I had always heard that St. Lucia was the place to go in the Caribbean, as unspoiled and beautiful as possible. And it was. The roads were terrible, the mosquitoes were voracious, the jellyfish stung, and other creatures... well they all seemed to want a piece of you. This said, it was the most beautiful place I have ever visited, with the most friendly people I have ever met... people proud of their island and happy we found it and actually took some time to get to know it. Here are some of my photos.

La Haut We stayed the entire week at the La Haut Plantation near the west coast town of Soufriere. Much more reasonably priced than the resorts, it was the only place that seemed to have people that cared about actually exploring the island. Some people I ran into from the resorts couldn't believe I was courageous enough to... rent a car! To each their own I suppose. Anyway, reasonably priced, amazingly friendly staff, wonderful views, I heartily recommend it. A few photos from La Haut:

• The guest house, an old cacao-drying facility.
• Here I am in front of Room 4, our room. The flowers in the foreground amazingly bloomed every morning; by evening the hummingbirds had knocked them off, and by the next morning back were just as many new ones.
• One of the cows on the property.
• The view of the Pitons, St. Lucia's famous peaks, from our location was beautiful. Amazing to think we actually did want to explore when we could sit here for a week.
• The Gros Piton disappears behind a morning cloud passing between the two mountains.
• Matt, a fellow LaHaut guest, and I trying to learn how to play snooker.

Soufriere The town of Soufriere served as the capital of the island when it was in French hands. The island switched possession 14 times between England and France, ultimately ending up in England's hands for the last century until independence. So England's capital and the current capital, Castries, was built up, and Soufriere remained small. It's central to the most interesting parts of the island, though.

• Approaching from the north side, here is the town of Soufriere in the valley below the Pitons on a hazy afternoon.
• Welcome to Soufriere! The cows on the side of the road were a common sight, as were goats. Free grazing.
• The church in Soufriere, and streets typical of the town.
• The spectacular view of town from the south side overlook off the highway. The orange house on the hill is part of La Haut.

Around Soufriere Many of the island's highlights were right near the town.

• The Diamond River Cascade, in the local botanical gardents.
• "The Caribbean's Only Drive In Volcano", Sulphur Springs. You can't drive in to it anymore after someone trying to prove how sturdy the ground was fell in (and had a crater named after him). And it's not a volcano, it's just a vent left over from a collapsed volcano. But it's still interesting. And foul- smelling.
• This is where chocolate comes from, our tour guide at Fondoux Plantation showed us. The beans can't be eaten raw, but the brain- like goo they come in can, and tasted like lemon.
• The well kept rainforest trail at Enbas Saut, on a rare adventure inland, where the roads are absolutely terrible.
• A land crab along the trail, that didn't seem to appreciate my presence.
• Hiking towards the waterfall, led by Matt and Kristy.
• The Enbas Saut waterfall! We were allowed to swim there; you'd be amazed how cold the water was.
• So swinging on vines isn't in my future... I had to find out somehow!
• Four happy campers that made it back up the long uphill climb from the waterfall.

The Beach What more can I say, you can't go to the Caribbean without enjoying the sea.

• Jalousie Beach and the Caribbean Sea.
• Gros Piton and Jalousie Beach.
• Anse Chastanet, another beach nearby with an expensive resort.
• Snorkeling, you couldn't miss the sargeant major fish; they kept stalking me... really.
• The Pitons from the Sea, on a sailboat ride we took one afternoon.
• Randy on the sailboat drinking the national drink, rum punch.

Pigeon Island Pigeon Island, now just a long peninsula, is on the northern tip of the island. The British first fortified it in 1778, and since then it's gone through many incarnations. It was even used by the U.S. in World War 2 for communications.

• Looking through the trees towards the bay.
• A ruin on the rugged cliffside.
• A cannon pointed at Martinique.
• Atop Signal Hill, jutting 110 m up from the sea, providing one of the best lookouts on the island. .
• Randy beginning the descent from Signal Hill.
• Flowers growing in front of former barracks.
• Me in front of some more barracks ruins.

Miscellaneous Other places I visited on the island that didn't fit into the above sections.

• Marigot Bay in the late afternoon.
• The inside of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Castries.
• A roadside cemetery in Choiseul.
• Looking north from the southern end of the island at Vieux Fort and the Hewanorra International airport, whose runway spans the photo.
• A church in Vieux Fort.
• The Maria Islands, off the southern coast, home to some rare seabirds and lizards found nowhere else on the planet. It was closed during our visit due to nesting.