Sunday, March 02, 2008
Life, Travel
Tropical escape
A glorious getaway in St. Lucia
CREDIT: Kirsten Ott
IF YOU GO
GETTING THERE
From now until April 1, Air Jamaica offers nonstop “lovebird” champagne flights to St. Lucia, which involves about six hours in the air. Delta offers nonstop direct flights from Atlanta to St. Lucia, about four and a half hours.
WHERE TO STAY
Coco Palm or Coco Kreole, the Palm’s smaller, less-expensive sister hotel
866-588-5980
www.coco-resorts.com
Jade Mountain
800-223-1108
www.jademountainstlucia.com
Ti Kaye Village Resort
758-456-8101
www.tikaye.com
WHERE TO EAT
Anse La Raye Friday Night Fish Fry*
Ku de ta
Rodney Bay Village
758-458-4968
Ti Bananne Caribbean Bistro & Bar
Coco Palm
*Inquire at your hotel or with your taxi driver
WHAT TO DO
C&M Terrain Roamer Safari Adventure
www.cmtouring.com
Carnival Sailing
www.carnivalsailing.com
Rain Forest Aerial Trams
www.rfat.com
WHEN TO GO
May
St. Lucia Jazz Festival
www.stluciajazz.org
June/July
Carnival
www.luciancarnival.com
October/November
St. Lucia Food & Rum Festival
www.foodandrumfestival.com
For more on visiting St. Lucia, visit www.stlucia.org.
By Kirsten Ott
Asking St. Lucians to hurry up would be like asking them to stop smiling; you’d have to wait forever. The relaxed culture on the tiny Caribbean island, which is just 27 miles long and 14 miles wide, feeds into the laidback feeling of most any island with sugar-sanded beaches and turquoise waters. But the “everything is gonna be all right” Bob Marley vibe seems especially strong in this particular tropical paradise; perhaps it’s because you can fill your belly with the sweet milk of a coconut after plucking it right off a tree, or maybe it’s due to the year-round mild temperatures almost always in the range of the 80s, which encourage you to break out your flip-flops and linen threads, even in the winter months.
The blue seas seem to rest easy around this happy-go-lucky island, dipping in and out to create inlets, small fishing villages and oversized swimming pools dotted with small fishing boats and the occasional yacht. The sands are powdery white on some shores, but black on the beaches closest to the volcanoes—both soft as powdered sugar. The interior of the island is a veritable jungle of lush tropics: deep green, wide leaves, brightly colored flowers and thin, winding roads to navigate around the rain forest. The main airport is Hewanorra, and is located at the southernmost part of the island. I am staying in the buzzing shopping district of Rodney Bay Village at the four-star Coco Palm Hotel. Though the island is quite small, the mountainous roads take almost two hours to navigate. After a six-hour flight (three from Atlanta to Jamaica and another three to St. Lucia), I’m ready to relax and get my drink on—I’m in town during the St. Lucia Food & Rum Festival, after all. A late dinner at Coco Palm’s Ti Bananne Caribbean Bistro & Bar restores me. The handsome dark woods, gauzy fabrics, large linen pillows and open-air seating combined with the performing band and a signature electric-blue cocktail filled to the brim with three different kinds of liquor all indicate I’m going to have a hard time ever returning to the States. The locals use the word “lime” as a verb here, which translates to just hang out, and that’s what I’m here to do.
AT WATER’S EDGE
Fully rested, I begin my first full day out on a party cruise catamaran helmed by Appleton rum representatives fully intent on giving us the ride of our lives. We departed from Ganters Bay and headed south down the western coast of the island. With an ice cold cup of 150-proof rum punch that remained filled throughout the day and reggae music wafting through the speakers, I lounged on a trampoline-like net with my comrades to take in the picturesque views of St. Lucia by sea. On our cruise, we weave into a few bays, including Marigot Bay, which is so idyllic with its palm trees, clear waters and sandy beaches that I’m told Oprah owns a home here. We stop for lunch at Ti Kaye Village Resort in Anse Cochon. This extremely private hotel offers 33 single and double cottages. Its al fresco dining is high above the beach and can be reached by climbing 150 steps or riding in a courtesy van, if you’ve indulged in too much rum. After a lunch of fresh fish and banana-and-rum desserts, we drop trow on the gray volcanic sand and take a dip in the clean Caribbean Sea. The water is amazingly salty; I can’t swim to the bottom. As I buoy on top of the water letting the warmth of the sun polish my face, I notice all the small houses littering the mountainside. Their red and aqua roofs stand out from the broccoli clumps of treetops and remind me of the Italian coast. Back on board with a new rum cocktail in hand, we head to our final destination on the cruise: taking in the postcard-perfect views of the grand Pitons, majestic volcanic twin peaks. I’m told hiking up and back takes about six hours. If you’ve got serious cash to burn, book your stay in Jade Mountain, a luxurious hillside resort boasting 24 three-walled sanctuaries that look out on the Pitons—and the ocean beyond—from private 900-square-foot infinity pools.
