We managed to get a hire car for the two weeks and due to my step-dad being St. Lucian, he acted as the Tour-Guide, Gourmet Chef, Geography and History teacher! We were staying in a house near Choiseul in the south of the island. About 20 minutes drive up the east coast from Vieux Fort.

Over the two weeks, we went around the whole island - up the west coast through Micoud, Praslin and Dennery, across the rain-forest to the east coast and along the hair-pin bends towards Castries (which is the capital). North to Rodney Bay and Gros Islet. South to Soufriere, Choiseul and Laborie (where the beach was - completely deserted).

Food out there was gorgeous. There is so much fish (obviously as it's an island) Managed to try Red Snapper, Flying Fish and Marlin, all cooked to perfection by my step-dad. These were eaten with a variety of rice, dasheen, yams, green banana, plaintain (which looks like a banana, but it isn't), pigeon peas, red peas, black eyed peas, breadfruit. Fresh fruit was picked from the trees in the garden - pineapple, pawpaw, mango, green oranges (which are oranges that are green!!), lemons, lime, soursop, coconuts,

Places of interest included the Craft market in Castries, where people sell Callabash husks filled with small packets of locally-grown spices (cloves, nutmeg, coriander, paprika, saffron, ginger, cinnamon), baskets that have been carefully and cleverly weaved, jars of homemade jams and various types of other souvenirs.

Also went to Mamiku gardens, where they have an array of local trees and shrubs, that are either very common to the island (bouganvillia, ginger lily, palms, banana trees) and ones that aren't so common (that I can't remember the names of).

Island-hopping was another adventure. Flying the 35 odd miles down to St. Vincent and the Grenadines (who's coastline you can see from St. Lucia on a clear day), then onto Barbados the next day in a De-Havilland aircraft...not something for people with air sickness, turbulence is common...But the aerial views more than compensated.

Seeing truly is believing.....pure paradise !