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Be Acquainted with St. Lucia's Pigeon Island

7:11 AM | Labels: ,

Experience reminiscence as you travel back in St. Lucia's history through this peninsula.

Pigeon Island, or otherwise known as Pigeon Island National Park holds a history that dates back to the 16th century. Originally, as the name connotes, this was an island located in the 
northern coast of St. Lucia, at Gros Islet. But in the year 1972, a sandy walkway was constructed that connected this island to the nearby Gros Islet. However, Pigeon Island is still considered as
an island, as to what it is before.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

As what was mentioned, Pigeon Island played a considerably significant role in the antiquity of St. Lucia starting in the times of exploration, 16th century. Over the years, the name of the first French inhabitant of St. Lucia, Francois Le Clerc or most commonly known by his epithet, Jambe de Bois remained as the primary descriptor of the island. He was an unpopular trailblazer of a group of
pirates which has a wooden leg (english translation of Jambe de Bois). He utilized the island as a means of attacking the passing ships of the Spaniards. Whereas in the 18th century, the popular admiral of Britain reinforced the area to be used as a base in monitoring French ships in Martinique. The British even built a fort in the said island which is named Fort Rodney which became a popular historical ruin in the Pigeon Island. In teh late 18th century, Admiral Rodney bid goodbye to the island leaving it with amazing ports that are still standing as of today.

At present, the island is considered as a national park upon its declaration way back in 1992, and is under the management of St. Lucia National Trust. The park remains an interesting place to visit among the list of St. Lucia attractions not just because of its historical sorts, but also because of different prolific activities and sights that are worthy of anyone's time.

What to look out for at Pigeon Island

FORTS. This integral structures stood silent at the coast of Pigeon Island witnessing all the changes and progress that occured in the area. Most popular among the numerous forts built is the

Fort Rodney named after the British Admiral that was given overview above. If you want to know what it feels like to be an admiral, a pirate, or so, then head to the lookout point above the port and meet the canyons that are erected there. 

MILITARY BUILDING RUINS. Explore the remains of military troupes in St. Lucia that are scattered along the island though this stone buildings seemed to create a phantom effect to those who visit it. 

WATER SPORTS. Since Pigeon Island is sorrounded by beaches, it is also a great opportunity to engage in water sports, particularly, Snuba--a mixture of snorkeling and scuba diving in one!

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Up Close the Marigot Bay

2:17 AM | Labels: ,

There's a lot more about St. Lucia.

Not only do the Pitons and the Pigeon Island describes this island in whole, but there's also one remaining place that deserves to  be recognized--the Marigot Bay. In fact, it was once described to be the most beautiful bay in the Caribbean by an American writer and lengthens our list of the St. Lucia attractions.


Marigot Bay is situated at the west coast of St. Lucia and is nearby its capital, Castries. It is composed of breath-taking forested hills that are really picture-perfect. Besides, the landscape itself is a challenging twist for adventurers given that the north side of the island can be accessed only by boat, while the remaining sides are all steep hills. If one is looking for a perfect island getaway, then he must head over to Marigot Bay.

Another interesting thing to know about this one featured here is that it played a significant part in the world history. Its inland basin once served as the hiding refuge for British troops as they flee away from the chasing French forces. In the same way, if you long to flee away from all the pres
sures of the city, then it is highly suggested that you make Marigot Bay your escape ally. Its natural treasures will surely give you a warm welcome that will keep you coming back.

Aside from a bunch of things to do in St. Lucia famous attractions, there are also a lot of fun activities that awaits you in Marigot Bay:

Take a Sight, Walk a Mile at Millet Bird Sanctuary. Just a 10km ride from the west coast roadway lies this nature cache that allows visitors to take a peak of the island's endemic bird species. This adventure offers an insightful experience as one trained guide will be there to accompany every traveler's feet. For bird watchers out there, come and fill your eyes with wonders at St. Lucia's bird haven.

Calm your Soul at LaBas Beach. Either you want to explore the deeps of the sea, or just stare at the magnificant view of everything reachable, LaBas Beach has it all in its perfect packages. The beach is a bit small, but it can afford to give anyone great relief for  sure. Here one can try a variety of water sports, sunbathing and yacht sighting that suits one of a vacation.

Get Drunk of Details at St. Lucia Rum Distillery. Have a tour in this only remaining Rum Distillery in the island adn get drunk of learnings on how rum is made and the history of the said facility. The tour lasts for an hour and ends with free tasting of a variety of rum made in St. Lucia.

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St. Lucia Zipline Guide

7:57 PM | Labels: ,


Rainforest of the St. Lucia is tagged as one of the top St. Lucia attractions there is in the city. It belongs to the top attraction in the Caribbean and the top rainforest destination across the globe. What activity is famous in this St. Lucia rainforest? It’s definitely ziplining!

