lucia has all this and more. You can even visit
a volcano.
Castries
The capital city has grown up around its
harbor, which occupies the crater of an extinct volcano.
Charter captains and the yachting set drift in here, and large
cruise-ship wharves welcome vessels from around the world.
Because it has been hit by several devastating fires (most
recently in 1948) that destroyed almost all the old buildings,
the town today has a look of newness, with glass-and-concrete
(or steel) buildings replacing the French colonial or Victorian
look typical of many West Indian capitals.
Castries may be architecturally dull,
but its public market is one of the most fascinating in
the West Indies, and our favorite people-watching site on the
island. It goes full blast every day of the week except Sunday,
and is most active on Friday and Saturday mornings. The market
stalls are a block from Columbus Square along Peynier Street,
running down toward the water. The country women dress up in
traditional garb and cotton headdresses; the number of knotted
points on top reveals their marital status (ask one of the
locals to explain it to you). The luscious fruits and vegetables
of St. Lucia may be new to you; the array of color alone is
astonishing. Sample one of the numerous varieties of bananas: on
St. Lucia, they're allowed to ripen on the tree, and taste
completely different from those picked green and sold at
supermarkets in the United States. You can also pick up St.
Lucian handcrafts such as baskets and unglazed pottery here.
To the south of Castries looms Morne
Fortune, the inappropriately named "Hill of Good Luck"
(though no one ever had much luck here). In the 18th century,
some of the most savage battles between the French and the
British took place here. You can visit the military cemetery, a
small museum, the old powder magazine, and the "Four Apostles
Battery" (a quartet of grim muzzle-loading cannons). Government
House, now the official residence of the governor-general of St.
Lucia, is one of the few examples of Victorian architecture that
escaped destruction by fire. The private gardens are beautifully
planted, aflame with scarlet and purple bougainvillea. Morne
Fortune also offers what many consider the most scenic lookout
perch in the Caribbean. The view of the harbor of Castries is
panoramic: You can see north to Pigeon Island or south to the
Pitons; on a clear day, you may even spot Martinique. To reach
Morne Fortune, head east on Bridge Street.
Pigeon Island National Landmark
St. Lucia's first *national park
is joined to the mainland by a causeway. On its west coast are
two white-sand beaches. There's also a restaurant, Jambe de
Bois, named after a wooden-legged pirate who once used the
island as a hideout.
Pigeon Island offers an
Interpretation Centre, equipped with artifacts and a
multimedia display on local history, ranging from the Amerindian
occupation of a.d. 1000 to the Battle of the Saints, when
Admiral Rodney's fleet set out from Pigeon Island and defeated
Admiral De Grasse in 1782. The Captain's Cellar Olde English Pub
lies under the center and is evocative of an 18th-century
English bar.
Pigeon Island, only 44 acres in size,
got its name from the red-neck pigeon, or ramier, that once made
this island home. It's ideal for picnics, weddings, and nature
walks. The park is open daily from 9am to 5pm, charging an
entrance fee of EC$10 (U.S.$3.70). For more information, call
the St. Lucia National Trust (tel. 758/452-5005).
Rodney Bay
This scenic bay is a 15-minute drive
north of Castries. Set on a man-made lagoon, it has become a
chic center for nightlife, hotels, and restaurants--in fact,
it's the most active place on the island at night. Its marina is
one of the top water-sports centers in the Caribbean, and a
destination every December for the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers,
when yachties cross the Atlantic to meet and compare stories.
Marigot Bay
Movie crews, including those for Rex
Harrison's Dr. Doolittle and Sophia Loren's Fire
Power, have used this bay, one of the most beautiful in the
Caribbean, for background shots. Eight miles south of Castries,
it's narrow yet navigable by yachts of any size. Here Admiral
Rodney camouflaged his ships with palm leaves while lying in
wait for French frigates. The shore, lined with palm trees,
remains relatively unspoiled, although some building sites have
been sold. It's a delightful spot for a picnic. A 24-hour ferry
connects the bay's two sides.
Soufrière
This little fishing port, St. Lucia's
second-largest settlement, is dominated by two pointed hills
called *Petit Piton and Gros Piton. The Pitons, two
volcanic cones rising to 2,460 and 2,619 feet, have become the
very symbol of St. Lucia. Formed of lava and rock, and once
actively volcanic, they are now covered in green vegetation.
