St. Lucia, like Dominica, has a history of both French and English settlements and control, gaining its own independence in 1979, shortly after Dominica. It is a more mountainous and volcanic island than others in the Caribbean. It's population is around 175,000. Tourism, offshore banking, petroleum storage and bananas are it's main drivers of the economy.
Another new island for me, I looked forward to our tour to see the rest of the island, outside of Castries, the capital, and where our ship docked.
Welcome sign at the port
We started with a drive through Castries and the morning traffic, then headed up windy roads for a couple of hours until we reached Tet Paul, the first stop where we would hike a trail to the top of the hill in order to see much of the island, as well as the towering Pitons.
Looking down at the town of Souffries and across to the two Pitons.
Tet Paul hiking trail led us up to beautiful vistas of the Pitons.
NIce place for a nap, yes??
Following our hike, we started out return trip to Castries, but made two more stops on our way back. The first was the Drive In Volcano and the Hot Springs.
After the hot springs at the volcano, we drove to Diamond Falls and the Botanical Gardens. They were a lovely surprise.
Below is a picture of what nutmeg looks like. The nutmeg is the seed inside a peach-like piece of fruit off a tree. The shell does not smell, but the seed does.
The botanical garden is all organic, and they make their own compost from coconut leaves and other debris - and they use coconut husks for borders around many of the plants.
Our ship looks so small next to the mega ships in port with us. Ours is the blue-hulled one, center.
Stay tuned for more Pig Tales!!!
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