St. Lucia zip line gives a good tree top view and the whole experience is worthwhile. Seems like you are flying but with harnesses which gives you an assured safety throughout the whole trip. Tour companies are giving rainforest adventure tours in the region making it an ease for you to plan your Caribbean trip in the rainforest.

Ride numerous zip-lines in the rainforest overhang. It is fun, you get to experience the nature more, and no expertise is needed! This fun experience can be done by both children and adult, provided there's no health risk to consider.

So what does it take to have a thrilling bird’s eye view experience of the Caribbean rainforest through the zipline?

Reserve a rainforest tour to your preferred date to one of Caribbean’s trusted tour companies. They will provide you with the experience of ziolining, given the safety harnesses, protective gear and a must know before the experience. Contact them and they’ll be much thrilled to set the trip for you. 

Tours also included transfers, a guide that will be your buddy and information source along the zipline adventure, and a secured trip with their safety features.

What to bring? Bring water and trail food that will sustain you all throughout the trip. You don’t want to get hungry along the whole experience, this can affect to your full enjoyment of the trip. Avoid bring in valuable things; expensive jewelries, a lot of gadgets, or a whole wad of cash that might interfere to your activity when they become lost.

Wear comfortable clothes. Some tour companies prefer that you wear trail shoes so that it won’t hurt your feet with all the walking. Wear sun protection and apply insect repellants.

Do you want to go ziplining down and up the world’s known rainforest of St. Lucia? Better have your trip planned, your tour booked, and prepare the necessary items you have to bring on the trip.

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Bird Watching: The St. Lucia Peewee

6:48 PM | Labels: ,


If you are planning St. Lucia excursions at the rainforest, better not miss out on going St. Lucia bird watching. St. Lucia rainforest is home to numerous number of bird species that will leave you in awe. There are around 170 known bird species found nesting and flying on St. Lucia’s teeming rainforest. Some of these are only seen in the island and not in anywhere part of the world.

Among these bird species is the St. Lucia Peewee.


Scientific name: Contopus oberi
Local Names: Gobe-Mouche, or Pin Kaka

Characteristics

A peewee is generally known as Gobe-Mouche or Pin Kaka. I have dull olive broen upperparts and ruddy tan under parts. The mature Pewee can grow at about 15 cm long. Its common natural surroundings are subtropical or tropical dry backwoods, subtropical or tropical clammy woods, and subtropical or tropical soggy rainforests. Pewee is a sort of tentative fledgling kind of bird that is typically seen in openings in the rainforest where they sally for creepy crawlies. You can hear its calling sound as a climbing pree-e-e and a shrill peet-peet-peet.

Habitat

The pewee home is in a shape of a cup formed by making leaves and greenery put on a tree's limb. The female pewee produces offspring by laying two dull cream-colored eggs, vigorously spotted with brown. Its ordinary reproducing season is May and June. St Lucia Pewee is entirely endemic on the grounds that they were viewed as races of Lesser Antillean Pewee.

Image credits: lynxeds.com

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Most Visited Attractions in St. Lucia

5:34 AM |

St. Lucia is just one of those many places you won’t get tired of exploring. As you get from one breath-taking place to another, you’ll just realize that there is more waiting for your presence. With its world-class beaches, plantations, and enchanting little towns, you won’t run out of places and activities to tickle your toes with.


This article is intended to familiarize and excite your senses also as you plan your trip to famous St. Lucia attractions.

Rainforest Sky Ride—Aerial Tram. Defined as the greatest scenic adventure at St. Lucia, the Aerial Tram adventure consists of an eight-seated gondola ride that will take you up and down the mountainside rainforest of St. Lucia. Not only will you enjoy the thrill of the ride but more significantly, the learning that you’ll be able to get from your adventure guide and your personal interaction from nature’s best. Slide over through dense vegetation coupled with an array of beautiful flowers that will definitely capture your eyes.

Marigot Bay. Marigot Bay, in all its beauty, is indeed a picture-perfect beach view in the Caribbean. The shore is lined with mangroves and pine trees that seem undiscovered. What’s unique about this natural harbor is that it can only be travelled by yachts. Meanwhile, Marigot Bay Hotel offers a good spot to view the Bay’s fascinating sight.

Pigeon Island. Pigeon Island is the first National Park in St. Lucia built in the 1970s. its name was derived from the red-neck pigeon that once take-over the island. There are two white sand beaches on its west coast and also, the Jambe de Bois restaurant. What attracts tourists most is its Interpretation Center which offers a travel back in local history through the artifacts and a software presentation. The Pigeon Island National Historic Park is also suited for nature walks as you witness an astonishing panorama.

Castries. Castries might look dismal, but the public market is remarkable. Most people are in here during Fridays and Saturdays looking for some amazing St. Lucian stuffs. Meanwhile, one of the highlights of Castries is the Derek Walcott Square, a distinguished rectangle surrounded by the public library and The Cathedral, the most noticeable church in the island built in the 19th century. Little further to the south of Castries is the Morne Fortune, fondly called as the ‘Hill of Good Luck’. Found here are the military cemetery, the Four Apostles Battery, and a museum. If you want the most picturesque view of the Caribbean, then you must visit Morne Fortune where you can clearly see the Pitons (the twin peaks of St. Lucia), the Pigeon Island or even the Martinique if the weather permits.

