The island of St Lucia is just 27 miles from north to south. Our hotel is about one-third of the way up the west coast from the airport at the southern tip. Today our plan was to explore the northern regions as far as Pigeon Island. The distance is only about 18 miles as the crow flies, or twice that on the winding roads. That actually takes about an hour and a half under ideal conditions, so of course we made the journey in closer to 2.5 hours each way. Left-side driving, narrow lanes with side ditches, tight hairpin turns, and potholes – ‘nuff said! Nick gets a shout-out for his steadfast driving, as does “Cricket”, our wheels for the week.

The main road along the west side of the island doesn’t hug the coastline, but goes up and down between peaks and valleys, leading to some very scenic views as one descends into a town, such as the hamlet of Canaries pictured here.

After our long drive (and lots of St Lucia tourist traffic in Castries and Gros Islet), we finally arrived at Pigeon Island. It’s actually no longer an island since they built a causeway connecting it to the mainland. But it is a national landmark, and houses the historic Fort Rodney dating to the Revolutionary war era. While the British were busy dealing with pesky American colonists, the French and Spanish saw a golden opportunity to capture Jamaica, and with it, control of the West Indies. They built a fleet on the island of Martinique. Meanwhile, Admiral Rodney in command at Pigeon Island just to the south was tasked with keeping an eye on them. In 1782, the French sailed forth, Rodney gave chase, a fight ensued, and the British were victorious. That was perhaps the best moment for the Fort, which changed hands between the French and the British a total of 14 times over the years. Today, you can see the ruins of the fortifications along with some hefty cannons still in place along the batteries,

The best part of the park today is the views in all directions from the high point, Signal Peak.

Friday night is supposedly Fish Fry night in Anse La Raye, one of the towns on our journey back south, but it turns out the season doesn’t start until next week. On a tip from a local, we had a delicious dinner at the Valelse Sports Bar and Soup Kitchen instead. Delicious food and friendly service made it another highlight of the day.

Back at the hotel, we found karaoke night well underway at the poolside bar, so we all took a turn at the mic (with Ben killing it!), and had a dip in the pool. A relaxing way to end a long day.