WHEN IN ROME
If you really want to feel like a local, visit the Friday night fish fry in Anse La Raye, a fishing village that plays host to street vendors selling dinners of entire lobster (just $30), fried cod, conch, shrimp, breadfruit and the local brew: Piton Beer. Walking up and down the road, artisans display their works—paintings, carvings and jewelry—in the hopes to make a few dollars for their creations. A jewelry artist myself, I feel compelled to support everyone’s art and I buy a pair of coconut-shell earrings. Later in the evening, head to Gros Islet for the Jump Up street party, where St. Lucians grind their hips in a sexy dance called wining set to the tune of steel drums of Caribbean music. No need to be shy; they’re more than happy to show you how to do it if you’re curious. While the island is relatively crime-free and you can feel relatively safe at most any hour, it’s still smart to stick close to your travel companion or a hired guide during the festive affair—like any nightclub anywhere in the world.
GO DEEP
The lush interior of St. Lucia features a 19,000-acre rainforest best toured with a guide. C&M Terrain Roamer Safari Adventure’s Lloyd is knowledgeable and possibly one of the funniest guys on the island. He’s in training to be a Rastafarian, and with that in mind, he’s filled with a contagious passion for appreciating life to the fullest. Soon he’s got the entire troupe of tourists singing along with him and the Wailers. With ample amounts of humor to make our journey in the all-terrain jeep a fun-packed day, we’re treated to fruit tastings with local farmers, including freshly picked coconut, mango, papaya, passion fruit and breadfruit; pulling cocoa pods right off the tree and cutting them open for a natural sugar rush; a hike to a waterfall (where a few of us brave a dip); spotting diligent land crabs pushing their way through mudslides; a zillion photo ops of villages, tropical orchids and lush vegetation; and an extremely interesting historical glimpse into St. Lucia’s history.
As we’re driving through some of the buildings on the way to the rainforest, Lloyd points out the yellow and black bricks used to build the edifices. Over the course of almost 350 years, St. Lucia was fought over 14 times between the English and the French. The yellow bricks mark the times when the British had won and had begun building their buildings; the black stones indicate when the French invaded and started building on top of the British’s work. The British maintained control until 1979, when St Lucia was granted independence. St. Lucia’s now a member of the British Commonwealth under the Parliamentary system. The island’s main language is English, so you’ll get along quite easily, but the locals do speak to each other in a French-based Creole Patois language. Other French influences are apparent, too, like the heavy Roman Catholicism of the island residents. The raging territorial battle didn’t leave this island embittered, however. Rather, the locals I meet throughout my visit are proud, sweet and happy.
FRESH CATCH
The last night of our stay, we meander through the grounds of the second annual Food & Rum Festival, taking in the varieties of rum hailing from all over the Caribbean, but also watching cooking demonstrations. Even Oprah’s chef was on hand to dish up some gourmet fare, which inspired an indulgent dinner out at one of St. Lucia’s finer restaurants. In Rodney Bay Village, there’s a plethora of restaurants and shops. We don nicer resort-wear outfits to head to Ku de ta for dinner. The Thai restaurant would give any hotspot in Atlanta a run for its money in posh décor, inventive menu offerings and world-class culinary presentation. I took a break from the seafood and rum and enjoyed a meal of green curry chicken mixed with green eggplant, sweet basil and coconut milk, served with steamed Jasmine rice and a juicy Paul Jaboulet Aîné Côtes du Rhône rosé parallèle. After dinner and walking around Rodney Bay Village for awhile, we retreat to our hotel’s restaurant, Ti Banane, where the local entertainment is on stage near the moonlit pool (which curves around to private entrances to a row of swim-up rooms). Soon it’s time to head to my comfortable room and pack for the long day of travel ahead of me.
Vacations inherently end too soon. If I’d had more time, I certainly would’ve made time to “fly” through the rainforest on a zip line, explore the ruins of a sugar cane mill, hiked up a Piton, gone snorkeling, shopped in the artists market in Castries, the capital of St. Lucia or learned to windsurf. All the more reason for me to return.
Early in the morning though, I make sure to walk to the sugary shores of Reduit Beach, just a few minutes from Coco Palm, and happen upon the most vivid rainbow: a myriad of bright colors painted on a backdrop of the bluest sky. Relaxed and virtually oblivious to the fact that my bags are all packed with the rest of my (dry) clothes, I dive in the ocean for one last exquisite swim in the Caribbean Sea. The “don’t worry, be happy” mantra has taken over me. SP