Ti Banane--A Short & Sweet Stay in St. Lucia

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On Friday, Ana Maria and I departed the Port of Marin in southern Martinique and landed in the Port of Castries, St. Lucia around 4PM. We took a brief taxi ride to Rodney Bay Village to find my favorite hotel thus far in our travels. I had made reservations at the boutique hotel Coco Palm, this weekend happened to be their official grand opening weekend to the public (it’s been open since July). Upon arrival, we were greeted immediately and made to feel welcome in our temporary residence for the weekend. The service at this hotel supersedes any other in my lifetime. In fact, I believe this weekend I stumbled upon the nicest people on the planet, and definitely the nicest people in the Caribbean. The rooms were decorated plantation-style with imported mahogany furniture from Indonesia and the floors were huge stone tiles. The hotel was absolutely beautiful. It was like a dream, or heaven-on-earth.

I immediately tried to make reservations for scuba diving on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, the journals I read from another diver about Scuba St. Lucia were true. I called to make the reservations, and the manager told me that each diver must pay to go on a “check dive” off-shore at Anse Chastenet with one of their instructors before going out on a boat dive. OK, no problem, I could be there at 8 or 9AM and do the boat dives at 10:30 and 1:45, respectively. That would be great if they had employees that wanted to work or that loved the sport. The lady told me I was the only person that wanted to dive Saturday (which I find HARD to believe) and that I could meet the instructor at 11AM and go on the one-tank boat dive at 1:45. Well, knowing what else Ana Maria and I wanted to do (Soufriere and the Pitons) that day, I will not say what I wanted to say to that lady, but I decided not to go out with Scuba St. Lucia. I only had one day, and if I was only going to get in two dives, I did not want one to be a skills checkout—I can do that in my divemaster training! Complete bull*&$! Plus, I had to pay?!?!? If you are a diver, heed this warning—don’t use Scuba St. Lucia unless you just have to!

Needless to say after that ordeal, our first priority was the shower, especially after the nasty ferry ride. After freshening up, I received a phone call from Tony from Frog Divers in Rodney Bay. He had received my number from a referral. I said “I just want to go scuba diving” and he said “no problem.” He had a group organized for 8:30 AM for a 2-tank dive down south towards Soufriere. I was good to go!

Ana Maria and I walked through the village to Red Snapper, and enjoyed fresh seafood in an elegant, outdoor setting. Again, the service was exceptional. We were told about the Friday night parties in the street, but were tired and had a long day planned for Saturday, so we stayed in for the night. (I watched the Tennessee v. Florida game on the cable!)

Saturday morning I awoke around 7:30, had the continental breakfast at the hotel (homemade banana bread and fresh tropical fruits), and headed down to Frogs. I met Tony, and knew the day was going to be good. You know when someone loves what they do. I could see it in his expressions and I could hear it when he spoke about diving. Tony would be my dive buddy. We headed down to Anse La Raye and did a reef dive. The colors of the reef and the marine life were abundant. The current was strong, and we drifted probably ¼ to ½ mile along the shoreline (from the shore, the wall of coral reef plunged beyond 100 feet). It started raining steadily during our break between dives. We waited for the “blessings from heaven” (as Tony called them) to pass before beginning our second dive. It was just as amazing. The wreck is called Lesleen M, just north of Anse Cochon. The ship was sunk in the 1980s to create the reef, and it was large enough to descend into the engine room and ascended the ladder. Great wreck!

I arrived back at Coco Palm just in time, as Ana Maria was coming back from her walk. We made arrangements to shower, eat lunch at the hotel, and rent a car for our afternoon excursion to Soufriere. I could not understand why people kept asking “Are you SURE you want to rent a car?” and “Be careful”. I was like, hey people, I lived and drove in the Bahamas for 4 months this year. I would soon find out that driving on the left and the crazy drivers was not their concern.

After over an hour of driving, the scenery changed. Winding, curvy, mountainous roads, fields and fields of banana plantations, shacks, jungle, random rasta men and farmers with machetes walking along the road. WHERE ARE WE? It turns out we ended up in Rond Point, close to the east coast of St. Lucia. And anyone you ask for directions wants to be your tour guide. It was getting close to sunset so we settled on Marigot Bay. No Pitons or sulphur springs this trip! The bay is beautiful, but the time of day and the neighborhood may not have been the best. Afraid to leave the car, I snapped a couple photos and we decided to head back to the Coco Palm before the sunset.

I was slightly depressed to not make it to the Pitons. And the boat ride back Sunday was nauseating. Unfortunately, we had to leave at 10AM Sunday. Ana Maria and I agreed we must go back, if only to see the Pitons, sulfur springs, waterfalls, and dive Anse Chastenet. And next time, we will take a flight, no matter the cost. Luckily, my dou dou taxicab driver was waiting for us in Martinique and took us straight to Fort-de-France for our flight to French Guiana.

St. Lucia is my favorite destination so far. It was like heaven-on-earth. The people are the nicest yet, and the service unmatched anywhere in my travels. The land is beautiful, not overcrowded, and has a mystery in its mighty Pitons and deep blue sea covered in endless reefs. I will go back, and very soon. Since the roads are so hard to navigate, and there is a lack of street signs (to go to Marigot I had to “look for the trailor grilling BBQ chicken and make a right up the gravel road”), next time I might just stay in between the Pitons in Soufriere AND hire a guide for the day. Why not?

Ti Banane—the short and very sweet banana grown in St. Lucia—describes this visit.

For now, my photos of the images and scenery of St. Lucia will have to suffice, for I won’t wait long to revisit this slice of heaven on earth…

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