Day 3 - Soufriere, St. Lucia

Today is our last full day at Ladera .  We woke up to a beautiful rainbow sitting in between Gran Piton and Petit Piton mountains. 

Rainbow from Room

Today we are doing the “Soufriere Experience.”  This is a few hour private tour of the southeast’s most famous landmarks – the islands long dormant volcano, Diamond Botanical gardens and waterfall and the therapeutic mud baths.  We started at the volcano, which is still bubbling at over 143 degrees.  The volcano is a mixture of sulfur, iron, copper, and magnesium, which does NOT lead to a very pleasant smell.  I found myself putting my nose up against Jeff’s back as the tour guide told us about the eruption over 141,000 years ago. 

From the volcano we drove a short distance to Diamond Botanical Gardens and Waterfall.  The gardens were planted among the plantation trees (coconut, cocoa, mahogany, red cedar) as well as flowers and shrubs from around the tropical world.  Locally grown fruits and vegetables are also on display.  Bananas are the largest export here in St Lucia.  They have started farming cocoa at a local plantation down the street from the hotel, called Hotel Chocolate, but we’ve been told it will take 3-4 years for a healthy crop.  St Lucians are extremely excited about this, as cocoa can bring the island a tremendous amount of needed financial aid.  As you walk through the gardens, a river runs along the path.  The river flows from the volcano, which is colored by the mineral deposits; this has turned the stones and rocks red.  There are also 18^th century mineral pools used by the troops of King Louis XVI back when St Lucia was a French colony.  The remains of the baths are still there and have been restored and are in operation. 

Our next stop was the famous St. Lucia mud baths.  Thanks to the sulfur that drifts into the springs from the volcano, the baths stay incredibly warm.  They are a 2 miles away from the waterfall and many locals believe that they have healing powers.  Unfortunately with the rain we had this morning, the temperature of the water wasn’t as hot as normal, but there were still people there rubbing the mud on their arms and faces, as they believe it is a cure for many diseases.  Mud is definitely not our thing, so we stuck our toe in and went on our way! 

Our last stop for the day was to Jalouisie Plantation & Beach.  This is the white sandy beach just down the mountain from Ladera.  It was originally a French Sugar Plantation, which is easily identified when you walk the grounds and look at the architecture.  We didn’t stay on the beach today, instead we opted to sit by our pool at Ladera and listen to the local band the hotel brought in for the day.  Tonight we are driving back down the hill to have dinner at Jalousie, which had a beautiful restaurant called the Great Room. 

Tomorrow we will be leaving Soufriere and heading to Marigot Bay, which is located closer to Castries.  This part of the island is less secluded with many restaurants and shops, so it will be a nice change in pace.

Till tomorrow.

XOXO

Jenn  & Jeff