Our Trip to St-Lucia

Day 1- Aruba Day 2-Barbados Day 3- Grenada Day 4- St-Lucia Day 5- Margarita Day 6- Curacao Day 7- Aruba

I went to St-Lucia when we did a southern cruise in 1997 with my wife Tara, my aunt Mary and my cousin Derek Sharp, all from Peace River, Alberta. We stopped in St-Lucia for a day; it was not long enough if we consider all the amazing attractions of the island. We decided to go for a tour but we did it on our terms, no organized trip from our cruise, but by using the local transit system.

We decided to go to the rainforest located by the twin volcanic and the luxuriant Pitons, probably the most famous cone-shaped peaks in the Caribbean, who emerge, almost suddenly, from the depths of the sea. We stopped a taxi, which looked like a mini-van, and we piled into it with seven or eight more locals and started to climb up and down at a racing speed through the winding hills of this exquisite island.

Tara started feeling sick; she was pale and sweaty. It was very stuffy in the van. Everybody turned his or her eyes away while she puked in a bag. The sight disgusted Derek and he also vomited all over the road. Great.

She felt better after she emptied herself.

We reached the rain forest and the climax of the hike was a spectacular fall, water sliding down rock painted on of a multitude of pinks and oranges, colors rightfully called Diamond Falls. We had brought our swimming suits and we soaked in the mineral maths, in full view of the fall, to the envy of all other cruisers who had not brought any bathing suits.

We made our way to town surrounded by giant ferns. A great walk.

We were shocked to learn how much they had to pay for their excursion organized by the cruise, probably as much as ten times more than our taxi ride…and they did not even get to soak themselves in the warm springs.

We made our way to the town of Soufriere, island’s oldest town, finely decorated with French wooden colonial buildings spread through its streets. I had a sublime meal of fresh fish in a colonial restaurant. People seemed quite friendly around town and at the restaurant.

Downtown, Derek and I bought a coconut and we drank its sweet milk. To me this was just a perfect day.

We made our way to the cruise again but this time nobody got sick. We were hoping that this would not be our last trip to this wonderful Island.

Drinking coco milk in Soufriere


The spectacular Diamond Falls in St-Lucia


Walking back to Soufriere after visiting Diamond Botanical Gardens

Read about my other trips