A brief history of the Caribbean island of St. Lucia.

I thought at this stage a brief history of St. Lucia might be appropriate, so here we go.

As early as 200 AD there is evidence of the island being populated by Amerindians who are thought to have been a peaceful people.  However, some 800 years later hostile Caribs arrived and eventually virtually annihilated them and remained for hundreds of years. 

The first known European settler was a French pirate called Francois Le Clerc, also known as Jambe de Bois (wooden leg) who in about 1550 based himself on Pigeon Island to organize attacks on passing Spanish ships.  In fact there is, and has been for a long time, a restaurant on Pigeon Island called Jambe de Bois which is well worth a visit (see photograph below).

Several failed attempts at settlements were made starting with the British in 1605, then in 1625 by the Dutch.  Later in 1639 the British had another try but once again were soon wiped out by the Caribs.  Eventually in 1651 the French attempted colonisation but a few years later in 1659 a dispute took place over the ownership of the island between them and the British which signalled the start of a long period of hostility between the two.

Following the French Revolution all slaves on the island were released but on the return of the British they were rounded up again and placed back into slavery.  This resulted in many of them refusing and fleeing into the more remote parts of the island to become freedom fighters, subsequently known as the Brigands.  There are still a number of historical sites paying tribute to them.

For years the French and British fought over the island during which it changed hands 14 times.  Finally in 1814 after all these battles, including the famous Battle of the Saints in 1782 when Admiral Rodney defeated the French under the command of Admiral de Grasse, the island remained under British control until it's independence on 22nd February 1979.  The photograph above right shows the two Admirals and the one above left shows some of the soldiers from the British regiments who served here.  St. Lucia is still a member of the British Commonwealth.

During World War II 221 acres of land in Reduit, including Rodney Bay and Pigeon Island, were leased to the Americans on which they built and operated a Naval Air Station for flying boats that were deployed on antisubmarine patrols.

There will be a later posting dedicated to Pigeon Island but at this point suffice it to say that it is a must place to visit, particularly for anyone interested in the island's history.  It is a National Park, run by the National Trust of St. Lucia and has old ruins of military barracks, a small museum and from the top there are spectacular views across the Caribbean Sea to Martinique and back across Rodney Bay.

Don't forget to click on any of the photographs to enhance and enlarge them.

Transport options on the island of St. Lucia.

If you have been following earlier posts you will have learnt a little about this beautiful island of St. Lucia, some tips on how to get here and where to stay. Now some information about transport options during your time on the island and for such a small island public transport is really quite good and convenient.

If you are on or near a main route (for instance if you want to go to the capital Castries, or even further south from Rodney Bay) buses are very convenient and cheap. There are designated bus stops but if you hail one they will stop anywhere, likewise when you want to get off, just ask the driver to stop. All are mini buses and can be identified by their green registration plates, prefixed with the letter 'M'. The procedure is to pay on arrival at your destination, not when you get on. There is no fixed schedule but there are many of them and they just run up and down their routes all day, so you rarely have to wait more than a few minutes. If you are setting out at the beginning of a route you will normally find them lined up and then leave as the first in line fills up, and so on. One word of caution, a few drive with careless abandon, particularly on the longer journeys down to places like Vieux Fort in the south, so you might want to restrict your use of the buses to shorter more local trips. If nevertheless you decide to continue your journey south of Castries you will need to change buses there.

Taxis, like the buses are plentiful so you will never have a problem finding one. Of course your hotel will always arrange for you or alternatively there are a number of taxi ranks in the towns and larger villages. In the Rodney Bay area there is one in the village itself, one at the supermarket and another at the marina. Many taxis specialize in tours to the places of interest including round the island tours. A great number of them are in fact mini buses and can be identified from the actual buses by their red or blue registration plates, prefixed with the letters 'TX'. They are almost without exception clean and tidy. The first time you use a taxi the driver will almost certainly give you a business card and ask you to call him for any future requirements, so if he is good you can do just that and in all probability by the end of your stay you will have a good friend! Again if he is good he will be able to recommend some of the worthwhile places to visit. One final word of advice, taxis here do not have meters and so it is important to agree a price before setting out on the journey.

If you want to be more independent car hire is another option. There are many operators on the island including some of the international companies. They will offer advice on where to go (and probably where not to) and normally supply you with a map, although maps here are very basic and do not show many of the smaller roads.

Driving here is on the left and a word of caution, many of the roads are narrow, particularly in the towns and villages and there are many very steep hills. Also road names and signposts are almost nonexistent. Quite often you end up on un-surfaced roads so you should be a little cautious and not too ambitious in terms of the places you endeavor to go.

To drive you will need to obtain a local Temporary Driving Permit. These will normally be issued through the car rental company but if not they can be obtained at the Immigration Department at Hewanorra airport, at the police station in Gros Islet (Rodney Bay) or from the Motor Transport Department located just north of the capital Castries. You will need to produce your driving licence from your home country and the cost is 54 East Caribbean dollars, valid for 3 months. They will also issue one for a single day if that is all you need.

It is also possible to travel down the coast by boat. There are several options and I will make another post covering some of those tours.

Of course everyone has their own ideas and requirements and where you stay will to some extent dictate what you need. However, in general (particularly if you are staying in the Rodney Bay area) I would suspect the best way would be to take advantage of each of the above options depending on the type of journey and place you want to visit on any given day. It would probably not be beneficial to rent a car for the whole duration of your stay, as it could end up parked at your hotel for a significant part of the time.

Finally, if you are a regular follower of the Tropical Trader you will already be aware of a beautiful property for sale here in St. Lucia but for the benefit of new viewers please take a look at the posting of 15 December 2009, or click here for full details.

Holiday accommodation on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia.

lWelcome to the first posting of 2010!  Having given you an idea of how to get here and transfer from the airport (see the posting of 25 December 2009), it is time to offer some information about where to stay.

There is a wide range of accommodation on the island, from self catering apartments and guest houses, through to top of the range hotels of  truly international standards.  Thus, there is something to fit most budgets.  You can stay almost anywhere on the island but the majority of tourists locate in the northern area of Rodney Bay (shown in the photograph above with Pigeon Island in the background) and surrounds, which means they are almost certainly on or within a short walking distance of a magnificent beach as well as supermarkets, shops and restaurants.

The photograph above shows the Sandals Grande, in Rodney Bay (the building in the background of the picture) one of the three Sandals Hotels in St. Lucia, all of which are of an extremely high standard.  Next door to it is the Landings, a very exclusive condominium complex which in addition to offering property sales, also caters to holiday rentals.

On the other side of the bay on Reduit Beach are the three Rex Resorts hotels and the Bay Garden Beach Hotel, also of international standard.  In the same area although not actually on the beach, but within a very short walking distance of it, are the Bay Garden, Coco Palm and Village Inn.

If you are looking for a smaller, independent hotel in the Rodney Bay area you might try the MJI Hotel which while a hotel, has rooms rather more like apartments with self catering facilities.  It is only a 3 minute walk to the supermarkets and less than a 10 minute walk to the beach.

The above are only a small selection to help show you what is available, there are many more including small guest houses and self catering apartments.  You will find some additional ideas here and here.

I hope you find this useful and as usual, any comments or suggestions are welcome.  Next we will learn a little about how to get around the island and then some ideas of where to go and what to do.

And finally, should you or anyone you know be looking for a property on this beautiful island check out the posting of 15 December 2009 or click here.  As a point of interest both the photographs shown in this posting were taken from the property.