South To The Islands

Gustavia, St. Barts

You couldn’t pick three Caribbean nations more distinct from one another than St. Barts, St. Lucia and Trinidad.  All three have long histories stemming from the influences of the colonizing powers of the day - France, Britain and Spain - but each has gone its own way.

St. Barts, a  French department with its red-roofed, ocean front homes, expensive shops and busy air strip.  St. Lucia, an island of contrasts with a struggling economy that depends heavily on tourism.  The island is strikingly beautiful with its beaches, mountains, sweeping valleys and rain forest - the holy grail being the Pitons in Soufriere.  And Trinidad - rich in oil and gas, with Port of Spain serving as the retail and administrative centre of the island.

We had been blessed with sunshine throughout our island hopping.  On St Barts we drove around the island enjoying the pretty coastline, returning to Gustavia for a leisurely walk along the waterfront, past expensive yachts and closed storefronts. 


It was Sunday and apparently our potential contribution to the local economy was not particularly sought.  We ended our walk at Shell Beach - an attractive cove with millions of shells forming the beachfront.

Castries, St. Lucia

St. Lucia proved to be a somewhat different experience - vendors offered their wares but didn’t seem to mind if we declined.  Instead they pointed out landmarks and asked us where we were from.

St. Lucia fishing village

The drive from Castries to the rain forest followed a narrow winding road, taking us through fishing villages and banana plantations.  The banana crop has fallen on hard times but some entrepreneur has developed a banana ketchup which has quite a following.  

The Pitons

The Pitons of Soufriere are simply spectacular with the added attraction of a nearby volcano that hasn’t erupted in 300 years.  The smell of sulphur  pervades with the changing breezes.  Water and mud bubble ferociously in the volcanic pools as steam rises from the core.

A perfect day in St. Lucia ended with a catamaran trip from Soufriere back to Castries. A warm tropical downpour cooled the air for a while.

A brief downpour in Soufriere

The island of Trinidad is green and mountainous.  A winding drive from Port of Spain north through the rain forest to Maracas Beach provided a golden opportunity to run into the ocean and jump through the waves. 

Maracas Beach, Trinidad

The force of the waves was unsteadying but the sound of the ocean magic.  As one wave ebbed, the sound of crashing ocean was replaced by a chorus of singing birds.

Shark and Bake with all the fixings

The golden sands felt like silk underfoot and before our return to Port of Spain we partook of the local Trinbagonian delicacy - shark and bake - deep fried shark meat on a bun topped with a multitude of toppings - we tried tamarind and garlic sauce with cilantro. The vendor of choice across from the beach - per the locals - Richard's Shark and Bake Shack.


Returning to Port of Spain it was evident that Trinidad’s passion for cricket is alive and well with large grounds in the centre of town. The site is well positioned for cricket enthusiasts at the British Consulate too - the top floor of the Consular building apparently overlooks the grounds.

We had come south to the islands and would now head further south to Brazil and the mouth of the Amazon River.