CASTRIES, St. Lucia (16 Apr 2009) — Cool off with the jazz crowd, retreat to the rain forest, then go scuba diving and explore the best coral reefs in the Caribbean: No question about it -- St. Lucia has it all. WHAT – AND WHERE? This teardrop-shaped island, 4,200 miles southwest of the UK, manages to pack in lush rain forest, scores of golden beaches and striking mountains into its 238 square miles – twice the size of the Isle of Wight, and rather more sultry. Its scenic splendours, added to the fact that many battles had been fought over it, led a British historian to give it the sobriquet "the Helen of the West Indies", after Helen of Troy. Apart from its stunning scenery and excellent climate, St Lucia offers possibly the best balance of places to stay, restaurants to savour, sights to see and things to do in the entire Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the West Indies and its nearest neighbour is Martinique, officially a department of France, 21 miles north. St Vincent lies 24 miles to the south, while Barbados is 100 miles south-east. The island's location in the trade winds keeps the climate pretty even: an average of just over 80F by day and 70F by night from November to March, increasing by about 5F for the rest of the year. The rainy season runs from June to October (sometimes later). But at any time of year you can expect a warm welcome, a choice of places to stay from historic to hedonistic, and a vast amount of activity options. WHY THE NAME? The original settlers were Amerindians who migrated from the north-east shores of South America between 1,000-500 BC. They called the island Iouanalao, "the place where the iguana is found". They were eventually driven out by the more warlike Carib Indians from the ninth century AD onwards, whose version of the Amerindian name was Hewanorra - now celebrated in the island's airport, at the far south of the island. The present name came about, according to local tradition, when a group of French sailors was shipwrecked on the island on 13 December 1502, the feast day of Sainte Alousie of Syracuse. (This story is somewhat undermined by the fact that the island had already appeared earlier that year on a Vatican globe as Santa Lucia, but the islanders still celebrate 13 December as their national day.) Sadly for Sainte Alousie, a 3rd-century martyr, she had her eyes gouged out while being tortured for her faith, and so would not have been able to appreciate the beauty of the place named in her honour. The first European settled here in the 1550s. He was a French buccaneer named Francois Le Clerc, who in the best piratical tradition had a wooden leg and was nicknamed Jambe de Bois. Establishing a base on Pigeon Island to the north, he sallied out to raid passing Spanish ships. In 1605, 67 English colonists bound for Guyana were blown off course and landed on the island. Deciding to settle, they bought huts from the Caribs, who soon turned on them. A month later only 19 were left, and they fled by canoe.
From the 1650s onwards France and Britain squabbled over the island, and it changed hands 14 times before it was finally ceded to the British in 1814. St Lucia achieved independence in 1979, and is now a member of the Commonwealth. ENOUGH HISTORY. I'M A PARTY ANIMAL Rodney Bay is the place for you, then. Named after Admiral George Rodney, who sailed out of the bay to defeat the French in one of those interminable battles, it's the throbbing hub of the island's nightlife. Tune up with a cocktail or three in the Village at Ti Bananne restaurant and bar, whose mixologist Kirma Mongroo was crowned the island's top bartender earlier this year. For dinner, you're spoilt for choice, but recommended are Ti Bananne's French Caribbean cuisine, succulent seafood at Buzz, grilled fish on the beach at Spinnakers or, if you're missing your curry, a Tandoori at Razmataz. Still not sleepy? Party on into the small hours down at the Lime Bar – "to lime" is the local slang for "to hang out" – or enjoy the disco and live music at Delirius. If you'd been out for the recent one-day cricket international at the Beausejour ground a few miles from Rodney Bay, you'd have ended up rubbing shoulders with some of the England team and West Indies legend Brian Lara. Expect to pay EC$6 (£1.60) for a local Piton beer or rum and coke, EC$15 (£4) for a cocktail. And if it's Friday night, head for the Jump Up at nearby Gros Islet, a raucous street party with barbecues, booze and Caribbean beats. TO GET AWAY FROM IT ALL? Head down south on the west coast. First stop, Anse Chastanet - an anse or ance means a bay in the local patois. No TV, no Wi-Fi, no phones in the 49 individually designed rooms scattered down the lush hillside or down by the beach - just a dreamily idyllic resort on a secluded beach, with plenty of watersports on offer, including snorkelling and scuba diving. Its three restaurants include the island's first vegetarian establishment, with organic produce grown on its own farm. | | Free scuba diving anyone? One of the best things about a holiday in St. Lucia is that if you stay at one of three beautiful Sandals resorts, you don't have to pay to go scuba diving off the best dive boats in St. Lucia. Amy Winehouse first fell in love with St Lucia while staying here, but now she's feeling friskier she's decamped to the north of the island. Wherever you're staying, though, don't emulate her recent topless antics; it's neither legal nor appreciated on this deeply Catholic island (a legacy of its French past). Perched above Anse Chastenet, and under the same ownership, is the recently opened Jade Mountain. Its chunky architecture looks rather utilitarian from afar as you sail into the bay, but close up the rooms are simply stunning. Completely open on one side, 24 of the 29 rooms feature substantial infinity pools where you can laze gently while admiring the Pitons in the distance. WHAT ARE THESE PITONS? The defining image of St Lucia: Gros Piton and Petit Piton are the second- and third-highest peaks on the island at 2,619ft and 2,461ft respectively. They are much more spectacular than St Lucia's highest, the 3,118ft Mount Gimie in the central rainforest. Volcanic plugs formed by an eruption aeons ago, their foliage-covered flanks tower majestically over the southern coast, and they have been recognised as a World Heritage site by Unesco. For an even closer look, stay at Ladera, a magical little hotel of just 26 suites and six villas which shimmers 1,100ft up on a forested ridge like a giant treehouse, with the Pitons on either side. The rooms too have only three walls (don't worry; in the St Lucian climate, it just works) and a pool, so it's probably sensible that they have a minimum age of 15 for guests. The loudest noise you'll hear is the frogs when they start their dusk chorus. Or just visit for lunch or dinner at its restaurant Dasheene, where Chef Orlando, from Jamaica via Beckenham, devises Creole dishes with a flamboyant twist. And if the water pistols on the table mystify you, they're not for squirting fellow diners but to deter the birds if they get too inquisitive in the open-sided dining room. CITY LIFE? The capital, Castries, on the north-west coast, has little architectural heritage, having suffered a series of disastrous fires, the most recent in 1927 and 1948. But the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, decorated with murals by local artist Dunstan St Omer, is worth a visit. The Vendor's Arcade caters for determined souvenir hunters, but the local market is far more fun; visit one of the little food shops and try a roti, curried meat or seafood in a pancake wrap, for around EC$15 (£4) includng a soft drink or a beer. Further south is Soufrière, the old French capital but now not much more than a fishing port. But it also has a busy market, and tourism is livening it up, as it's a convenient jumping-off point for the Pitons - and the spectacular Sulphur Springs. A stroll across the volcano's caldera takes you past hot, bubbling springs reeking with the rotten-egg smell of sulphur dioxide, but you soon get used to this, and then you can bathe in the rich, dark mud of the nearby river and man-made pool, which is rich in minerals and reputed to be particularly good for the skin, and also arthritis and rheumatism. Travel promotion by Simon Redfern |
