Oh St. Lucia, the very first island that I don’t think I’ll ever return to again…

I went to St Lucia with GFK to celebrate his 30th birthday. I guess we planned a bit on the late side as most hotels were sold out in December. We settled with an AirBnB villa rental  that was on a resort.  So while we weren’t paying that crazy resort fees we had full access to all resort amenities. Our host was amazing and was available to give us recommendations on where to eat and parts of the island we should check out. The resort staff with the exception of maybe 2-3 people were absolutely  terrible. We weren’t given the same level of service as other guests mainly because I think they perceived me to be a local.  I have about 5-6 instances from the shuttle rides to the waitstaff service where the different in  treatment was very blatant.  For instance the shuttle driver signaled us to open the door for ourselves but on the very same route to the lobby was eager to jump out and open the door for other guests along the way. This happened on multiple occasions. Very Uncle Rukus type of behavior.  I don’t think this attitude was  exclusive to the only the Windjammer Resort either. I noticed it while dining out in Gros Islet at Flavors of the Grill. Overall some people on the staff seemed to go out of their way to accommodate the typical St. Lucian tourist.  It’s the first trip that I was eager to get back home. The  way I handled these situations  is to call bullshit like I see it. One the shuttle rides back to the villa  I made comments to GFK like I wonder if they’ll open the door for us this time, you want to bet ?  My coping mechanism to handle these sorts of situation is that if you make me feel uncomfortable you’ll share that feeling with me.

 

We planned an island tour excursion with Serenity Tours which included a Cathedral stop, various amazing lookout points throughout the island like Marigot Bay, visiting  a banana plantation, touring fishing villages like Anse La Raye and Canaries. The later part of the tour we went to Soufriere where we went to the volcanic sulphur springs, botanical garden and the waterfall. Also shout out to our tour guide Hans. All around great guide from taking pictures to giving honest feedback on stops along the way. He even opted to take quality pictures from his camera and promised that he’ll send the box drop link. Let’s hope he sends those pictures soon so that I can add it to the blog.

Here are a few highlights of the trip

 

Sulphur Springs 

Walking in you can smell the sulphur. I’ve never done a sulphur bath before so this  fun experience  for me. There sign shows that the water is  100F. I had to ease myself into the bath. Shocker considering that I like to shower with almost scolding hot water. After you’re in the bath for a bit the guides invite you to take put mud on your body or massage mud, take some pictures and enjoy the scenery. Here’s the end product:

 

Sulphur Spings
Sulphur Springs

Waterfall 

After the sulphur spring we went to another look out point and then made our way to the waterfall. We got there at the right time  to get the falls to ourselves. Unlike other falls this one was a bit underwhelming as the pool wasn’t deep enough to swim and you could walk around in it. Nonetheless the sight was beautiful.

 

 

 

The Pitons

We stopped at a local restaurant overlooking the Pitons. Amazing views

The Pitons
The Pitons

 

Beaches

We went to Reduit Beach in Gros Islet and the beach on the resort and the water was rough! Many people noted that this wasn’t usual for St. Lucia so maybe mother nature had something brewing. The water had no clarity either so maybe it really depends on the time that we went because I’ve always heard that St Lucia has crystal clear waters.

Reduit Beach
Reduit Beach

Gros Islet Street Party 

Held every Friday night this a must see. The streets are filled with local vendors and bars with music ranging from soca, hip-hop

Views 

From the villa to various stops along the tour this island has some incredible views. Overall I don’t want negative experience mainly at the resort to overshadow the beauty that this island has to offer. I’d give it one more try at a different resort hopefully Ladera or Jade Mt before I make the definitive decision that I would never return.

 

 

Soufriere
Soufriere