St. Lucia
We left Chicago early on a cold January morning and landed five hours later on the friendly, tropical island nation of St. Lucia.
We had reserved a car in advance via Priceline and picked it up at the Hewanorra airport near Viex Fort. It didn't dawn on me until we were walking through the vehicle check that Lucians drive on the left side of the road. Flashbacks of driving through winding Irish roads and "Give Way" signs came rushing to mind. After a few sanity checks, I quickly acclimated to it - though Meaghan and I did have a laugh when we both went to the wrong side of the car as we exited the local Massy supermarket.
An hour or so of driving through bumpy, hilly roads and we arrived at our Airbnb in La Pointe - Kaye Mango. The views from our balcony were breathtaking. From the back patio, our horizon pool bled into the Western Caribbean and from the front, we faced the southern side of Gros Piton. All around the property were fruit trees, banana and mango with exotic flowers sprouting from every corner.
Sleep deprived and beaten down by a long day of travel, we went to bed with the doors open and the frogs and crickets melodiously soothing us to sleep.
Soufriere
We only had 3 short days - our first nearly lost to travel. On our second day, we woke early, made breakfast using local eggs and bananas, then ventured out to Soufriere. We had coffee and smoothies made from soursop, banana, mango at a local art cafe named Zaka. In the back, the owner was carving the wooden masks that adorned their walls.
As we exited the cafe, an old Rasta man chatted with us, asking where we were from and naming and telling us about each of his five kids. He asked us if we drink, to which we gladly answered "yes"; asked us if we smoke cigarettes, to which we emphatically said "no". He smiled and said, "That's good, but I hope you smoke ganja. I smoke ganja ev-er-ey-day!" He claimed that smoking weed cures asthma and is great for your health. After a few more minutes of chatting he asked us if we wanted "two stick of ganja" to which we politely declined.
The longer we continued to walk through Soufriere, the more it became clear that everyone was hustling something - be it recommendations to their favorite restaurant, guides to Gros Piton and the mud baths, or a boat ride around the bay to the bat caves and snorkeling sites. One older man that chased us down the street wanted a some money for the 'kids' to buy some 'balls'. We spent much less time in Soufriere than we had originally planned and headed back towards the Pitons to walk the Tet Paul Nature trail.
On the road back from Soufriere, we diverted to head towards the Sulfur Springs thinking we could simply pass through as it is proclaimed "the world's only drive-in volcano". As we approached, the odor of sulfur was overwhelming and we noticed a gated access to the road. Deciding that we weren't that interested in paying to stare at tan stinky rocks, we promptly turned around and headed for the nature trial.
Tet Paul Nature Trail
The Tet Paul Nature Trail lived up to what all other reviewers had stated: a must-see attraction in St. Lucia. For $10US per person, a guide escorts you through a local farm up a short hillside that gives spectacular views of Gros and Petit Piton. We hiked the Gros Piton trail the next day, but the views from Tet Paul were the best. The walk lasted about 45 minutes and was not strenuous at all.
From Tet Paul, we headed around to Sugar Beach which sits perfectly nestled between the two Pitons.
Sugar Beach
We walked out onto the pier to soak it in and were met by a local by the name of Johnny - a daft salesman that broke through our barrier and had us planning a snorkeling, sunset boat trip with him the following day. We had delicious tapas at the Sugar Beach hotel bar - a tapenade of eggplant, tomato, and guac as well as mahi mahi sushi and strong rum drinks.
Afterwards, we went and lounged on the free beach chairs (to the right of the pier facing the sea). Soon after we sat down, a couple of Rasta guys pulled up a kayak full of fresh fruits. They made us a smoothie from coconut milk, banana, and mango. He slipped a little rum in from his backpack after I asked with a joking smile.
We lounged on the chairs and watched the sailboats go by as the sun dipped low in the sky. Eventually we made our way back to our car and took the backroads to La Pointe where we caught the last moments of the sun falling below the horizon.
We went back to Kaye Mango and regrouped, then decided to head back out for dinner at Jardin Cacao restaurant. We had visited there briefly earlier that day as we went up to Tet Paul, but were not excited about spending $50US on lunch. We had decent expectations for dinner, but were heavily disappointed by misleading menu items, bad drinks, and worse service. Meaghan ordered pumpkin soup which tasted like a can of Campbell's vegetable soup. My cocktail came pink in slushy form tasting of sugar and no alcohol. We should have listened to our AirBnB host and joined them at The Mango Tree.
Gros Piton Hike
One of the primary reasons we wanted to come to St. Lucia was to hike to the top of Gros Piton. Many reviews described this as a strenuous hike, but in all honesty it was quite tame. This isn't to say you won't be sweaty and tired, but after hiking the Kalalau trail in Kauai, Cerro Chato and Cloud Forest in Costa Rica, and Nevada Falls in Yosemite, this trail was a piece of cake. We took our time, taking lots of photos and resting at each quarter marker. The entire hike lasted about four and a half hours.
