Adventures for Anyone: St. Lucia Post 1...Overview

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

St. Lucia Post 1...Overview

Hello, and welcome to a series of posts about the Caribbean Island Nation of St. Lucia. Please note that several links provided in this post will not be included in any posts after this and will be referenced as previous material to look at. The reason for this is that there's just too much and I don't want to link it all again.

St. Lucia is one of the more southern Caribbean Islands and is just south of Martinique and north of St. Vincent. It is tropical, mountainous, heavily populated, rain forested, dramatic, and busy most of the time. That's just how it is. St. Lucia is modern, business minded, and a place where things happen. The island was riddled with the invasive algae and seaweed plaguing the Caribbean and they solved the problem by turning it into a fertilizer business. The creativity will amaze you in that country.

You don't wear anything camouflage in St. Lucia. They are a country that was invaded 14 separate times by European behemoths France and Britain. Seven times by each empire. After countless decades, even centuries, St. Lucia was finally able to declare its independence in 1979. By choice, they remain a protectorate of Great Britain.

Independence day is February 22nd and is a well observed holiday. Most businesses are closed and people have a chance to celebrate with their families.

What can I say as an overview about this magnificent country? They're tech savvy. They're industrious. They know where their money comes from and they work hard to make all they can. This means tourism.

As you can see, I've listed more links than ever below about this country's options for visiting. Cruise ships stop by daily. Resort hotels abound. I've never seen so many tour companies in my life. Over 300 ship visits a year in the harbor in Castries, the capital. Between 25 and 40 resort hotels across the country, mostly in the north end of the island. There are so many tour companies of various kinds that I can't give an accurate number or even come close. Tourism is the thing in St. Lucia.

Here's the question. What do visitors learn about St. Lucia when they visit?

Absolutely nothing. Most tourists come in and visit some key locations and spend a lot of money at markets and duty free shops across the country. Most visitors only see any bit of the real St. Lucia between 8 am and 4 pm on any given day. Most people go home with their souvenirs and think they've had an experience. Most people are missing it. It's like they come in with their money, their tour guides, and their phones and then go running before dinner time. Folks, you're looking but not seeing. You've just taken a well designed trip to the main tourist attractions and missed it. I'm writing these blogs to try and get people to take some time and visit the Caribbean Islands that they barely see from all inclusive resorts and day visits on cruises. Take a closer look. You'll be amazed at what you see.

Let's just tackle the basics. Vieux Fort at the very south point of the island is where the international airport is. There's a Sandals Lounge there. This is because Sandals owns three different all inclusive resorts on the island and this is where you wait for your transfer to their resorts on the opposite end of the island. You can take shuttle, boat or even helicopter to get from one end of the island to the other. What will you miss? The entire country. Think about that.

Those tours? They are all offered by locals and their companies. That's great. In St. Lucia you've entered a country where they know their industry, and that's tourism. They take you where you want to go. You can personalize over 200 tours in that country. The locals will tell you the history, the industry, the holidays and so on. They give wonderful information. They also go to work at 4 am to make that local food that you buy at the stands along the way. They sometimes don't get home until 8 or 9 pm because they were busy making money on other people's time. They show you what you want to see, because it's how they make money. They never complain. They almost never show you the real St. Lucia. They don't mind, because it's how they earn a living. What do the tourists miss? So much.

Did you know that Carnival weekend means a music fest across the island? Local businesses shut down and the parking lots are turned into local concert venues. Did you know that many locals like country music? I didn't, but I learned that. It's an interesting thing that I would never have learned on a tour. There's so much to learn. There's so many wonderful things most people don't know. The people who live in this island paradise know their jobs. Their jobs are to show tourists what they want to see. This is quite often not the real St. Lucia.

