Beautiful St. Lucia! Part 2: A Walk-Through Volcano; a Sulphur Bath; & another Awesome Beach

Beautiful St. Lucia!  Part 2:  A Walk-Through Volcano; 

a Sulphur Bath; & another Awesome Beach

Continuing with the story of our guests who planned ahead and were determined to visit, at least most of, the things they had researched and chosen to do.  The walk-through Volcano was the next on the list.  It is an attraction that many find hard to believe, until they experience it for themselves.  The “Soufriere Volcano” is the only “drive-through” volcano in the world.  It is a natural draw for visitors to St. Lucia.  People are drawn to this attraction for: hopes that the touted medicinal qualities of the water will provide relief to sore joints and limbs; some because of the sheer “adventure” for taking on a “live volcano”; and others because it is an unusual attraction that they will be able to talk about when they return home.  Our two guests probably exemplified all of those reasons between them.  So, the day after exploring the Botanical Gardens, they were off on another adventure.

Even before getting all the way into the park, their noses told them they had arrived.  The legendary “rotten eggs” smell of Sulphur lets you know you are close, even before you arrive.  The volcano is considered dormant, thus posing no danger if you follow all the rules of the Park.  The volcanic minerals and health-giving properties (which are said to be really great for the skin) are why this is such a popular attraction.  The Sulphur Springs give off a mixture of iron, calcium oxide, Sulphur, copper oxide, carbon and magnesium.  There is no volcanic lava involved, which is why it is considered a safe attraction.

The “mud baths” are a couple of hundred yards downstream from the springs, where the water temperature is still “hot,” but considered “cool enough” to be safe (about 110 degrees Fahrenheit/45 degrees Celsius.)  These mud baths are said to contain medicinal properties, which is why some tourists and some locals use them.  The waters are also said to have therapeutic qualities for the ski The “mud baths” are a couple of hundred yards downstream from the springs, where the water temperature is still “hot,” but considered “cool enough” to be safe (about 110 degrees Fahrenheit/45 degrees Celsius.)  These mud baths are said to contain medicinal properties, which is why some tourists and some locals use them.  The waters are also said to have therapeutic qualities for the skin.

Yes, our guests went right over and experienced the Sulphur bath.  But, guests/tourists in St. Lucia are not the only ones drawn to the attraction.  Many residents of St. Lucia bathe in this pool for the same therapeutic results the tourists seek.  It is considered a real valuable asset by many.

Personal Testimony:  I have personally experienced the healing power of the Sulphur Bath.  Many years ago, on one of my first visits to St. Lucia, I was walking around with my husband and brother-in-law on some family property that was pretty rough.  I stumbled and ended up with a gash in my foot.  We were near the Volcano Park, so they took me there and had me put my foot in the pool.  The water was really hot, but I kept my foot in there for a little while.  When I took my foot out, you could barely see where I had cut my toe and it did not bleed anymore!

And, another beach….  St. Lucia has so many beach areas, you have no excuse for not visiting the beach while visiting here.  Many of the prime beach locations have been claimed by hotels that are located near the coast (and some require you to buy a pass to access the beach.)  One of the more popular beaches is the Hummingbird Beach (located by the Hummingbird Beach Resort.)  There are a number of reasons it is popular:  you don’t have to buy a pass to access the beach; it is right there at the waterfront in Soufriere; you can see some awesome views from this beach; there is a lot of boat/ship traffic you can see from this beach; and it is easily accessible.  The other plus is that the restaurant at Hummingbird Resort is a great place to eat.  And our guests took advantage of all those pluses. 

Our guests enjoyed another full day of activity without having to leave this general area.

Written by,

Sandra Emmanuel, March 29, 2016

BEAUTIFUL ST. LUCIA! THE BEACH, A GREAT MEAL, A RUM TOUR ...

#St. Lucia Beach #Rhythm of Rum Tour #Anse LaRaye

We get great joy from having our guests venture out to discover the awesomeness of St. Lucia and return with glowing reports and pictures.  We thought you might enjoy seeing what a couple of our guests “discovered” during the first two days of their stay with us.

