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| Petit and Gros Piton: UNESCO World Heritage Site |
What better way to escape the cold than by going to the Caribbean for some sun? Here is a travel guide for anyone considering a trip to Saint Lucia based on my recent trip.
Quick Overview:
- Saint Lucia [pronounced LOO-SHA] is a British Commonwealth country that changed hands between the English and the French
14 times since 1660
- Tourism is the main economic activity (although some sites say UK-bound bananas is still first but declining quickly)
- English the the official language but 95% of locals speak a French-based Creole (called Patois)
- Most of the cities and beaches are on the west coast. The middle of island has a rain forest and is mostly untouched by man
- Roads are extremely
narrow, full of
blind turns (hairpin turns up/down steep hills every 10 seconds). Drivers honk when turning a curve and although there aren't many cars on the road, it's intimidating for non-locals. The east coast road is easier to drive but parts of the road were
collapsed due to landslides from last year's hurricane.
- Negotiating is
part of the culture, especially with taxi drivers. In some places, all the drivers are together so it's hard to get a good price (collusion) but in the cities, you can walk a few blocks and easily find another cab. I will outline the rates we got in the taxi descriptions below for each city.
- EC$ (East Caribbean) is the local currency and pegged at 2.71EC$ = 1 USD. USD were accepted everywhere so there is no need for EC's but most people accept USD at a rate of 2.5 EC= 1 USD so you lose a bit. I will quote all prices in USD.
- Local buses cost less than $1 (2.50 EC) but there is no schedule so good luck getting one. They also don't stop unless you wave them down on the highway. They are also more like vans than buses and we tried to get on one once but every bus was filled to capacity. At that price, it makes sense that buses are always full.