The trailhead can begin from the beach or the small village of Fond Gens Libre. It cost $71US for the two of us and they do not accept credit cards. A guide is required and they will match you with someone right as you walk up to the trail. Ours was named Cullin, a young woman that had lived there all her life and has been hiking up the mountain five days a week for five years. The village relies on the proceeds from visitors as everyone in the 120 person community works to support Gros Piton.
The trail is rocky for the first half, forcing you to balance on fallen rocks and jump from boulder to boulder. The second half is a steep trail with natural dirt steps and tree-made railing going most of the way up. Compared to the Cerro Chato (a similar style hike), this trail was incredibly well maintained and built-up.
The view from the top faces La Pointe and we could easily spot Kaye Mango by way of Tete Rouge from the summit. Rolling, misting clouds turned a clear view of the southern tip of St. Lucia into a complete whiteout within seconds of us ascending. We relaxed at the top for about a half an hour before deciding to head back down. I was disappointed that our guide would not take us around to the view of Petit Piton, stating that whenever it rains, they are not allowed to take people back that way as it is extremely muddy and you must climb a ladder made of tree limbs that is very slippery. From what I can tell, the view wasn't all that different from that of the Tet Paul Nature trail.
Our Hiking Tips
I always hike with my camera holstered to my hip with my BlackRapid Sport strap as I can easily use both hands and it helps keep the weight counterbalanced between my D800 and my Thule DLSR Covert Messenger bag. After shooting with a giant 24-70mm f/2.8 lens in Yosemite, I decided to only take my prime f/2 35mm lens on this trip and my back is very grateful for it. Meaghan loves her REI day bag and 2.5 liter Platypus water bottle.
At about 3/4 the way down the mountain, Cullin pointed out the path that leads to the beach where Zion Lion Farm offers tours of their farm, a lesson in cooking authentic Caribbean cuisine, and boat tours around the bay. Had we not driven, we would have set down that path. Instead, we wound our way back through the village, eating a rewarding double scoop of coconut ice cream and then back to Kaye Mango.
Zion Lion Farm
The other path down to Zion Lion Farm is at the end of a curving road in La Pointe. A bar with an orange metal roof sits at the bend in the road and marks the trail that leads down to the beach. Thinking we were done with hiking, Meaghan wore her Chaco sandals and was ill prepared for the rocky descent down. Goats and cows stared cock-eyed at us as we made our way down the skinny trail.
As we approached the end of the fifteen minute hike down, we saw a pair of local Rasta men chopping wood with machetes and building something that resembled a boat. They looked up at us with smiles and asked what we needed. We responded we had come to get lunch from Paul at Zion Lion Farm. They pointed us around the beach and past a small river. Fisherman had their lines strung up with sticks planted into the sand. Small motor boats ferried the casts deep out into the bay. On this vast and pristine beach, there were at most a dozen people - most of which were the local farmers and fishermen.
The Zion Lion Farm has a small restaurant right on the beach. Our meal was prepared by Paul's sister Joanna. She was expecting us as I had been emailing Paul back and forth for the past day. She greeted us warmly and asked us to sit down and relax while she prepared our lunch.
The lunch was a bit pricey at $35US per person, but she explained that all of the organic fruits and vegetables were harvested that day and brought down from the mountain and cooked the traditional way using clay pots over coal. The money helps support their farm as they continue to expand into making the restaurant more accessible for visitors.
After our meal, we lounged by the beach soaking in the view of Gros Piton and reflecting upon our short-yet-filled time on St. Lucia.
We went back to Kaye Mango and watched the best sunset we had seen yet while sipping on Piton, the namesake lager. We went to bed quite early that night, as we had to wake up at 4AM in order to drive to Castries City and catch our 8AM flight to Tortola.
Hairpin drive to Castries City
At 4AM we rolled out of bed and said goodbye to Kaye Mango and La Pointe. The stars were glowing bright within pockets of clouds as we loaded our car in the pitch black. Google Maps and the recommended Maps.me apps told us to expect about a 1.5 hour drive to the George F.L. Charles airport in Castries City from La Pointe.
Based on how treacherous the driving had been thus far, I anticipated it taking much longer. I knew the roads well by this point, up until Soufriere, after which everything was new. Each turn was a blind turn zigging and zagging up and down mountains and through small, quiet towns. As morning crept on and the sky turned a deep blue, we saw men and women walking to work, sweeping the sidewalks in front of their buildings. It felt like we had traveled in time back a hundred years and we were on a carousel watching vignettes of the past scroll by us.
Nearly 1.5 hours to the minute and we were in Castries City searching for breakfast and a gas station. We entered a small bakery that was only serving the daily bread, telling us that pastries wouldn't be ready for another hour. Having given up on getting breakfast, we were delighted to find that the George F.L. Charles airport actually has a small restaurant that was serving breakfast and coffee among many other things. Thankfully, they accepted credit card as we had quickly blown through what little cash we had remembered to bring on this trip.
The airport was tiny. Two counters for the airlines Liat and Caribbean Air with a security screening that takes less than a minute to cruise through. We sat and waited for our plane in the boarding area - seeing CNN on the TV, completely removing us from our idyllic vacation. After a short wait, our propeller plane pulled up and we set out for the next portion of our vacation in the BVI. Up next, Virgin Gorda and Tortola!