St. Lucia - travel tips

[Jims5543]

Anyone who has been there have any cool spots to hit up?

We prefer more of the local scene over the touristy hot spots. We know we are indeed tourists, and we will do touristy things. We also like to get away from the crowds and enjoy the local scene / food. The non-Americanized food.

We are staying near Soufriere in Anse Chastinet. I rented a Suzuki Jimmy 4x4 for week we are there.

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[billybek]

It looked beautiful from the window of the 747 I was oncoming home from Barbados on.
Would love to go so post some photos!

[Hugh R]

Daughter got married there, watch out for the drainage ditches on the side of the roads.

Most of those islands look the same to me.

[zelrik911]

We stayed at Chateau Devaux beneath the Pitons when it was just the old plantation house of dear friends of my wife's family. The Soufriere volcano had just settled down and it was very quiet tourist wise.

Try and have a boat trip to view the Pitons from sea side. Its a great vista.
The back roads are crap and very skinny. I had a real-life game of 'chicken' once - it was him or me over the edge - I won.

Do you like dark rum? You will have a fantastic time.

[Jims5543]

Thanks for the tips. When I drove around small villages and a "mountain pass" in Ireland the roads were 1 car wide and it was expected to be a 2 way road.

Outlying parts of Nassau on New Providence are pretty crazy to drive and Nassau proper is a madhouse.

I will take driving in St. Lucia seriously, the last thing I want is an accident. Mucho insurance will be purchased.

[Jims5543]

Originally Posted by zelrik911

We stayed at Chateau Devaux beneath the Pitons when it was just the old plantation house of dear friends of my wife's family. The Soufriere volcano had just settled down and it was very quiet tourist wise.

Try and have a boat trip to view the Pitons from sea side. Its a great vista.
The back roads are crap and very skinny. I had a real-life game of 'chicken' once - it was him or me over the edge - I won.

Do you like dark rum? You will have a fantastic time.

We are staying straight across from the Pitons.

I am not a huge rum fan but do appreciate a decent rum, so I will give some of the local stuff a try.

I am not really digging on the chicken games.

[Jims5543]

Rooftop bar at Jade Mountain resort is hard to get to but worth the effort.



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[Jims5543]

Driving here is tricky the road to my resort is insane. Unimproved 1.5 lane lane road insane vertical climb with horrible surface. Worth every inch of the drive.





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[Jims5543]

This is drainage and the reason car rental companies will not include rim or bottom damage in car insurance.



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[p911dad]

We stayed on St Lucia this past December for a bit. I know it's a bit of a drive from where you will be, but Rodney Bay (about 7 miles north of Castries) has a few restaurants and bars, etc. That stretch of road is not too bad. No particular recommendations. Have fun!

[zelrik911]

Originally Posted by Jims5543

Rooftop bar at Jade Mountain resort is hard to get to but worth the effort.



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Fantastic outlook - have a great holiday.

FYI; There are 3 active volcanoes under the 3 island chain of Martinique (Mon Pelee), St Lucia (Soufriere), Grenada (Kick 'em Jenny - underwater volcano, but growing fast). Take lots of photos as these island may blown away sometime soon! We have a holiday house in Barbados which could cop it when it happens. We buy lots of insurance!

[Jims5543]

Originally Posted by zelrik911

Fantastic outlook - have a great holiday.



FYI; There are 3 active volcanoes under the 3 island chain of Martinique (Mon Pelee), St Lucia (Soufriere), Grenada (Kick 'em Jenny - underwater volcano, but growing fast). Take lots of photos as these island may blown away sometime soon! We have a holiday house in Barbados which could cop it when it happens. We buy lots of insurance!

I stood in the crater of the Soufriere Volcano today.

I am getting tired of shaking off all the people preying on me.

We did a private boat tour to Soufriere today. The guides name was Simon says. He also hooked us up with Marlon Brando who is going to take us to Castries for the day Sunday.

Kind of sorry I rented a car, you can move around much better by boat.

I is cool driving here though. I love driving in different places. It's a fun challenge.



