The
Caribbean island of Saint Lucia harbors rainforest
reserves and a drive-in volcano
|
Peak experience: the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia harbors
rainforest reserves and a drive-in volcano
Beginning in my high school days, whenever I happily browsed
through books on geography and travel, I was fascinated by
pictures of the Pitons, two pyramidal volcanic peaks that rise
along the coast of the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. My
chance to see them "in the flesh" finally came in
January of last year, when my wife Beverly and I traveled to
the island. We flew to the capital city, Castries, on the island's
western coast, and headed south in our rental car toward Soufriere,
Saint Lucia's third largest city. The journey along the narrow,
crooked, but well-paved road took about an hour. Although our
route never strayed far from the coast, it passed almost entirely
through mountainous terrain, only occasionally dipping down
to a picturesque fishing village.
The final leg of our drive took us through rainforest, virtually
announced by tree ferns as high as forty feet. As we rounded
one sharp curve, I could not contain my own excited announcement,
as the mighty Pitons came into view through a forest opening:
"There they are!" I exclaimed. The two peaks, Gros
Piton (French for "large peg") and Petit Piton
("small peg") made a striking couple. They also
recall Saint Lucia's checkered colonial past, reminding the
visitor that many locals still speak a French patois, even
though English is the island's official language. |