Their sheer rise from the sea makes them a landmark visible for
miles around, and waves crash at their bases. It's recommended
that you only attempt to climb Gros Piton, but doing so requires
the permission of the Forest and Lands Department (tel.
758/450-2078) and the company of a knowledgeable guide.
Near Soufrière lies the famous
"drive-in" volcano, *Mount Soufrière, a rocky lunar
landscape of bubbling mud and craters seething with sulfur. You
literally drive your car into an old (millions of years) crater
and walk between the sulfur springs and pools of hissing steam.
Entrance costs EC$3 (U.S.$1.10) per person and includes the
services of your guide, who will point out the blackened waters,
among the few of their kind in the Caribbean. Hours are daily
from 9am to 5pm; for more information, call tel.
758/459-7200.
Nearby are the *Diamond Mineral Baths
(tel. 758/452-4759) in the Diamond Botanical Gardens.
Deep in the lush tropical gardens is the Diamond Waterfall, one
of the geological attractions of the island. Created from water
bubbling up from sulfur springs, the waterfall changes colors
(from yellow to black to green to gray) several times a day. The
baths were constructed in 1784 on the orders of Louis XVI, whose
doctors told him these waters were similar in mineral content to
the waters at Aix-les-Bains; they were intended to provide
recuperative effects for French soldiers fighting in the West
Indies. The baths have an average temperature of 106°F. For EC$7
(U.S.$2.60), you can bathe and try out the recuperative effects
for yourself.
From Soufrière in the southwest, the
road winds toward Fond St-Jacques, where you'll have a good view
of mountains and villages as you cut through St. Lucia's Cape
Moule-Chique tropical rain forest. You'll also see the Barre de
l'Isle divide.
Nature Reserves
The fertile volcanic soil of St. Lucia
sustains a rich diversity of bird and animal life. Some of the
richest troves for ornithologists are in protected precincts off
the St. Lucian coast, in either of two national parks, Fregate
Islands Nature Reserve and the Maria Islands Nature Reserve.
The Fregate Islands are a cluster
of rocks a short distance offshore from Praslin Bay, midway up
St. Lucia's eastern coastline. Barren except for tall grasses
that seem to thrive in the salt spray, the islands were named
after the scissor-tailed frigate birds (Fregata magnificens)
that breed here. Between May and July, large colonies of the
graceful birds fly in well-choreographed formations over islands
that you can only visit under the closely supervised permission
of government authorities. Many visitors believe that the best
way to admire the Fregate Islands (and to respect their fragile
ecosystems) is to walk along the nature trail that the St.
Lucian government has hacked along the cliff top of the St.
Lucian mainland, about 150 feet inland from the shoreline. Even
without binoculars, you'll be able to see the frigates wheeling
overhead. You'll also enjoy eagle's-eye views of the unusual
geology of the St. Lucian coast, which includes sea caves, dry
ravines, a waterfall (which flows only during rainy season), and
a strip of mangrove swamp.
The Maria Islands are larger and
more arid and are almost constantly exposed to salt-laden winds
blowing up from the equator. Set to the east of St. Lucia's
southernmost tip, off the town of Vieux Fort, they contain a
strictly protected biodiversity. The approximately 30 acres of
cactus-dotted land comprising the two largest islands (Maria
Major and Maria Minor) are home to more than 120 species of
plants, lizards, butterflies, and snakes that are believed to be
extinct in other parts of the world. These include the large
ground lizard (Zandolite) and the nocturnal, nonvenomous
kouwes snake (Dromicus ornatus).
The Marias are also a bird refuge,
populated by such species as the sooty tern, the bridled tern,
the Caribbean martin, the red-billed tropicbird, and the brown
noddy, which usually builds its nest under the protective thorns
of prickly pear cactus.
Tours to either island must be arranged
through the staff of the St. Lucia National Trust (tel.
758/452-5005). Full-day excursions, including the boat
ride to the refuge and the guided tour, cost $30 for the
Frigates and $114 for the Marias (the Marias jaunt includes
lunch).
