San Juan Puerto Rico - Carnival Cruise Lines Day 8

Day 8 on the cruise took us to the tiny little island of St. Lucia.  Probably one of the most picturesque little islands in the Caribbean.  Recently the centre of love and courtship in an episode of the Bachelor.

Like most of the islands, it is very dry of late as the drought continues throughout the region.  During our day long tour of the island, we did notice some fires burning high in the hills.  Apparently some of them were "controlled" burns by local authorities.

Prior to our visit to St. Lucia, we had heard many recommendations about a local tour company.  Cosol. (Named after a local exotic fruit).  This company is not associated with Carnival Cruise lines, nor is it mentioned in any of the excursions offered up on a daily basis.  They are independant operators and market exclusively on the internet and word of mouth.  The cost of the tour was $65 each.  And I have to tell you, the value for your money is exceptional.  If you want a low cost way of seeing the island, meeting the people, having some fun and essentially doing everything you can imagine doing I see why this is so popular.  We started at 8am in the morning and were eventually dropped off at 4:30 in the afternoon.

Part of the tour, was stopping and sampling many of the local favorites along the way.  This included a Banana Plantation where we watched the locals harvesting the fruit.  I have never tasted a banana quite like this.  The local workers also stopped for pictures.  One of the favorites was the punch.  (all the treats and tastings were a part of the tour price.)  This rum punch was a real hit with everyone in our tour group.  It contained pineapple juice, orange juice, rum, nutmeg and cinnamon.  They didn't mention what proof of rum it was, but it was going down nice.  There was also non-stop offering of the local beer, "Piton".  Very similar to a Carona.

The tour also took us to an active sulpher volcano and a local resort (by boat).  If you are looking for a great day on the island, forget about the local excursions and look up Cosol on the internet.  It was well worth the time spent.  Just a note though.  This tour does require a fair amount of physical activity.  eg.  climbing stairs, walking, hills, getting in and out of a small boat, getting wet (slightly).  If you don't think you are up to that, this may not be for you.  If you are, you are in for one great time.

This has been one of the highlites of the tour.  A very intriguing island in so many ways.  Once we get back to Canada, we will be posting all of the photo's from each of these stops.  Make sure to check back both here and our gallery web site.  http://www.westshoregalleries.ifp3.com/

WSG (Fototrips) Reporting and posting news of interest from around the world relating to travel and photography.