Day Nine - St Lucia.

As we departed the ship this morning the sky was overcast and there was a few spots of rain in the air. In fact it was just like a morning in Wales in all aspects except the temperature - it was 28C.

As yesterday, we had decided to find a private tour to see the highlights of the island and this was easily achieved within the dockside shopping arcade. We loaded a small mini-bus together with another 8-10 people and very quickly joined the traffic leaving the cruise terminal. Castries is a busy town and the driver pointed out the various government buildings as we slowly passed through the town. In the centre of the city we were shown the Derek Walcott Square named after the Nobel Prize winning poet (and I believe Uncle to the Arsenal striker)who hails from the island. The square had originally been called Columbus Square after the famous explorer but it was decided to change the name after it was proven that Columbus could not possibly have been to St Lucia.
The first stop on the tour was a viewing point just opposite the home of the island’s Prime Minister. From here you could see both the city and the ship down below.

Of course the island of St Lucia is mostly famous for the two peaks, created from hardened lava, known as the Twin Pitons. With each peak reaching to a height of over 2000 feet they can be seen from various parts of the island but the best views are those approaching the old French town of Soufriere.

The interior of the island is lush with green vegetation as it, like Dominica yesterday, is a rain forest. The main agricultural crop on the island and until recently it’s biggest income generator is the banana. As we made our way up the hillsides there were plantations on both sides of the road. Tyron, our driver, described the life cycle of the banana plant which much to my surprise lasts only one season before being replaced by a young sucker. There are also a multitude of other fruits that are grown on the island including some 74 species of Mango, Bread fruit and cashew nuts. Many of these species are not native to the island but have been introduced by the various groups that have come to settle.
The whole of the centre of the island is a volcanic crater and it is often described as the world’s only drive-in volcano. In the centre are the hot sulphur springs and mud baths that are still used for health benefits.

A little further down the hill a water fall of fresh mountain water provides the ideal opportunity to wash away the mud from the baths.

I hasten to add that neither Sylvia or I ventured near the mud baths or subsequent waterfall. In all the trip took about five hours and we returned to the ship in time to get a little afternoon tea.
Throughout the day the sun had burnt away some of the clouds and as we set sail the sky was a lovely blue.

Tomorrow we move on to Barbados.