May 7 to May 11, 2025
Saint Lucia is an independent island nation in the Caribbean. The island, which has a land area of 606 km² and a population of 166,487 (2020), is part of the Windward Islands. The island was originally inhabited by the Arawaks and then by the Caribs, who resisted European colonists for many years. The colonial period was marked by the import of slaves from Africa to work on the banana and sugar plantations. The administration of Saint Lucia was a bone of contention between the French and the English for centuries, causing the colony to change hands fourteen times before it finally fell into British hands. This desire to acquire Saint Lucia, as well as the beauty of the country, earned Saint Lucia the nickname Helen of the West Indies, after the Greek mythological figure Helen. On February 22, 1979, the island became independent, with the British Queen Elizabeth II as head of state of the Commonwealth realm. In 2022, Charles III became king of Saint Lucia. Today, Saint Lucia is visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists every year because of the nature of this island, volcanoes, rainforests, waterfalls and black sand beaches. There are several National Parks such as Pigeon Island National Park and the Tet Paul Nature Trail. On the west coast of the island is Soufrière, located against the volcanic Pitons (on the UNESCO World Heritage List). The last eruption dates from 1766. Here are the sulphur springs, mud baths and Botanical Garden. The highest point is Mount Gimie, 950 meters. It is a fertile island with banana plantations. The capital is Castries on the northwest coast of the island, a third of the population lives here.
Rodney Bay
Has the shape of a horseshoe and the marina is the second largest in the Caribbean. The bay is named after Admiral George Brydges Rodney, who built his fort on Pigeon Island. Pigeon Island is a national monument in St. Lucia, declared in 1992 by the government of St. Lucia. It is 18 hectares in size and was originally surrounded by water until it was artificially connected to the mainland in 1972. We are anchored almost 20 minutes from the dinghy dock in the marina. It is a noisy bay, noise wise (music), jet skis and fishing boats whizzing past at ridiculous speeds. It is not really a place we feel at home. For shopping you can go a little further into the bay to the right hand corner, where there is a small jetty to tie up your dinghy. There is usually someone hanging around who will look after your dinghy for a small fee or a drink.
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Within a 5 minute walk there are many shops, especially the Duty Free shops (for drinks) are interesting. There is a large Massy Store (supermarket) for groceries. At the moment we are there, there is the Jazz & Arts Festival. We got information from a very friendly lady at the Tourist Office. Now that the festival is there, it is busy and therefore less safe to travel by public bus. She advised us to sail to the bay of Soufrière with our own boat. The island has acquired a very negative image in recent years, violence against sailors and burglaries, etc. Most residents are now trying to change this image. We experience that most people are very friendly, with the exception of a number of catering people in the marina. Because we need cat litter and food for our cat, we moor the dinghy at the dinghy dock in the marina. We first walk to the well-known bakery ‘7th Heaven Bakery’, a very luxurious bakery that makes fantastic croissants for which they charge the main price. But every now and then you have to spoil yourself! After coffee and the delicious (for me) chocolate croissant we walk to the pet shop `Dog Food`. There we find the right brand of cat litter and food. After we told him that we live on a boat and that it is outside in the bay, he arranges for the goods to be delivered to the marina. Super good service.
We decide to sail to Soufrière on Monday 12 May. We will definitely come back to St. Lucia to see more of the island. On Sunday we do some shopping in the morning. On the way back we get caught in a huge rain shower on the way to the boat. We seem to have a patent on rain showers when we get water or go shopping. But this time it was really bad and we arrive at the boat soaking wet. Of course the rain stops then…….In the afternoon we make a tackle to hoist the outboard motor, this because there are so many waves because of all those racing boats. We put the dinghy on the deck and otherwise we prepare everything for tomorrow.