Diamond Falls Botanical Gardens. Anyone who arrives here will be surprised finding three awesome attractions in one.  First is the remarkable garden that will surely put a smile in your hearts accentuated by the second attraction, a striking falls, the Diamond Waterfall. This is really impressive for it changes its color several times a day. Witness yourself the color show produced by this geological attraction. Lastly, are the mineral baths thought to grant an uplifting effect to those who soak in it.

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A Guide to Jacquot Trail Hike

1:25 PM | Labels: ,


Aside from the known ziplining activity in the rainforest, one among the number of famous St. Lucia attractions is the Jacquot trail for those who want to try seeing the rainforest on foot while searching for St. Lucia’s known symbol.

Named for St Lucia's glad image Jacquot, or the Amazona Versicolor parrot, the Jacquot Trail inundates climbers in the miracle of the island's best possession, nature. 

Start a progressive rising into the mature Caribbean Oceanic timberland and get up close and individual with the powerful chatannier, an amazing hardwood with extensive brace root frameworks or the unfathomable strangler ficus which develops around the host tree in an interlocking grid before trading it totally. 

The climb bears eminent chances to research the stunning St. Lucia rainforest as experienced nature guide guides you crosswise over gorges and springs deeper into the experienced woodland. Spot titan ferns and exceptional epiphytes, and keep your eyes peeled for the trail and an assemblage of other birdlife, and figure out how the abundant forest was an indispensable a piece of customary St Lucian life, for sustenance, pharmaceutical and everday materials.

Essential Things to Bring and Wear

It is compulsory to wear walking or hiking shoes when you go trail hiking down the St. Lucia rainforest on a lookout for Jacquot.  Do not wear shoes with heels, leather shoes or footwear that is uncomfortable to walk on uneven trails. For sun protection, put on sunscreen. Wear comfortable clothes, preferable those that are light weight. For rain protection, make your umbrella or rain gear ready to not spoil the trail hike in case an unexpected rain came. Insects can be everywhere during your trail hike, so better get that insect repellent ready and some emergency medicines.

Jacquot trail hiking in the rainforest of St. Lucia can be added to your rainforest adventure checklist. See the wonders of nature by foot and see the famous bird in the region.

Trekking is a fun, sound, and competitive activity that interest anybody. Anybody can get the most out of trail hiking and remain sheltered in the meantime by having their trail hiking booked and set by reputable touring association.

Image Credits: rainforestadventure.com

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Sulphur Springs Park

4:57 AM | Labels: ,


St. Lucia itself has a refuge that will definitely get you even hotter. At the town of Soufriere (French word for sulfur) at the southwestern side of the island, located is the only drive-in volcano in the world. Locally known as the Sulphur Springs, it has now become a major tourist attraction in St. Lucia. 

Imagine yourself at the middle of a volcano that has erupted in the late 18th century. This eruption of the Soufriere Volcano of course created intense damage to the immediate area, however, this tragic nature-made calamity pave the way to what is internationally-acclaimed tourist spot now. The Sulphur Springs happen to be at the intersection of two fault lines lying at the center of a volcanic depression named “Qualibou caldera.” Incidentally, this caldera is about thirty to forty thousand years old. 

The Boiling Springs


The Sulphur Springs is the main enticement of the park which features an impressive assembly of boiling springs of about 340 Fahrenheit (170 degrees Celsius). Due to its skin-burning temperature, the springs create large amount of steam and it also has high content of sulfur and iron. The location of the springs stands 305 meters above sea level at the collapsed crater of the volcano. 

Excursion at the Sulphur Springs comprises of a walk behind a wooden fence even up to the edge of the springs. Before, tourists are allowed to walk up to the actual crater covered with a thin crust, but when an accident of a fall of one of the guides happened, the public is restricted behind the fence. 

Therapeutic and Mud Baths at the Sulphur Springs 

At the crater of the Soufriere Volcano is a stream running through and established hot springs a little downward. Due to volcanic minerals present at the water, it is believed that Sulphur Springs can provide therapeutic benefits to tourists. However, many cannot stand submerging themselves for too long, because of the extreme heat reaching approximately 45 degrees Celsius and the foul smell coming from the spring probably that of rotten eggs. 

World famous health-giving waters in the Sulphur Springs Park consist of the ‘Pool of Love’ and the ‘Black Water Pool’. In the West Coast of St. Lucia, the locals and even tourists experience all natural sulfur baths that has great benefits for the skin. Tourists have nothing to worry about possible eruption of the Soufriere Volcano for it is already considered dormant.

Image credits: slu.travel

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