JANUARY 2008 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 26 ALL ASHORE… Relaxing in St. Lucia by Shirley Hall A return to St. Lucia had been on our agenda for months after almost a decade of cruising south of 12 degrees north. After anchorage in bustling Chaguaramas, Trinidad, my husband and I decided that St. Lucia would be a great place to relax and be a tourist again. Early November was chosen as a good time as the Atlantic crossers and other cruisers had yet to appear in great numbers. Most of the storms should have passed, but the island would be green from rains. St. Lucia is a somewhat odd island. It has some nice beaches, yet a couple of steep peaks are its <strong>Caribbean</strong> identity. The Pitons are supremely photogenic but virtually unclimbable for the average person. St. Lucia does, however, brag about a “drive through” volcano. Been there, done that. Not overly impressed. I had expected to drive my rental car close along the rim of a crater of glowing lava. Instead I got some mud and the smell of sulfur. Good thing someone mentioned it was the volcano! Rodney Bay now has a fullscale hotel on Pigeon Point where a decade ago Lucian drivers came to chill, listening to country and western music. On the water were fewer than 20 other yachts, very spread out. The haulout at Gros Islet looked busy from our dink (I desperately try to stay away from boatyards). The docks at the Rodney Bay Marina were sparingly occupied and had visibly changed little since our last visit. The Bread Basket Restaurant/Bakery is larger, and their coffee and pastries are still excellent. The parking and pick-up area was as hectic as ever, as everyone seemed in training for the start of the season when the <strong>ARC</strong> arrives. The downside was that four cruise ships were in Castries the day we went to the city, and an average of two were due every day. Castries, like so many tourist- A one-day auto tour was within our cruising budget and captured all the highlights oriented <strong>Caribbean</strong> towns, has traffic that doesn’t flow due to congested streets, twists and turns. I had forgotten that the impact of taxi vans and cruise ship passengers can take some of the thrill out of the <strong>Caribbean</strong>. The great upside is that almost every road throughout St. Lucia has been very recently paved. Those roads are the real key to revealing the beauty of St. Lucia. Always on a budget, our last one-day tour of St. Lucia had been almost eight years ago. This time the rental car was better, bringing us to the beautiful-asever, barely changed Dennery scenic overlook on the windward coast. (What happened to the banana ketchup?) Farther along a sparsely populated southeast coast, a massive hotel and golf course are being constructed. The impressive view from the top of the town of Vieux Fort affords a 360-degree look at some of the most beautiful undeveloped <strong>Caribbean</strong>. Since we were last there, a Kentucky Fried had appeared. The isolated international airport near Vieux Fort hasn’t caused any big development explosions, except now the town has a good-looking, functioning, wellprotected port. We had a great lunch of tasty grilled mahi mahi at a family-owned hotel nearby. The goal of our visit to St. Lucia was to relax, and my first desire was to settle into a hot natural bath at the Soufriere Botanical Garden, worth ten times the price. Fantastic, nothing had changed. We dodged the eager crowd of cruise-shippers and splurged for the private bath. The entire botanical garden is absolutely stunning, the waterfalls are exquisite, and the private bath has an antique character. You get the key from Miss Bess and fill it to your chosen temperature — the sulfurous water is hot, really hot. The story is that the king of France paid to develop this volcano-heated mineral spring as a spa for his soldiers. He did right. We oohhed and aahhed while soothing old boat bites. The time limit must be relative to how many people desire the private bath: we had time to casually enjoy some libations and fruit. Totally refreshed and revitalized, we headed on to enjoy more spectacular views and the beginning of the afternoon effect of desiring a cocktail in a scenic location like Anse Chastenet, just north of Soufriere. (Of all the wonders of St. Lucia, why not fix that horrible road?) The restaurant and beach bar hadn’t changed, except for the better. The rum punches and aromas rising from the grill are true art forms. Another “must see” above the parking lot is one of the wonders of modern architecture; a huge, out of place, six-level monstrosity seemingly ready for alien flying saucers. On to the coup de grace, enjoying a sundowner at the Dasheen Restaurant. I remembered the glistening swimming pool beside the intricately carved bar. All aspects of the Dasheen are now slightly bigger and better. Dasheen has “the” island view of the Pitons. This vista is best in the morning before the sun gets high, or as it sets, hoping for the green flash; in the afternoon the Pitons are obscured by a silver glare. At lovely Marigot Bay, <strong>Caribbean</strong>-style (or something closely resembling it) palatial condos with personal hot tubs and stunning swimming pools now line the bay’s southern hillside. I never thought I’d see a megayacht tied up stern-to at the gorgeous stone Hurricane Hole Bar. The Moorings weren’t bad enough; now cruisers are discouraged from entering the “keyhole” or inner bay. The memorably accommodating Customs and Immigration office is no longer “quaint”. Tourism has many edges: scenic St. Lucia still has the true, friendly <strong>Caribbean</strong> product but investment, development and much-needed jobs is what it is all about. We found the changes shocking and drastic at Marigot Bay, but it could be worse. Relaxed after our day ashore, we went back to the boat in breezy Rodney Bay.
See our Yearly Calendar of Events at: www.caribbeancompass.com JANUARY 2008 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 28