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St. Lucia is the sort of island that travellers to the Caribbean dream about--a
small, lush tropical gem that is still relatively unknown. One of the Windward
Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located midway down the Eastern Caribbean
chain, between Martinique and St. Vincent, and north of Barbados. St. Lucia is
only 27 miles long and 14 miles wide, with a shape that is said to resemble an
avocado. The Atlantic Ocean kisses its eastern shore, while the beaches of the
west coast owe their beauty to the calm Caribbean Sea.
In natural beauty, St. Lucia seems like an island plucked from the South Pacific
and set down in the Caribbean. Its dramatic twin coastal peaks, the Pitons,
soar 2,000 feet up from the sea, sheltering magnificent rain forests where wild
orchids, giant ferns, and birds of paradise flourish. Brilliantly-plumed tropical
birds abound, including endangered species like the indigenous St. Lucia parrot.
The rainforest is broken only by verdant fields and orchards of banana, coconut,
mango, and papaya trees. |