These two ladies did their homework before coming to St. Lucia.  They had a list of places they wanted to see, in person, after having seen pictures during their online research.  When they arrived in St. Lucia, they rented a car so they could go where they wanted to, when they wanted to, without having to depend on someone to take them around.  This gave them maximum flexibility to see what they wanted to see.  Their spirit of adventure was laudable!

Bright and early the day after they arrived, they arose and noted the early morning beauty of this area.  The sun was about to crest over the mountains to the east of our valley when they took this photo; the beginning of a beautiful new day!  Our guests then had breakfast and started out on their day’s adventure.

Finding a beautiful beach was high on the list of priorities.  After breakfast, they needed to finish up some business regarding their rental car.  And, there is a beautiful beach right by the airport where they rented the car.  It made perfect sense that the beach was their second stop.  Vigie Beach is on the Atlantic side of the Island.  Nonetheless, it is a beautiful beach; and when you look out at the Ocean, it just goes on “forever.”  And on-shore, looking at the sand tells a story all its own.  There was a heart declaring love for the Island of St. Lucia; very touching!  There was also your “typical” sand creation – a fort made of sand.  

This photo tells a different story about this beach.  Lots of footprints and paw prints – must have been where a dog(s) played with the owner(s.)  Look real close and you will see shoes that were shed when someone decided to wade into the ocean.  Overall, this scene gives you the feel of a popular beach that gets lots of foot traffic.  The beach loaded with footprints also tells you that lots of people are drawn there to look out to a place that seems to go on forever and can take you to “far-away” places.  It’s a place that fuels dreams.  And these ladies still dream big dreams, and act on those dreams.

That evening, back at home base, it was dinner time.  The beautifully plated meals served at Calabash Mountain Villa certainly make your mouth water.  When initially served it looks so scrumptious you can hardly wait to dive in.  Then as you begin to consume the meal, you realize that you have a hearty serving of food and start to wonder if you will be able to eat all of it.  You dig in and do your best to savor every bite.  When done, all you can do is sit and enjoy the great conversation at the table (nobody can move.)  Often the conversation just goes on until it is bedtime...

The next morning the ladies were ready for day two of their site-seeing.  This day was determined to be the day for the "Rhythm of Rum Tour" at the St. Lucia rum distillery.  This tour is a great experience.  On this tour, the very capable and entertaining tour guide gives you the history of St. Lucia rum making and all that goes into the process.  The Tour is very educational and the tour guide is very entertaining as he shares his knowledge of the process with those taking the Tour.  (You come away from the tour with a new appreciation of all that it takes to distill rum.)  The added feature of this tour is that you also learn a bit more about St. Lucian culture as the rum is discussed in context of the celebrations of which the rum is part and parcel.  There was a segment of the tour that discussed the rum in context of the St. Lucia Carnival experience.  They even had recordings of the music and costumes that some on the tour agreed to adorn and get into the Carnival spirit.  And yes, our guests got into the act (and no, we are not sharing a picture of that.)

Following the Tour, you are led to the “tasting area,” where the tables are set up with bottles of the various flavors of rum that are distilled there.  You have an opportunity to go around the tables and sample different flavors of rum.  Then you can go into the onsite Rum Shop (duty-free shopping) and purchase the bottles of rum you want to take with you.  And yes, we engaged in the buying end of the tour.

A good chunk of the day was gone and it was time to head back to the Villa. And on the trip back, the beauty of the communities we passed through prompted a photo-taking stop.  So, we parked the vehicle in Anse La Raye and our guests exited to take pictures from a viewpoint (an area that is situated where you can take great photos of the area and not obstruct other traffic.)  The viewpoint gives you a great look at the layout of the community that is situated in a very mountainous area.  The mountains in this area make for a dramatic and beautiful scene.  The beauty of the vibrant colors of the homes almost demands that pictures be taken.

Back on the road again, we find more places to capture land and seascapes.  Gorgeous and colorful homes abound on the Island of St. Lucia!  More mountains –awesome surroundings– simply gorgeous!  And we even got to capture a storm coming in from the sea (we managed to move on before it actually came ashore.) 

