St. Lucia

St. Lucia: “It’s as close to Never Never Land as you can find.”
–Caribbean Travel & Life

After my trip to St. Lucia (pronounced Loo-sha) I am happy to announce that it ranks up at the top of my travel list; right next to St. John and Kauai. When I saw the quote above, I felt like it described St. Lucia perfectly.

After seeing photos of St. Lucia I instantly knew that it was a place I would visit one day and when I learned about the Pitons on the southern end, I knew that I wanted to relax on the beach in between those two extinct volcanic craters. So, as you can imagine, this adventure has been on my bucket list ever since I’ve had a bucket list.

St. Lucia has not one, but two, famous landmarks, known as the Pitons. These two extinct volcanoes on the southern end of St. Lucia are known throughout the world, and are photographed on a daily basis. The northern piton, called the Petit Piton, is 2,461 feet high, and the southern piton, the Gros Piton, rises to 2,619 feet.

From my research, I knew that we would cruise by the entire west side of St. Lucia before docking at the Port of Castries, so I woke up early in order to photograph the island from our cruise ship. The sky was a little hazy that morning, however, I still received great views of the gorgeous mountainous island and was able to spot the famous Pitons that I had traveled so far to see. Everything on St. Lucia was so green and jungle-y; exactly what I imagine when I envision a tropical island.

My husband and I decided to snorkel between the Pitons that afternoon and after a quick lunch we boarded the tour boat for a fun-filled afternoon adventure. As we sailed down the western side of St. Lucia we were able to take in the amazing views. The dramatic cliffs, tall mountain peaks, and green hills were a beautiful contrast to the bright blue Caribbean Sea. Every so often a palm tree-lined beach would appear; some beaches were deserted and others had people BBQ’ing and enjoying the sun.

After an hour of sailing, the magnificent Pitons came into view. Their tall peaks overshadowed the surrounding mountain tops, and I was beyond excited! We were almost there! As I’ve said before, seeing the beautiful photos online are awesome, but having the opportunity to see this majestic site for yourself is indescribable.

We arrived at the Anse Des Pitons beach, and found a perfect spot underneath some palm trees. Interestingly enough, the resort on this stretch of sand imported white sand to cover the original black sand beach in order to make it more pleasing to the eye. When I first read this I felt like it was a bad idea, (who doesn’t love the exotic feel of a black sand beach?) however, I have to admit that the white sand was a beautiful contrast to the jungle and the sea. I spent the entire afternoon in awe admiring the breathtaking scenery.

I was able to snorkel that afternoon and at first was slightly appalled confused because we had to snorkel within the snorkeling boundaries. There is a dock in the middle of the beach so I understood the safety reasons for the snorkeling boundaries, but I’m not one for restrictions. 😉 I consider myself a strong swimmer, and to my surprise the current was powerful between these two magnificent mountains. After a tough swim out to the end of the boundary line, I faced the same intense current on the way back. (I’m sure that the boundaries lines have kept many snorkelers from ending up in the vast Caribbean Sea. If you aren’t a strong swimmer, it could be a difficult swim back to the beach).

I was able to view the diverse coral, including: brain coral, staghorn, great star, tube coral, and elkhorn coral. I also saw many different tropical fish, including a school of Caribbean Reef squid, which I had never seen before (is it just me, or are they a little creepy looking?).

Photo Credit

The afternoon flew by too quickly and before we knew it, it was time to board the boat and head back to Castries. On our journey back we drank rum punch and enjoyed the views of this small piece of heaven on Earth. My husband and I enjoyed St. Lucia so much that we are considering going back for our second anniversary. 🙂

Have you been to St. Lucia? Where is your “Heaven on Earth” located?