Days Out in St Lucia: Onboard Calipso; Courtesy of Barefoot Holidays

Before reaching St Lucia I had been liasing with a lovely lady called Shiryln, from Barefoot Holidays. I had briefed her on what my objectives were while on the island and we met up once I had settled in. Barefoot Holidays specialise in excursions; they help tourists uncover the island's gems, be it by jeep, helicopter or boat.

I had an array of questions for Shirlyn (and her colleague Allison), and they were happy to answer them, plus give me additional suggestions on activities I could do during my trip. They suggested places to visit; specific estates, reserves and beaches, all of which were welcomely received.



They also arranged for us to take a catamaran trip along the west side of the island onboard 'Calipso', a lively party boat. On the day in question we were picked up by a courteous driver and taken the short distance to Castries Port. After a small shower of 'liquid sunshine', we set sail, out of the Port and in to the Caribbean Sea.



The 'baby-maker' rum punch was soon flowing, even if it was only 10.30, we were on holiday :) From the sea the land could be seen in all its seductive glory. Lolling, fertile peaks, with the odd beach-side town or dwelling making an appearance as we motored south to Soufrière. Just sitting back watching the island unfold was an adventure all on its own.



It didn't take long to reach Soufrière; from here we boarded comfortable minibuses and were shuttled inland to the only 'Drive in Volcanoe' in the Carribean. A small site which smoulders foul-smelling hydrogen sulphide gases, it is no longer active. There are also accessible springs here and even though we wanted to revisit and lather ourselves with the grey-brown mud, we didn't get the chance.





Next stop - Diamond Botanical Gardens! Just a short drive away, this was one of my favourite parts during the whole time on the island. The gardens offer a mesmerizing encounter with flora; along the snaking trail a kaleidoscope of colours and textures pop out of the greenery.





The trail peaks at the Diamond Waterfall, a small opening among the towering trees. Streaky brown and yellow sides produce a stark contrast to the forest, and reminded me of Willy Wonkers chocolate factory!



The circular route led us back to the minubuses through more awesome vegetation, along the way signs pointed out various plants such as Orchids, Heliconia and Hibiscus. The last land stop was to the Val de Pitons restuarant, to munch on some traditional Caribbean fare and recharge the batteries.

I'll admit, by the time we got back onboard Calipso, I was fairly sozzled! The planned snorkelling stop was highly anticipated as the humidity was making many lethargic - but we had a great time bobbing along to the reggae being played and making new acquaintances. We stopped halfway between Soufrière and Marigot Bay, a location I would revisit later in the trip whilst scuba diving.



The snorkelling was ok, it was our first time doing it on the island so I was just happy (but a little dissapointed at the lack of variety) to see some fish! We were the last ones back onboard Calipso and after a quick peek at Marigot Bay (where Dr. Doolittle was filmed), we returned to Castries Port - slightly wobbly, but very fulfilled after an exciting day on and around the island.



(Captain of Calipso with the Captain of Serenity - my husband!)

For more information on Barefoot Holidays go to: http://www.barefootholidays.com/index.htmlro

Resorts in St Lucia - Rendevous

As previously mentioned, I stayed at three places while in St Lucia. The main reason behind this was because my husband is easily bored, and I thought this would be a good way to keep him occupied so I could rest a bit more - how wrong could I have been!

Upon landing on the island we jumped in a taxi arranged by the ladies at Barefoot Holidays and a lovely gent called Sammy drove us to our first resort - Renedevous. This couples-only, five-star, boutique resort is located in the north of the island. It took us about an hour to get there, along the way I extracted as much information from Sammy as possible. Happy to oblige, smiley and polite, Sammy was a great introduction to St Lucia. He even stopped half way to show us a fishing town called Dennery, which faces on to the Atlantic Ocean.



From our arrival, to departure, throughout the duration of our stay in St Lucia and even when we got home, we were so happy with our choice in Rendevous. It is a small and perfectly formed resort with courteous and friendly staff, in a quiet location. A short beach walk from Castries, Rendevous sits between two long stretches of golden coloured sand, palm trees hanging lazily over the beach at points, helping to create a picture perfect view.



We had a homely room with wooden four-poster bed, large double-shower and private balcony with views over sculpted gardens to the Caribbean Sea. The pristine and spacious beach-side restuarant was a pleasure to dine in, the adjoining open bar, a pleasure to drink in.



The resort had everything we needed and more, we couldn't have done all of the complimentary activities even if we'd dosed up on Red Bull every day. During our stay we frequently used the Hobie Cat dinghy's to whizz over to Rat Island and back, although the area we were permitted to sail in was quite small.



Other sports we participated in were archery, yoga, scuba diving (more about this later) and tubing, the latter of which saw us wedged into two inflatable, hollow rings and dragged around the bay by a speeding power boat. A couple were getting married on the beach at the time, I wonder if they could hear me screaming before I was unwillingly ejected from my tube?! I had been caught off guard after being catapulted off a wave and into my husband's tube, laughing hysterically I had loosened my vice-like grip for a nano-second.

The yoga was good, at the time, because for three days after the session I couldn't walk properly. Pauline the instructor is fond of Sun Salutations and practices Ashtanga yoga. I had a great session with her, but was surprised by her preaching to me about self-control at the end, she seemed to assume that she knew me. However, I really enjoyed the experience apart from that one issue.



My husband was so enthralled by Rendevous that we tried to book extra nights; but they were fully booked! We packed and left begrudgingly, on to our next resort - Crystals in Soufrière.

To see my overall comparisons with the other places we stayed, check out the 'Resort Comparisons' Blog coming shortly.

For more information about Rendevous, go to: http://www.theromanticholiday.com/16/home.htm