After we arrived to Rodney Bay Marina, we had to fill out customs and immigration forms at the marina office and then took a look around. There was a small market, a few restaurants, and even a pool at the marina. Something that we noticed immediately was how kind and welcoming everyone was on the island.
Rodney Bay Marina from the mast
My view from the mast while making repairs
Though we were tired, we immediately got to work making repairs and cleaning up the boat. We took out the trash, vacuumed, and worked on fixing up a loose deck light. I had to be hoisted on the mast to make the repairs to the light which required me to cut and repair the wire. It was so sunny and hot that I got sun burnt within less than an hour! After helping up with repair and clean-up of the boat, Wojtek departed home the next day.
Later in the afternoon, Joanna and Marysia arrived in Rodney Bay. They had traveled from Dallas where they spent the holidays together, and we were all so happy to have the whole family finally reunited! For our first day together, we walked about 30 min from the marina to Reduit Beach. The beach is surrounded by multiple resorts and has beautiful soft sand with blue water. We spent some time swimming and grabbed some tropical cocktails from the resort bar.
Reduit Beach
Banana Plantation
The following day, we embarked on a tour across the island. Marysia had found a tour company with rave reviews called Cosol’s Excursions. We were picked up by our tour guide around 7am from the marina and then continued on to Castries to pick up tourists from the docked cruise ship. In our group, we were joined by a lovely woman and her mother who were on vacation from the States. Our first stop on the tour was a beautiful viewpoint where we could take in the view and snap some photos. To get up to this viewpoint, we had to go up a very narrow, steep road full of hairpin turns. The tour guide explained that most of the roads in St. Lucia are full of these tight turns and that it’s very dangerous for tourists to drive. Also, the cars require a lot of maintenance due to constantly riding on bumpy roads and using their brake pads. After snapping some photos at the viewpoint, we continued on to a banana plantation. Bananas are the second highest industry in St. Lucia after tourism, and we saw many plantations during our drive around the island. At our stop, we were able to try different banana products such as banana ketchup, BBQ sauce, and even rum which was delicious!
Photo from St. Lucia Viewpoint
Anse La Raye
Next on our stop was a delicious lunch with traditional St. Lucian foods and local fruit near Anse La Raye. The town’s main business is fishing, and they have a famous fish fry festival every weekend! We tried various curries, breads, plantains, and a lot of new fruit we hadn’t ever seen before. One of our favorites was soursop or a custard apple. The fruit is green, large, and covered in small, soft spikes. It tastes like a delicious sweet apple and has the consistency of ice cream or custard. Mark Twain even called it “the most delicious fruit known to men.” For the rest of the trip, we bought this fruit wherever we could find it!
Traditional St. Lucian cuisine, including plantains and curries
Assorted fruit local to St. Lucia, including soursop (green on the left)
After lunch, we took the tour vans to Soufriere, another fishing town on the Western coast of the island. From there, we boarded onto speed boats and were taken to see the Pitons from the water (photos below). The Pitons are two mountainous volcanic plugs and probably the most recognizable feature of St. Lucia. The local beer is even named after them! There are two Pitons standing about 3 miles apart with a small bay between them. Our tour stopped at the bay, and we got to spend some time at Sugar Beach. We even saw Tommy Hilfiger’s yacht (photo below). Joanna and I found some beach chairs to sit on and relax while Marysia and Eva went snorkeling. There’s a small reef next to the beach so they were able to see so much beautiful and unique marine life, including puffer fish and sea urchin.
Toraille Waterfall
Once we motored back to land, we were taken to the sulphur springs where we had the option of taking a mud bath or exploring the dormant volcano. Marysia and Eva chose to try the mud bath. They started out by soaking in a hot spring where the water is around 110 Fahrenheit. From there, you have a local coat you in mud which is said to have many beneficial properties for your skin. Meanwhile, Joanna and I were taken by our guide to the volcano where we saw the Sulphur Springs which form where the crust is weaker within this enormous caldera created thousand years ago. In those springs water boils at around 340°F/170°C. One of the springs is called Gabriel Hole after a local guide who fell through the crust. He received second degree burns and survived the whole experience. However since that time, tourists are restricted to viewing the Sulphur Springs from the special platforms whereas before it was possible to walk right up to any spring’s edge. With the mud still on the girls’ faces, we continued on to Toraille Waterfall. Eva and Marysia went for a dip and washed off the remainder of the mud from their mud bath. The island tour was so informative and fun for such a great price. We recommend it to anyone traveling to St. Lucia! More info here: https://www.cosol-tours.com/
Sulphur Springs
Joanna and me with our tour guide
The next day was Marysia’s last so went over to Pigeon Beach where we explored the state park and did some more snorkeling. Though the water wasn’t as clear, we were still able to see some cool marine animals like the sea snake to the right! The rest of our time in St. Lucia was a mix of relaxing and trying the various nearby restaurants. One of our favorites was Sea Salt, which was brand new and serving lunch and dinner. They had a mix of Western fare along with local dishes, such as saltfish acra and coconut curry! Because the restaurant is fairly new, it wasn’t as crowded as the others but was truly delicious!
One of the great aspects of St. Lucia and Rodney Bay Marina was the produce man who would motor from boat to boat and deliver fresh fruits and vegetables (photos below). When we first saw his small motor boat coming into the marina, we weren’t sure what it was since it was covered with palm fronds. However, once we learned what he was selling, we quickly became avid customers! Every day, I’d purchase ingredients to make a lunch salad along with any fresh fruit. Eva ate about four mangoes a day when she was with us, and we tried star fruit which tasted like a tangy mix between a lime and apple.
On Sunday, January 12th, we sailed out from St. Lucia and headed to our next destination – Martinique!