Are you surprised yet? You should be. Did you know that most places to get food in the entire country close early? The tourists go back to the boat and the resort by 5 pm. At that point, almost every food outlet in the touristy parts of the country close down. Their business is over for the day. The restaurants at the resorts stay open late for guests returning from a tour and charge ridiculous amounts of money for food that has nothing to do with local faire. Fact. The worst part of that is that those few travelers who want to experience the country are left wondering what to do about food. There were times that we got heat and eat from the local grocery store like the locals do after a long day at work.

Most tourists love their souvenirs. They go to stands, or the market in Castries and shop. They come away with all sorts of souvenirs and take them home to remember their visit. Did you buy an authentic St. Lucian item? Probably not. Most of the souvenirs sold in the country can be found at any stand. That's because they probably came from China. Fact. Sarongs, tote bags, clothes, and those necklaces that the locals tell you stories about that they made? They didn't. Think about it. These are people who spend all day at work 364 days a year. After that, they go home and raise families. If you don't see them making the items where you buy them, then rest assured; they didn't make them. Once again, they know what tourists expect to buy and they sell it. Don't feel slighted, especially Americans. They give you what you expect.

You want to know what to buy? Baron's products. They have banana ketchup and other spicy things. It's produced right on the island by locals. You could also buy rum. Bounty Rum products and Marigot Bay are local. Piton Beer is another local product. You may be lucky enough to find a wood carver working at their stand or stall. That's a local handicraft. So, be different, buy something that actually comes from the island. Talk to the people at their stands and stalls. Ask a lot of questions. They'll tell you what's what and you can buy some authentic souvenirs. If you don't know where to look, I can tell you that there's a stand in Marigot Bay that sells wooden wind chimes that are hand made. There's a stand on the way to Soufriere from Castries that sells all the Baron products. There's a café at Rainforest Adventures where you can try juices made from local fruits. There's a chocolate factory on the way to Soufriere from Castries with authentic local products and chocolates. Look for the real. You'll be impressed.

And so we begin a discussion that I think is important to put out there. I intend in the following blog posts to discuss why St. Lucia is the perfect example of overlooked wonders. I think that it's time we learned to explore instead of momentarily invade a wonderful country. In the following posts, I hope that you'll learn enough about truly experiencing St. Lucia to want to explore it yourselves. Even if you only look at this one post and see the overwhelming list of links for cruises, tours, taxis, resorts and so on; think about what this says. It says that you've missed the real country. If that's what you really want to do, then stop reading here and enjoy.

http://www.baronfoodsltd.com/

https://www.minube.net/place/pointe-seraphine--a111232

https://allaboutstlucia.com/duty-free/

https://seaspraycruises.com/cruise-ship-excursions/

https://www.beachvacationsandmore.com/st-lucia-shore-excursions.html

https://www.cruisehive.com/top-things-to-do-in-st-lucia-while-on-a-cruise/27828

https://www.shoreexcursioneer.com/st-lucia

https://www.getyourguide.com/s?cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=6654173973&cq_con=76427540862&cq_term=&cq_med=&cq_plac=&cq_net=g&cq_pos=&cq_plt=gp&campaign_id=6654173973&adgroup_id=76427540862&target_id=aud-1393039795340%3Adsa-84666501466&loc_physical_ms=1014699&match_type=&ad_id=647833121279&keyword=&ad_position=&feed_item_id=&placement=&device=c&partner_id=CD951&gclid=CjwKCAiAxvGfBhB-EiwAMPakquv46pDwYgA7wkExgLb182jIorVfA5gKKX-PlRo0bt9dA6WdFz-HmxoCqf8QAvD_BwE&q=Soufri%C3%A8re&et=406668

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g671541-d8134784-r750208709-Shashamane_Experience-Marigot_Bay_Castries_Quarter_St_Lucia.html

https://www.exploringcaribbean.com/taxi-tours-in-st-lucia/

https://allaboutstlucia.com/taxis/

https://www.viator.com/St-Lucia-tours/Water-Transfers/d38-g15-c40311