Travel to St. Lucia: An HDR photo tour

My wife and I recently got to take a trip to St. Lucia, kid free!!  Some huge thanks to my dad and mother-in-law for making that happen!  As we planned a trip, I really did not know much about St.Lucia except that it was an island and it looked pretty.  However I was excited to have the opportunity to explore it in more depth.  So for those of you looking for a travel destination I hope this helps convince you that is this island is worth visiting!  I enjoy photography, so I tied to have some fun with HDR (high dynamic range) pictures of of St. Lucia travels, so this is a tour of the island HDR style.

The island is located about 3 hours from Miami by plane.  Here is a map to get your bearings.

We have been to large resorts like Sandals in and we wanted to try something a little smaller and intimate this time.  We decided on Calabash Cove Resort and Spa Hotel.    This small resort only had 4-5 other couples the entire time we were there, so you really got to know the staff and meet some really awesome people while hanging out at the pool bar.  I even met a weather meteorologist for the local TV station in Mississippi.  We went in October which is the rainy season and technically still in hurricane season.  The islands are a little south so while hurricane can hit, it is more rare than some of the other islands.  As for the rainy season, it did rain while we where there.  One day it rained all day while the other days had showers, but it never bothered us.  There is less tourism on the island during the rainy season, so I actually preferred this time. 

When you fly into St. Lucia you will  land in the south of the island while our resort and many others are located to the north of the island.  We had a driver pick us up and it was about an hour and half drive.   We came in at night so did not get to see so much, but most of the island is a rain forest and you will first hear how alive it is.  Tree frogs and insects sang the entire way to the resort.

You will see the airport at the bottom and our resort location in the northwest side of the island.

Calabash Cove was at Rodney Bay and the view was amazing.  Since we were in a bay the water was so smooth!   And of course they were parts of the ocean that are turquoise blue!  We had a view of rainbows and sunsets almost every day from our hotel.

The landscaping on the resort was beautiful !    Here were just some of beautiful flowers right at our rooms.

St. Lucia has a crazy history.  The French were the first European settlers, but the British later took control of the island.  However over the years they two countries fought each other for the island FOURTEEN times with the each gaining control seven times.  So the island has a mix of both cultures.  For instance,  St. Lucians drive on left like the British, English is the official language, but the St. Lucians also speak Creole-French.

We mostly stayed on the resort and ate great food, drank great drinks, kayaked in the Caribbean and relaxed.   Although one day we did go out and try to take in a little of the island.

Our trip involved taking a trip down the West Side of the island.  The first stop was through Castries, the capital of St. Lucia.     Here is overlook of the city.  This is also where cruise ships dock for a day and we saw 1 of those small cities dock while we where there.

Our resort was located near that tiny round island in the distance in the middle of the bay.  We tried to kayak to it from our hotel but did not quite make it.  :)

We took a quick stop overlooking Marigot Bay which is where Dr. Doolittle was filmed.  There was a rainbow that I thought we were going to be able to touch because it was so close to us.

As we continued to travel South, we passed many banana plantations.  Banana are one of St Lucia's main exports.  The island switched to from sugarcane to banana although St. Lucia still has its own brands of rum.  If you want St. Lucian rum you can find a lot of it.   Our driver said give Bounty to your mother-in-law and buy Admiral Rodney for yourself.

In my opinion the real jewel of St Lucia is the Pitons.  Since St. Lucia is a volcanic island there are some fun volcanic formations.  The Pitons were a volcano vent that was plugged with magma.  The soil around the plug eroded away leaving these steep magma mountains.  There are two of them on the island called Gros Piton and Petit Piton.  You can hike up them, but we did not have enough time.  It is a very steep climb and takes about 2.5 hours to get to the top.

A beautiful view of Soufriere and both Pitons!

Nestled below the Pitons is the city of Soufriere.  The name means Sulfur in the air.  I love that name!  The name is quite literal as you will see in a bit.

As you get near the Pitons there is a botanical garden to visit.  Besides some beautiful plants, you will find a waterfall called the Diamond Falls.   This garden estate also has mineral water baths you can bathe in if you wish.

Diamond falls - here was a long exposure with small aperture.

Bird of Paradise - My favorite flower!

The water running through the gardens is gray from the volcanic minerals.

And finally we saw the "drive in volcano" near Soufriere.    The first thing you will notice is the smell of sulfur.   The best thing about this area is the heated baths you can take a dip after giving yourself a mud bath.  The locals say the mud bath take 15 years away from appearance.   I don't buy that, but it was a very cool experience.  If you go to St. Lucia the mud bath is not to be missed.

Smell that sulfur!   It is strong!

The water feels so good!!

So if you are looking for a Caribbean island to visit, St. Lucia should be at the top of your list.