Every Friday night is party night on St Lucia. Two events are held, one in Gros Islet, in the north of the island and one mid-way down the west coast at Anse del Raye. The first is 'Jump Up', a lively, loud and colurful street party; where islanders and tourists all come together, eat, drink and dance until the wee hours. The second is the Friday Night Fish Fry; and it was so good, we went twice! It starts earlier than Jump Up, around 19.00, then Jump Up gets going around 22.00.
For unseasoned travelers, visiting various parts of the island independently can be a little daunting, but persist and explore because St Lucia and its people are a treasure.
The first time we went to the Fish Fry, we drove in the 4x4; what a journey that was! It took us an hour to drive less than 15 miles - at an average speed of 20mph! The road we were traveling on was patched with good and bad spots, and by bad I mean holey, bumpy, tight-bended and very, very dark.
Safely arriving in Anse del Raye, we could hear the basey reggae music pumping through the streets as soon as we got out of the 4x4. People milled around street vendors and open marquess, supping up the atmosphere with big smiles on their faces, the smell of fish cooking on open barbecues was pure heaven! That first night we ate freshly caught prawns in garlic, herb and butter sauce (so, so good), fresh Red Snapper and Plantain; washed down with smooth Piton beer. The food tasted divine and the atmosphere was joyous and relaxed.
Our first night at Fish Fry was also our first night for trying the local 'Spiced Rum'. Talk about blow-your-head-off! This stuff is STRONG! It is basically the strongest rum on the island, spiced up with cinnamon, nutmeg and various other herbs. So be warned; if you are going to try something that looks like a leftover nuclear substance, water it down at least 2:1! It's meant to be an aphrodisiac, but my new husband fell asleep as soon as we got back to Crystals - boo!
(Spiced Rum; be very, very careful with this potent potion!)
Our second visit was even better than the first - once we got there that is! We had to wait 30 minutes for a shuttle to pick us up from our villa at Jalousie, which then made us late for, and miss, our water taxi. On the verge of crying, a security man hailed us another taxi and off we went. As we rounded the Petit Piton a huge full moon smiled down upon us, an aura of milky light around her. As the clouds glided past the moon we ragged through the black sea. The landmass looked daunting and shadowy, the Caribbean Sea smooth as black silk. We sped along, faster and faster, bending over to become more streamlined with the boat.
The taxi driver shouted out, asking if he was going too fast, 'no' we cried, 'the faster the better!'. It was a hedonistic journey, putting complete trust in a stranger, whilst in strange waters. We hung on for dear life, riding the boat as it rode the small waves. As we raced around the headlands, the winds would pick up and we would bounced along, adding to the excitement.
When we arrived at the Fish Fry, the atmosphere was even better than before! The journey had obviously boosted our adrenaline, and maybe the full moon brought out our primal selves. We saw other people we knew, joined forces and headed to the bar. We were laughing, joking, singing and smiling - soaking up the atmosphere as we danced alongside local people.
Again the food was lush, and this time we just had to try the lobster - it would have been rude not to!
As usual tourist kids played with local kids on the beach, and me, being a rather large kid, just had to join them! With pumping tunes blasting in the background we had an impromptu dancing competition and as a large crowd of small people gathered, some homemade fire crackers were thrust in to my hands by a gorgeous little local boy. Inspired I shouted at them to gather round. 'Right kids, who wants to play relays along the beach?', the response, dozens of children shouting 'me', 'me', 'me'!!
Getting the kids to pair up I numbered them all; 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2. 'OK kids, I want all the number 1's to get to the other side of the beach'. At the speed of light they fled along the shoreline. Drawing starting lines in the sand I warned all the children; cheating will not be tolerated, I WILL be watching you! They just laughed at me. 'Are you ready?', a unified response, 'YES!!!!'.... 'GO!'. I threw down some firecrackers which banged, crackled and popped. All the children ran, it didn't matter who cheated or who won, it was a great laugh.
I didn't want to leave, I wanted go dance in the streets and laugh and take more photos; but we were booked on to a water taxi for the return journey. This time we shared with some other Jalousie guests, sitting at the front of the slender boat, we watched the moon flit between the black hills.
Our last night on the island; it couldn't have been better.