Written by Sandra Emmanuel

Pictures courtesy of our guests!

March 19, 2016

A WALK IN THE MOUNTAINS

A WALK IN THE MOUNTAINS

A good number of our guests really enjoy activities like climbing Petit Piton or Gros Piton, or exploring some of the other natural wonders and attractions that this area of St. Lucia has to offer.  In actuality, we are no different than our guests.  For example, one day we were sitting around and Julian decided we should go explore an area that he remembers from his childhood.  So, we got a great person, our neighbor, Kendall, to help us navigate to the area we wanted to visit.

Our adventure started off in our vehicle.  We drove around to the other side of the valley we face and drove up behind a bank of mountains.  The road was kind of rough, but we have a vehicle equipped to hand it, shifting into a lower gear, we pressed on.  And we wound our way up the mountains on the other side of our valley.  While we went along, Julian would point out various houses and other landmarks that he remembered from his childhood.  Then we finally got to a place where he decided we should proceed by foot.  There is a lot of farming that happens in these mountains.  You can see some of the fields from our vantage point at Calabash Mountain Villa, but that is only a small part of what is really in this area.  The picture below is of a Christophene arbor.  This plant is one of the staples of great meals around here.  It is a food that compliments any main dish.

It was quite fascinating to listen to Julian's remembrances of his childhood growing up in this area.  He would recall specific incidents, like they had happened a few days ago.  Many of his recollections were humorous ones, so we enjoyed great chuckles as we walked along.  When we got to a certain area, he identified it as an area they had lived in for a while.  He even was able to show us a specific house they lived in, and he was surprised that it was still in halfway decent condition.  As he told us about locations, there were also stories about some of the happenings that went on in those places.  Many of the stories were humorous and others were filled with his remembrances of what was a childhood full of interesting capers and experiences.  It is always fascinating to hear all about childhood experiences that someone can recall like they happened yesterday.  The housing in this area is pretty rustic, and the memories were rich.

Before long we had reached an area that had some very spectacular views of the town of Soufriere.  We were on the mountains that are opposite the side of town that is the waterfront.  Awesome views!  And yes, we were glad we had the camera to get some of these views.  However, as is usually the case, the pictures are great but don’t really capture the magnitude and beauty of the area.  (Of course, part of the reason is that we are not professional photographers.)

As we kept walking, we got to a spot where we could look down and see Calabash Villa from the mountains across from us.  When we are standing on our balcony looking across the valley at the mountains, it looks like one continuous mountain landscape.  However, it is rows of mountains, with roads and houses between the mountains.  It is these roads that enable you to get up to the upper reaches of the mountains without having to actually climb the mountains.  It is absolutely fascinating what all is on the mountains that cannot be seen from a distance, because the roads and buildings are hidden by rows of trees on both sides of the roads.  But once you go up there, you can better understand where a lot of the traffic you see driving around comes from and where they are going.

The other fascinating realization is that there are lots and lots of mountains that you would never see unless you climbed high enough to see over the lower mountains.  You can see in some of our pictures the rows and rows of mountains that exist on this part of the Island.  These are awesome views!  In the above picture of Calabash Mountain Villa, taken from the mountains across from us, you get a sense of the landscape around us.  When you are driving here, you see the trees around the roads, but do not get a full sense of the entire area.  Being able to get high enough up to look down on us really gives you a better perspective of this area.  

If you get a chance to visit St. Lucia, or if you are on St. Lucia, make it a point to go and see these views for yourself.  Aside from being gorgeous views, it also gives you another perspective about this Island.  There are communities that evolve from the natural landscape of this Island.  The terrain helps form small communities that share an area.  People in these communities have bonds that last a lifetime.  Of course, that is not to say that people do not get around to other communities, but there is a special bond between people who attend the same schools together, play in the same areas together, and who have dealt with natural conditions and calamities together.

Written by, Sandra Emmanuel

March 2, 2016
www.calabashvilla.com