Castries, St. Lucia

The British and French fought fourteen battles over the possession of St. Lucia. Each side won seven times, and it was finally awarded to Britain in the 1814 Treaty of Paris.

St. Lucia is best seen from the water and that's exactly what we did on a catamaran up and down the west coast. The first stop was Pigeon Island, where Fort Rodney is located, then cruised through the exclusive Margot Bay, home of the rich and famous.

In the south of St. Lucia are the Pitons. They are two mountainous volcanic plugs, that were named to the UNESCO world heritage list.

After sailing by the Pitons it was time to head back to the capital, while the crew served rum punch. I asked the server what the alcohol percentage is in the rum. He said "80%!"

80?, I questioned

"Ya mon", he replied.

This would explain why most of the passengers had so much difficulty disembarking.