Balmy and Beautiful St. Lucia

They say St. Lucia is shaped like a mango, and certainly it is ripe with natural riches. Two majestic peaks, Gros Piton and Petit Piton (Big Point and Little Point), tower over the lush landscape on the southern end of the island, rising out of the ocean like natural sentries. It is in this area, near the charming seaside village of Soufrière, that the island’s natural beauty is on full display. Undulating hills rise in crescendo to the pitons towering over 2,500 feet, a mystical mist enveloping their crests in the early morning as I set out to explore the island.

Choose your Adventures

St. Lucia is in the southern Caribbean, largely out of the path of seasonal hurricanes but near enough to the equator to be warm and balmy year-round. It’s a colorful island with British and French Creole influences, the latter especially evident in Soufrière, which was settled by the French in the late 1700s, though the island would later come under British rule until St. Lucia’s independence. The town of Soufrière is so-called because of the nearby sulfur springs emanating from a dormant volcano, its mineral mud baths drawing a host of visitors for the detoxifying qualities.

I prefer less muddy adventures, taking advantage of the fact that some of St. Lucia’s best dive sites are located near Soufrière, so I view the pitons from a view 40 to 75 feet down – scuba diving. The towering walls topside descend at steep inclines into the colorful coral landscape of the deep with fabulously rich marine life and bountiful schools of fish. Later, I make the requisite hiking trek along the Tet Paul nature trail, which skirts the edges of the pitons, giving me an alternative view of the peaks. I also make a visit to a 250-year-old cocoa plantation, Fond Doux, which means “sweet valley” in Creole. I find I’m less interested in a guide telling me how chocolate is made and more interested in the property’s exquisite tropical gardens, with flora featuring names as captivating as the flowers, such as torch ginger lilies.

A Variety of Resort Styles

This whole area – the pitons edging off into the coral sea — is a protected UNESCO World Heritage site with careful conservation preserving the bountiful natural beauty and wildlife. The general area is also home to some of St. Lucia’s most exclusive resorts, although this time around I was interested in a simpler, perhaps more natural experience and chose the Hummingbird Resort. Accommodations at the resort, which does attract hummingbirds, are modest, but the views of the pitons are as glorious as seen from the ultra-luxury properties.

I decide to indulge in some luxury, however, by staying for a few nights at the adults-only Ti-Kaye Resort & Spa, which is fairly central between the north and south ends of the island, allowing for easy jaunts in either direction. At Ti-Kaye I revel in my private sanctuary with my husband, in a cottage called Lanmou that in Creole means “Love.” Other cottages, among the 33 at this boutique resort, have names like DouDou (sweetheart), Kankannez (troublemaker), and Oswe’a (tonight’s the night). The name Ti-Kaye itself means “little house,” and in fact, the bungalows look like small St. Lucian-style houses complete with gingerbread woodwork on the exteriors. I find I barely want to leave my private outdoor deck complete with hammock, plunge pool, and gorgeous views of the Caribbean and Anse Cochon, the crescent-shaped beach below and one of the finest on the island.

Party Like the Locals

Venturing out along local roads, I get a kick out of my taxi driver’s response to my question about small shacks lined up roadside with benches and tables out front. “That’s bar number one, bar number two … bar number four,” he tells me, “So you never miss a drink.” He explains that the local spiced rum is especially a “magical drink” that flows in abundance at two large street parties on the island held every Friday night. One is in the fishing village of Anse La Rey, not far from the Ti-Kaye Resort, and the other is the Friday fish fry to the north at Gros Islet near pretty Rodney Bay. At both, locals and tourists alike mingle, “No pressure, no problems,” as the St. Lucia saying goes.

 

Experiencing Castries

Rodney Bay’s marina area turns out to be a little too touristy for me, featuring a mini shopping mall with restaurants and nightlife options, though I do like the Casablanca feel to a fine restaurant on the bay called Jacques, with its airy waterfront dining. Mostly on St. Lucia, however, I prefer searching out more local and authentic experiences – or barely leaving my hotel, as was the case with the Rendezvous resort near St. Lucia’s capital of Castries on the northern end of the island.

Castries is a busy cruise port and hub of duty-free shopping, and it features many pretty Victorian-style buildings given the island’s British influence. Just around the bend from Castries, on a sweeping white sand beach, is the Rendezvous resort – close to the hub of the city yet offering intimacy and seclusion. Like Ti-Kaye, it’s an adults-only resort, and I revel in the convenience of staying in one of its beachside bungalows just steps from the water. While the accommodations offer privacy, the resort is also about mingling. Rendezvous is pack-filled with a menu of onsite activities ranging from Pilates by the sea, garden walks and “art at sunset,” to samba lessons and even steel-drum lessons, the latter entertaining to watch (though certainly not an acquired skill that will come in handy for many participants). There’s also live entertainment every evening at the resort’s large, outdoor terrace.

But again, I find myself drawn to seclusion on St. Lucia, so my husband and I opt for a private candlelit dinner on the Rendezvous beach with the Caribbean Sea lapping at the shore. The lights of downtown flicker nearby, and in the distance is the hazy glow of the neighboring island of Martinique. To drown out the gusts of laughter coming from the resort bar, my husband tunes his iPhone to the three tenors – Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras – and sitting there, with the sea, sand and opera as our backdrop, the two of us indulge in the romantic side of St. Lucia. No pressure, no problems, just stolen moments in time on a beautiful tropical island.

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