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[Captain Ahab Jr]

Originally Posted by Jims5543

I is cool driving here though. I love driving in different places. It's a fun challenge.

Thanks for the posts, looks a nice place.

I love driving in different countries too, driven through Nassau a number of times, fun times.

Disappointed not to drive in Vietnam but not possible to rent a car as a tourist. Really enjoyed driving all over Jordan and Oman but 7 yrs of Italy was the most fun.

Most memorable drive was being pulled by the cops in Montenegro for speeding, officers opening line was 'So Mr Ahab why don't you feel you need to respect the laws of our country', talked my way out of that one

Now really looking forward to Costa Rica later this year, thinking of hiring something open topped like a Jeep but not sure it would be the wisest choice when lugging our luggage about with us.

[Jims5543]

Originally Posted by Jims5543

Rooftop bar at Jade Mountain resort is hard to get to but worth the effort.



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The peak on the right? My wife and I made it our b@tch today. We left the resort ar 0630 and arrived at the Freeman* village at the base of the Gross Pitton at 0650.

We met our guide, signed waivers, and headed up. 30% tap out in the first 1/4. I was pretty freaked out inside my head that I would also be one. So much so, I did not have but one 5% beer at dinner the night before and hit the sack at 9pm so we would be well rested.

As we started there was another couple in their 30's leaving about 10 mins ahead of us, with hiking boots on looking like serious business. We caught up to them at the first stop where you can take some pics 1/4 of the way up, and we felt good. I am 53 and my wife is 48 she exercises a lot, I do not, and I am pissed off about that. I work too much.

Typically you make the climb in 2 hours flat is you move at a reasonable pace. We hit the top in 1:50, the trip back down is also supposed to be a 2 hour trip, we did that in 1:40. The ascent is 2000 feet and you do it in about 2 miles or 2 hours.

Heart rate on the 140 range, wife wears a fit bit. Mine may have been higher.

I started watching the guide and mimicking her moves, she was taking very small steps and very slow strides, yet she moved so fast.

Once I took note of her, I found a good groove and was not working so hard. I will get some pics up later. We were due back at resort at 1 pm we arrived back at 11 am.

It was a wake up call, a few years ago I would have flown up that climb. Time to step up the cardio game again.

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[Jims5543]

* the locals here embrace their slavery roots. They feel the story about the slaves and the owners should always be told.

We toured a former plantation. Tradition dictates that the original owners name remain. In the case if the plantation I toured the owner was a monster.

They keep that family name on the estate so it lives in infamy.

The town we entered to hike the Pitton was called Free Mans town, which is the settlement the first freed slaves moved to. Why keep a name like that? Because history.

Hat is off to St. Lucia for not erasing it.

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[Seahawk]

Great thread, Jim. Pics are terrific.

[Jims5543]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

Great thread, Jim. Pics are terrific.

Thanks. I came here with a vague idea of what to expect. I learned a lot and will share when I am home and have a good internet connection and time.

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[Jims5543]

My wife made a new friend in Freeman's town before the hike.

Everyone in Freeman's town is related, 120 people in about 30 houses.

There are lots of dogs many look like typical Caribbean mutts. When we were coming back down a group of locals were heading up with some friends. They had 3 dogs tagging along.

Our guide told us the dogs will go up at least once every day and pick a family member to tag along with.

The dogs were so damn cute. My wife wants to take them all home.





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[Jims5543]

The rooms have strategically slatted windows with screens. No glass.

Beds have mosquito nets. We were diligent about keeping the room dark and the net closed. We read online people had big problems with bugs. We have not at all.

It's a little hot early in the evening then cools off nicely as the night progresses.

The sounds of the night here are what you hear on the sleep soundtracks. It is crazy how the sounds change as the night progresses. Frogs crickets in the beginning of the evening by the middle of the night the crickets quiet down.

Early morning just before dawn the birds start up. The first night was a little rough adjusting to all the sounds now after 4 nights no big deal. The birds would end up being my alarm clock.

I was worried about how hot it would be here in July turned out to not be a big deal.



This is the view from my bed in the morning. Well the PG view that I can share. No need for clothing while in the room. No one can see you.



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