St. Lucia - what a gem of a Caribbean Island. 

From the first glimpse from our cruise ship window she had us in love with her beauty. Ports for cruise ships are generally the ugly side of town, but Castries was the exception being a pretty little inlet with sail boat moorings in our view and surrounding lush tropical hillsides with colourful houses poking out of the slopes. St Lucia is famous and has a UNESCO World Heritage listing for its Pitons which are dramatically steep towers of rock jutting out of the sea.

We chose to book an excursion for this port of call that took us by land through to the southern port of Soufriere where our cruise ship would sail to meet us at the end of the tour. We were glad we did as so many of her charms were shown to us. We learnt about her exports of sugar, cocoa, and bananas and travelled through picturesque and mountainous jungle scenery with the famous Pitons peeking through. Visiting St. Lucia's "drive in volcano" the only one of its type in the Caribbean was also exciting. 

At the end of the tour we tendered back to the cruise ship from the enchanting Soufriere just as the sun was about to set. Back on board the sun lit up the sky silhouetting the Pitons one last time for some amazing photo opportunities as we sailed away from St. Lucia.


Footnote: Pitons Management Area is UNESCO World Heritage Listed.