Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

Sa Ca Fete: Welcome to St Lucia

Sa Ca Fete: Welcome to St Lucia

The Caribbean region is overtly blessed with a wide variety of; peoples, languages, cultures, and islands.

Some small islands such as Saba and St Eustatius have populations of less than 2,000 persons whilst other big islands, such as Jamaica and Puerto Rico, have populations exceeding 3 million persons.

Caribbean Geography 101


For clarity, the Caribbean has four main sub-regions.

The Lucayan Archipelago, The Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the Southern Caribbean.

The Lucayan Archipelago consists of the Bahamian Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The Greater Antilles consists mainly of the larger islands; Cayman Islands, Cuba, Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic), Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and both the British and United States Virgin Islands.

The Lesser Antilles is actually split into another Sub-region.

The Leeward Islands, which consists of; Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, Nevis Saba, St Barts, St Eustatius, St Maarten/St Martin, and St Kitts.

Also, the Windward Islands, which consist of; Barbados, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent, and the Grenadines.

The Southern Caribbean consists of; Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Margarita Island, Trinidad, and Tobago.

Sa Ca Fete


In late August, I had the opportunity to travel to two of the Windward Islands, Dominica, and St Lucia, in order to attend a United Nations meeting.

My first stop would be a direct four-hour flight from Kennedy Airport in New York to St Lucia.

Incidentally, St Lucia has two airports, Vieux Fort in the South, which handles international and regional flights, and the George F.L. Charles Airport in the North, which handles regional flights only.

Upon arrival, all visitors must present the following: travel authorisation forms, vaccination cards if immunised, and then fill out a form with general and some health-related questions.

If one is immunised, they are given a white wristband indicating that they can roam freely around the island.

Oddly, there is no requirement for tests upon arrival or during your stay.

Now, a bit about St Lucia itself.

Total size: 238 Square Miles

Population: 185,000

Languages spoken: English, Creole, and French

Economy: Tourism and Agriculture

GDP 2.5 Billion

Currency: East Caribbean (EC) Dollar $1US: $2.68 EC

Tourism is their leading economy, with over one million visitors in 2019, prior to Covid-19. These visitors helped them to generate nearly 1 billion dollars in foreign income.

Thousands of Lucians are employed in the hospitality industry, ranging from taxi drivers, hotel staff, tour guides, and small to large hotel owners.

St Lucia is essentially a very lush rural country, with pockets of settlements spread around its coastal regions. With Agriculture as their traditional economy, one can find all sorts of fresh organic foods selling on the roadsides and markets.

Goodies such as; bananas, plantain, watermelon, mangoes, coconuts, yam, cassava, carrots, honey, peppers, vanilla, and cashews, to name a few, are easy to find and relatively inexpensive to purchase.

All of this fresh food means the cooking is quite simply, heavenly.

The survivors


Without a doubt, their greater product is their people.

St Lucia is but one of the islands that historically was fought over between the French and the English, from the 1600s-1800s, when the French ceded the island to the English

As a result of the French influence, the descendants of the enslaved Africans speak several languages, with a distinct French dialect.

Creole French, or Patwa, is the language created by the then enslaved Africans. They mixed French and African words, in order to hide things from the ears of their oppressors. Creole was very commonly spoken up until the 1970s, when many parents chose to only taught their children English.

As of late, many are now teaching their children this language, as well as structured classes in government schools.

Our tour guides, teaching us Creole words, took us around St Lucia to visit; historical sites, local beaches, cassava factories, chocolate factories using local cocoa, the sulphur springs where one can take a bath in mineral waters, and tours of the historic capital Castries.

If one wants to mix with locals, there is the weekly outdoor festival in Gros Islet.

To say that St Lucians are friendly will be an understatement. It is no surprise their tourism product is in high demand.

St Lucia is essentially a very lush rural country, with pockets of settlements spread around its coastal regions. With Agriculture as their traditional economy, one can find all sorts of fresh organic foods selling on the roadsides and markets.

The Sulphur Springs in St Lucia where one can take a bath in mineral water.

The Windward Islands consists of Barbados, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent, and the Grenadines.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
China Accuses US of Violating Trade Truce
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
France Implements Nationwide Outdoor Smoking Ban to Protect Children
German Chancellor Merz Keeps Putin Guessing on Missile Strategy
Mandelson Criticizes UK's 'Fetish' for Abandoning EU Regulations
British Fishing Boat Owner Fined €30,000 by French Authorities
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
×