Published: 05.04.2025
Today we took a trip to the northern part of St. Lucia. In the harbor of Castries, two cruise ships were anchored. We encountered countless minivans filled with cruise passengers, everywhere there were popup souvenir stalls set up that weren’t there before, everything was crowded with people, and the streets of Castries were completely clogged. Colorful buses blaring music and little train rides filled with people were making their way through the streets. For someone like us, who wants to experience the land and its people, it was just utterly overwhelming. This does not fit in a country or a city where poverty is evident on every corner. And tomorrow, new cruise ships will arrive in the harbor, and everything will start all over again.
We then drove to Pigeon Island at the northern tip. Here too, it was full of cruise passengers, the beaches were filled with sun loungers, worse than on the Adriatic.
We should have gone to the south or east, but I fear that with so many thousands of cruise passengers, they are everywhere.
The hike on the peninsula was surprisingly peaceful and relaxed, as most people were lying at the beach. However, Pigeon Island seemed to us somewhat run down and neglected despite the beautiful landscape. But the palm beach there is truly stunning.
From Fort Rodney, one can see beautifully the rugged Atlantic side to the left and the calm Caribbean of Rodney Bay to the right.
As you can see, the Chinese were also already here providing their free internet. A trickster is one who thinks anything negative about it.
I had read that Reduit Beach in Rodney Bay is heavily visited by cruise passengers.
What can I say, it was all packed here too.
Rodney Bay is the tourist center of the island. Everything here is modern and well-kept, a pastry can easily cost 4 €. Poverty is hardly visible here. A stark contrast to the capital, Castries. There is also a very exclusive marina.
We then headed to a few secluded beaches on our way back to Castries, relaxed a bit and took photos.
Afterward, we bought a few things and filled up the rental car.
The groceries here in the supermarket are all pretty expensive. Particularly when measured against our standards. There is hardly any sausage and cheese is just an artificial-looking block. However, there are salted pig tails?? The people here apparently have a fundamentally different diet. Peppers and tomatoes are also ridiculously overpriced, except for the local tomatoes, which don’t look perfect but taste good and are not expensive. And there are incredibly many severely overweight (especially women) individuals. It’s a bit alarming what our food industry does to less educated people, all for profit.
In the picture above, you can see a packet of sausage from the company Kraft, the cheapest separator meat for about 5 € for 275 grams.
We would have loved to see much more in St. Lucia, a truly dreamy island. Unfortunately, the bureaucratic processes regarding the fine cost us time, and 5 days are indeed too short, especially given the long drives on the poor roads.
Our accommodation was breathtaking. Above are a few pictures taken from the magnificent terrace. It doesn't get more impressive than that.
Tomorrow, we will head early in the morning by ferry to Martinique.
This belongs to Europe, so I will get to drive on the
