Every Little Thing Gonna Be Alright

On Thursday, we docked at St. Lucia. 

Our excursion on Thursday consisted of a four-hour cruise along the coast on a catamaran to see the beauty of the island from the sea. The name of the catamaran we took was Passion, and our tour guide was a very lively lady named Deleecia (Dee for short), who kept calling us her “beautiful people”. She entertained us with facts, folk tales, and anecdotes about the history and culture as we sailed along the beautiful coastal scenery of beaches, bays, volcanic rock outcrops, and mountains.

Dee and me

The island of St. Lucia has African, British, and French roots. The school system is British, but the food is mostly French. English is widely spoken, as well as French creole. Dee was proud to share with us that the island is no longer French or British, but is independent, and a country unto itself. It even boasts two Nobel Peace Prize winners.

Many of the settlers of St. Lucia were lured here by the sugar industry, and 50 or so plantations flourished on the island at one point. Just as salt was the cash cow in St. Maarten, here sugar was king. St. Lucia became part of the 18^th century trade triangle of sugar, slavery, and rum.

We passed a number of large oil tanks. Dee told us that the tanks are for oil storage. They import the oil from Venezuela, then store it here for all the other Caribbean islands. The tanks can hold up to 10 million gallons of oil.

St. Lucia is the only country in the world that is named after a woman, St. Lucy. The island was named after St. Lucy by French soldiers who became shipwrecked here on Dec. 13, which is the feast day of St. Lucy.

There are two chocolate factories on the island, as well as a banana ketchup factory. That’s right; in addition to tomato ketchup, they make banana ketchup. They also have 27 different kinds of rum which, of course, the Caribbean is famous for.

In additional to beautiful coastal scenery, our excursion had three highlights: a beach area where we would stop for a short swim, the Pitons, and Marigot Bay. 

Beautiful coast of St. Lucia

The boat tried a few times to get to a beach, but the surf was so strong that we had to pull back and try further down the coast. We finally found a beach that was calm enough to allow the boat to work its way close to shore. Upon approaching the beach, Dee said “Welcome to the Caribbean pool.” The boat anchored within 50 feet of the beach, and the only way to get to the beach was to swim from the boat to shore. We opted to stay on the boat, but we enjoyed the picturesque sand and crystal-clear waters from our seats on the boat. During this time, we engaged in conversation with another couple: Paul and Millie from State College, Pa. We traded stories of travel, cruises, and camping trips, as they are fellow rv’ers.

After the swimmers returned to the boat, we continued our trek along the coast. We came to the most iconic sight of St. Lucia – the Pitons. These volcanic mountains consist of two peaks that are called Petit Piton and Gros Piton (small and large Pitons). These volcanic plugs (remnants of eroded volcanos) appear to rise straight out of the Caribbean. One of the sides of Gros Piton is very steep, and it is attractive to adventurous climbers. The Pitons are so picturesque and we spent a few minutes there snapping pictures.

The Pitons

Along the way of the return trip along the coast to the cruise ship, we entered Marigot Bay. 

Marigot Bay

Marigot Bay

Marigot Bay

James Michener called Marigot Bay the most beautiful bay in the world, and it was the setting for a few Hollywood movies, including Dr. Doolittle. There are remnants of the movie here, such as restaurants and bars that are named Dr. Doolittle. Part of Pirates of the Caribbean was also filmed here. We passed by a few shops, restaurants, and boats as we cruised around the bay. Our catamaran re-entered the waters of the Caribbean from the bay and continued back to our cruise ship.

On the way to the beach, we had been offered snacks that consisted of bananas and soft drinks. Dee told us that we could throw the banana peels over the side of the boat when we were done. I thought she was joking, but then she said that turtles eat the banana peels. I was still hesitant, and threw my banana peel overboard only after a few other people did so. The Caribbeans are known for their rum. Dee told us that there would be complimentary rum punch available for us, but she stressed that we could only drink rum AFTER the swimming, for obvious reasons.

In between narration, the boat’s sound system played songs, and we sailed along with the gentle breeze, brilliant sunshine, gentle rocking motion of the boat, and beautiful Caribbean scenery, listening to “Every Little Thing Gonna be Alright”. Yeah, this is the life!

After the swim stop, Dee, true to her word, offered us rum punch. It soon became obvious that the passengers totally enjoyed the drink, as the singing and dancing became livelier, and Joe dubbed the boat “The Booze Cruise”. Dee danced around the ship and invited other passengers to join in her revelry. 

Many of the songs lent themselves to participation, songs such as the macarena, YMCA, the twist, line dancing, and many others. It was fun watching people sing, dance, and enjoy life.

We really enjoyed our St. Lucia excursion. Part of what made it so much fun was Dee’s lively personality. The Caribbean is not just about its famous beaches. It also offers gorgeous volcanic mountains, sparkling bays, and beautiful fun-filled people.