A Saint Lucian Holiday

Sometimes I hesitate to write about tourism because I don’t want to perpetuate a distorted image of the island. I can’t stress enough that the image we hold of the Caribbean, although true, it is not the story. The real story is the back story. In my opinion, the beauty lies in the villages and with the people. Having established that, tourism is part of the island and one that deserves some space on my page.

In the next few days I will post a series of short posts to describe my Christmas holiday. I’ve already talked about activities in my village; among other posts were Bursting the Bamboo and Nine Mornings. Now I want to take you to see the Saint Lucia that was created to allow visitors to get away from the hustle in their lives and carve a momentary few days out of their lives to relax and unwind.

I try to balance my blog with people, history, culture, and the economy which includes tourism. In the 1970s, starting with Sandals Resort, all-inclusive hotels were allowed to build on the island. The large cruise ships that dot the harbor are all-inclusive. The bulk of money stays within the confines of these resort and sea communities.

Peace Corps Volunteers live in villages, towns, and cities along side people who fish or farm to make a few dollars. Many work behind the scenes to create the environment that visitors enjoy. They are the security guards, grounds keepers, waiters, and hotel maids. They are the people who prepare gourmet meals, take people around the island on water and land taxis, and teach scuba diving or take visitors high among the rain forest in zip lines.

Together, we will be visiting places that are incredible, beautiful, and relaxing, however; after a couple of weeks of exploration, I’m tired and happy to be back at home in my village.

Lenny is a taxi driver and Tour Guide and hosted one of our volunteers into his home during training. He’s driven us around the island before. Easy going with a good sense of humor, he’s a joy to be around. He’s our friend and we would hire no one else. He will take us to see the western part of the island. (If you are looking to book a tour guide in advance you can visit his website http://www.taxi-stlucia.com/pages/1/index.htm. I do not receive any benefits for this small add.)

So, stay tuned. We will be visiting a lighthouse, a cocoa plantation, an incredible beach, and a resort positioned between the Pitons. Then, I will take you to a small village in the north where I spent Christmas Day.