Day #5…Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Castries, St. Lucia

Part of the Lesser Antilles, St. Lucia lies between the Caribbean Islands of St. Vincent to the south and Martinique to the north.  The island population is estimated at 170,000 with Castries, the capital, encompassing one third of that number.  Since St. Lucia is located close to the equator, temperatures remain fairly steady at 84° F during the day and 64° F at night.  English and French Patola are the predominant languages.  The Eastern Caribbean Dollar (XCD) is the island’s currency and the US dollar is widely accepted also.

Artifacts throughout the island have proven that the Arawak Indians settled in St. Lucia around 200 – 400 BC.  Then the Caribs and later the Europeans arrived and for many years the island changed hands 14 times between the French and Britain.  St. Lucia has been an independent nation within the British Commonwealth since 1979.

We arrived early on the island and headed to the pier to meet our excursion group traveling by bus to a rum distillery, Morne Fortune, Marigot Bay, Caribelle Batik and St. Mark’s.  The distillery tour was very interesting and at the end we had a chance to sample the many flavors and qualities of rum that the company had to offer.  We regretted that we did not buy any bottles to bring back to the ship, but we did not want to carry them to the other stops during the day.

Our tour guide was excellent as she highlighted the aspects of Castries, St. Lucia, from a current and historical perspective.  The island is very colorful and the pastel colors of the homes and buildings reflect the love of color on the island.  Banana trees abound and that fruit is the largest export item for St. Lucia.

We toured the home of St. Marks, a colonial mansion owned by a family that became wealthy through the sugar cane industry.  Morne Fortune, a 17^th century outpost and Marigot Bay gave us magnificent views of the city of Castries and the harbor where our ship was docked.  We visited a cloth painting company, the Caribelle Batik, and purchased a painted item to add to our collection of souvenirs from the islands.

Upon returning to the ship, we prepared for dinner with our tablemates, Rubin and Ann and Bill and Stella.  Our performers for the evening were Jeff Peterson, a comedian magician and later, Billy Brooks Wilson, a singer and entertainer. 

We then retired to our cabin to get some sleep and ready ourselves for a beach day in Bridgetown, Barbados tomorrow.