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| St Lucia pics |
St Lucia has a double personality. It was only colonized after 1660 when the French signed a treaty with the local Carib people, and then it changed hands no less than 14 times between France and Britain over the following 150 years. The result is that nowadays St. Lucians have English as their official language but speak Creole (a French dialect) at home, drive on the left hand side of the road and live in towns with French names. All with a distinct Caribbean flavo(u)r.
And distinct St Lucia is. Unlike many of the other Caribbean islands that are mostly flat, the island’s volcanic origin gave rise to mountains, hills, valleys, a dense rain forest that feeds on the fertile volcanic soil, and the so-called world’s only drive-in volcano. The latter is actually a tourist trap - the “drive-in volcano” is nothing more than sulphur springs with boiling mud, with not even the hint of a crater in sight. Save yourself time and money and don’t go there. Stick to the beaches, the rainforest, and the Piton peaks (the Gros Piton and Petit Piton mountains, the landmarks of St Lucia).
The island is still not overly touristy – last year, it received 330,000 visitors, a mere 1.4% of the 23 million who visited the Caribbean in 2010. Touted as a wedding/honeymoon destination, St Lucia has more to offer than romantic elopement and resorts with sun loungers by the water. I actually view St Lucia more as an activity than a beach destination - besides the usual water sports, there’s also hiking, mountain-biking, zip-lining, horseback riding and you can also climb both Pitons. But if you feel like me, are tired of shoveling snow and want no more than do absolutely nothing, just laze away on the sand till the cows get a tan. Don’t know what I mean? Then check the photos on the link above.
