A Day in St. Lucia

You know when you are in a less-than-great situation and someone tells you to go to your happy place?  If you are having a stressful day at work, just go to your happy place.  If your kids are running wild and eating away at your sanity, close your eyes, plug your ears, and head to happier pastures.  Trying to sink a put, but you just can’t do it?  Oh wait, no, that’s  from Happy Gilmore.  But you get the idea, right?

I am assuming that you probably already have your own happy place to go to, and if you are like me, you may have quite a few to choose from.  But if not, let me loan you one of mine: the beautiful, green Caribbean island of St. Lucia ❤

We have been to St. Lucia twice, and since both visits were on cruises, we have only had the opportunity to visit for about 8 hours at a time.  But let me tell you, that is enough to have made me fall in love with this beautiful island!

If you do ever have the chance to go to St. Lucia, I would highly recommend booking a tour with COSOL Tours. We booked with Cosol for both of our trips, and we were provided an excellent experience both times.  The guides are informative and a whole lot of fun.  You will also be filled to the brim with delicious local food and drinks–yum!

To be honest, I cannot recall all of the details of our tours with Cosol.  I suppose that eight years will do that.  But I do remember the important things: St. Lucia is absolutely beautiful and abundantly green, the water is lovely, and the food is tasty.  And what I don’t remember, I can fill in with pictures.  What more do you need??

So here is a little photo tour through St. Lucia.  I hope this whets your appetite for a trip of your own.

Banana Plantation

One of our first stops was at a banana plantation.  It was interesting to learn about the cycle of banana plants, how they can only produce fruit once, but new growth is always shooting up to replace the old.

 

Views, Views, and More Views!

St. Lucia is host to lush forested landscape as well as lovely hills and mountains, which means… amazing vista points all over the island.   As you drive along the windy roads that cut through the hills, you are treated to gorgeous views of the coastline wrapped snugly by green forest and small villages.  Perfect!

Soufriere

In the town of Soufriere, we were able to visit the extinct volcano and sulfur springs.  We also stopped by the Toraille Waterfall and gardens.

The Pitons

If you have been to St. Lucia, you are surely already familiar with the Pitons.  These two volcanic peaks, blanketed in green, rise up over 2,000 feet above sea level on the southwest coast of the island.  They add to the already stunning landscape of the island, and the adventurous can even hike to the top of Gros Piton.  As for us, we have not yet made the hike, but I hope to make it happen if and when we return to the island.

Jalousie Beach

One of the stops we made on our tour was to Jalousie Beach.   Set between the Pitons, this beach is the perfect place to relax, swim, and snorkel.  To get to the beach, we took a water taxi, which might have been one of my favorite parts of the tour.

And *sigh* Heading Back…

As is always the problem with tours, it is eventually time to head back and call it a day.  We are always pretty sad to leave an island, but with such a busy tour, heading back to the ship to unwind wasn’t too terribly bad.  Plus the ship’s captain did a 360 degree turn so everyone could get a view of the Pitons as we sailed away.  It was a nice way to say goodbye to such a lovely island!

 

Tips and Lessons Learned:

• Go to St. Lucia if you can, and for pity’s sake, book a tour with Cosol! 🙂
• If you have a chance to try some local foods, be sure to get some Johnny cakes with banana ketchup (yes, banana ketchup!).
• It is awfully nice going on a tour with a local doing the driving and navigating.  But if you decide to do your own driving in St. Lucia, just be aware that the roads are windy and hilly, and drivers use the left side of the road, so keep left!

 

• There are some long stretches of road without facilities available, so make sure to use the restroom when you have a chance.  And don’t forget some cash, as I think I remember some of the bathrooms charging a small fee.