"Around each bend was the familiar dark green of the trees that grew with a ferociousness that no hand had yet attempted to restrain, a green so unrelenting that it attained great beauty...and humility all at once; it was itself, nothing could be added to it; nothing could be taken away from it."
- Jamaica Kincaid, The Autobiography of My Mother
Oh, St. Lucia. You are a pretty place. I miss ya'lready. St. Lucia is far away. Look at a map. It, and the other islands of the West Indies, are in the southeastern part of the Caribbean Sea, far removed from the North American landmass. I was surprised by how long it took to get there via airplane. However, when it comes to the island's appearance, St. Lucia feels very far away from anything else. Indeed, this place is perceived as "The Nature Island" of the Caribbean. Which makes me sad.
Why sad? Well, St. Lucia gets tons of tourist. Tons of tourist who bypass the amazing, verdant, beautiful, heart-and-soul south end of the island for the white sand resort beaches of the north (beaches you can get anywhere--and in all honesty, most likely better--at other places in the Caribbean).
Below, Petit Piton. One of two mindblowingly beautiful twin peaks of St. Lucia, or as a travel guide aptly describes them, "emerald teeth rising from the sea":
But it's funny in a strange way, because this thing that made me sad also functioned to make me happy. How? Well, my best friend Tina and I spent three days in the medium-sized city of Soufriere in the southern part of the island. Soufriere is completely unadulterated when it comes to tourists. Therefore, we got a glimpse into the real-life workings and goings-on of island life.
BUT, our time in Soufriere was not what it could nor should have been, thanks to Delta (Smellta) and Alaska (AlaSCAM) airlines and their "codeshared" incompetence on locating my best friend's luggage for half (read: the Soufriere portion) of our trip. Do I sound annoyed? Oh sorry, that's 'cause I am.
Nevertheless, this lush part of the island was magnificent and beautiful. In a lot of ways, it was my favorite part of the trip. Our hotel was crammed in the loud, raucous downtown square where the church bells ring incessantly all morning long and the multitude of free-roaming city roosters call at all hours. I felt immersed in its multifarious elements: tall banana trees growing up the big verdant mountains; adults and children sitting curbside and yelling greetings to their friends in both Patois and English; bus horns honking; warm, thick humid air permeating everything. Succinctly, we were enveloped in a bubbling cauldron of life (and...of course, I loved it).
Shots of Soufriere:
One late afternoon, Tina and I had a couple rum punches at a little tiny harbor cabana. We enjoyed conversing with the female bartender about life in Soufriere. The women of St. Lucia are sweet, kind, responsible, and respectful. The men, on the other hand, bombarded us (two women travelers) with relentless cat-calls. They were never threatening, just annoying (like the mosquitoes). Equating men to insects might sound heartless, but their "advances" were unwelcomed. Thus, I don't care if the analogy is heartless; their disrespect merits the analogy.
Directly outside the cabana, adorable kids were partaking in swimming lessons on the shore (oh, how I love silhouettes):
Here's an example of Tina drinking a rum punch (we had several in St. Lucia). St. Lucia produces its own rum and many different tropical fruits (yay for tropical fruits!), so rum punch is a common and delicious cocktail.
We explored a botanical garden and enjoyed pretty flowers, cute birds, and a waterfall. Unfortunately, there were (cheap!) mineral baths there that we learned of after arriving (we did not have our swimsuits). Boohoo:
Ruby-throated bird:
Hummingbird on branch:
Of course, I must spend a little time devoted to cuisine. Our best meal occurred during the second half our trip at a vegan restaurant so that meal (and others) will be detailed in the next blog post. BUT, I have to mention Jah-Lamb's, a vegetarian restaurant is owned by a sweet Rastafarian. We ate there twice. The first time, we waited and waited outside with growling stomachs for the restaurant to open. In fact, we waited well past its supposed 1pm start time. We were on Island Time, not mega-punctual American Time--a concept that takes some getting used to--no matter where in the world you visit. There is only one table at this restaurant, and we devoured our lunch with the same friendly and shy St. Lucian customer for both of our visits. We talked to him a little bit, and apparently, he eats the "bouillon," a hearty bean and veggie soup, at Jah-Lambs every single day for lunch! Now that's customer allegiance! Below, the interior decor:
This was Jah-Lamb's version of Pizza. Whole wheat crust, curried yellow split peas (functioning as the sauce), and white cheddar cheese mixed with mystery herbs and spices. Filling and delicious.
Next Post: The beaches and Northern St. Lucia
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