Pearls of the Caribbean (7)

ITINERARY

27/02/2010 Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe) 28/02/2010 Philipsburg (Sint Maarten - Netherlands Antilles) 28/02/2010 Philipsburg (Collectivity of Saint-Martin - French Antilles) 01/03/2010 Casa De Campo/La Romana (Dominican Republic) 02/03/2010 Catalina Island (Dominican Republic) 03/03/2010 Road Harbour (Tortola - British Virgin Islands) 04/03/2010 St.John's (Antigua - Antigua & Barbuda) 05/03/2010 St. Lucia Castries (Saint Lucia) 06/03/2010 Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe)

Costa excursion: The island of St. Lucia around its volcano We begin this excursion with a visit to the capital, Castries, obviously Japanese-style (goes without saying). The aim is to give a taste of the commercial life of Saint Lucia. It's hard to discover "the lively atmosphere and the warmth of the island's inhabitants" while sitting on a coach, yet the local guide proves very friendly and competent, which makes the passive progress less painful. Having left the town centre we head up the slopes of Morne Fortune to reach one of the capital's viewpoints. Before reaching the fishing village of Anse La Raye, we stop for a panoramic view from above of Marigot Bay, "a natural harbour of exceptional beauty where yachts moor and artists and writers take refuge". The tourist stalls selling all kinds of souvenirs are ever-present.

Having reached the village of Anse La Raye, we make a brief stop on the seafront. To do what? Watch the fishermen at work? No! For a bit of shopping and a loo stop if needed. T-shirts bought, we head to the Diamond Botanical Garden, where we admire the tropical plants laid out along the path. While CAT enjoys nature, TEO and DVD look in vain for Tarzan and the monkeys, who on this occasion decide not to show themselves. A shame, because we had "armed" ourselves with a giant palm leaf, ready to defend against any surprise attacks. With the tour over we get back on our bus and head to La Soufrière (Drive-In Volcano) to admire the sulphur springs inside the volcano. Beautiful but not impressive; in Italy we certainly have more beautiful ones..! At last lunchtime arrives.

The programme includes a stop at a local restaurant for a "sumptuous" (that's a big word..! rich, yes, sumptuous, I wouldn't say) buffet of Caribbean cuisine (excellent..!). On the way back, besides passing through typical fishing villages again, we stop at the La Sikwi sugar mill (La Sikwi Sugar Mill), an 18th-century structure where sugar cane was processed. And here comes the good part..! A tasting of fresh fruit awaits us (fried and non-fried bananas, coconut, sugar cane, breadfruit...) and rum punch. The afternoon snack is sacred, we're not at school, but we enjoy it very, very gladly. Finally we return to the pier before the last boarding that will take us to Pointe-à-Pitre.

THANKS to Caterina and Matteo simply for this fantastic trip lived intensely together. THANKS to Valerio, Mathias and Renato for the feasts, the dives and the snacks shared with Matteo. THANKS to Adriano, Angela, Nadia, Dario and Sonia for the most pleasant and welcome company.