03 May 2024

 

Caribbean

We offer a wide choice of cheap flights to Caribbean together with Caribbean hotels, tours and self-drive itineraries.

Sun, rum and my Mum

From rum punches to a sky ride over the rainforest, Jenny Coad – and her mother – warm to the Caribbean.

Caribbean - Chilling at Cap Maison with a view of the Pitons Caribbean - Reflecting at the Raffles Resort Caribbean - A warm welcome in the Caribbean

1 Chilling at Cap Maison with a view of the Pitons 2 Reflecting at the Raffles Resort 3 A warm welcome in the Caribbean

MY MOTHER TRAVELLED to St Lucia in 1976, arriving in a Liat Airline plane alongside locals, plantain, chickens and that endemic warm spirit of the Caribbean. She was on honeymoon with my father.

Mum and I arrive together 32 years later. Since my parents’ visit, the romantic island has undergone something of a transformation. The once boggy Rodney Bay now houses a smart harbour, restaurants and hotels – and the word is that St Lucia will soon be on a par with Barbados. That shouldn’t put people off.

I have never seen such a variety of uninterrupted views crammed into so modest a space (St Lucia is 27 miles by 14 miles) and our hotel is no exception. Based in the Northern Cap, the newly opened Cap Maison looks out to Pigeon Island in one direction, Martinique in the other.

We bounce through the wonderful scenery

You can watch the sunset from the hotel’s colonial-style restaurant, The Cliff, where you hear the water whooshing below. The spiky homemade rum punch makes the perfect accompaniment.

And after a few of those you’ll want to brave the deck, reached by a steep staircase, side-stepping the waves.

One evening, we join a party there for champagne, which arrives in a basket by zip wire. The restaurant lights are turned off and we raise our glasses in the moonlight. Bliss.

Cap Maison’s staff are delightful. It is the kind of place you could bring the whole family – rooms are huge and many have plunge pools.

But the tiny Smugglers Cove beach next to the hotel feels like a honeymoon spot, more suited to romance than sandcastles. The restaurant serves delicate and delicious food, from the warm banana bread for breakfast to the tasty banana dessert.

Bananas are a running theme here. They are the island’s biggest export, and on a day trip to the south we drive past rows of plantations. James, our entertaining guide, recommends banana ketchup (my flatmate has yet to try his holiday gift) on what is an informative tour.


First stop is the peak of the island, about 1,000-metres above sea level. This is the Rainforest Sky Ride in Dennery, which takes us through the forest, brushing past enormous leaves and giant ferns and above the treetops.

The guides know their stuff and point out humming birds as they flit in and out of the branches.

Other than the scraping of leaves, it is quiet, save for the occasional ‘whoop’ as someone careers down the mountain on a wire.

Back at base, James introduces us to real Caribbean food and Sunday lunch by the roadside. We drink coconut water from the fruit, and are advised that two of these will cure the deepest of hangovers. Which is good to know after those rum punches.

We bounce our way through the wonderful scenery, and the pretty fishing village of Anse La Ray. Here, barbecues are fired up on the street, men lounge over a game of dominoes in the fishing market and washing is laid out to dry by the river.

A few more sharp bends (on our two-hour journey from north to south) and we’re in sight of the iconic Pitons, those twin peaks that veered into view through the plane window as we landed. Close up, they are even more impressive.

Mr Bond can come back any time

We swim in the Toraille Waterfalls in Soufriere. It’s chilly, but this is a prelude to a warmer dip. The sulphur pools promise to cure aches, pains and… mosquito bites. The volcano crater is a mass of grey ash and bubbling holes of boiling water. On her first visit my mother had her photo taken here but it has since been cordoned off after a guide fell into the scalding liquid. He went back to fishing after that.


After four days exploring we fly to Canouan Island.

Canouan is a 25-minute charter from St Lucia. It hides within the Grenadine Islands belonging to St Vincent and is tiny – 3.5 miles by 1.25 miles. It has only 1,500 inhabitants, lots of turtles… and two thirds of it is taken up by Raffles resort hotel.

It attracts those seeking solace, from Leonardo DiCaprio to Daniel Craig.

Sadly, neither was there during my stay but Daniel evidently charmed the staff. One tells me: ‘Mr Bond can come back any time.’ And he might, because it is pure escapism.

The snorkelling is a wonderful experience

The rooms are an exercise in calm, cool design, with white linen and airy mosquito nets.

There are two beaches at Raffles and plenty to keep you occupied.

Hiking up Mount Royal, 877ft above sea level, is worth the sweat. When I sign the guestbook at the summit, I join such luminaries as Cliff Richard. From here you can also see the Tobago Cays, where Pirates Of The Caribbean was filmed.

That afternoon we team up with a lively pair, under Captain Phil’s instruction, for a sail to the Cays.

There’s no sign of pirates, but there are plenty of yachts parked up. Snorkelling around the reef is a wonderful experience, with turtles making their way through the water and black stingrays sliding past.

No wonder people return year after year. We meet a couple who visited once and promptly bought a plot.

The tan has now faded and mum and I are back in front of our respective computers.

Maybe next year, we can convince Dad to take us back.

This article was featured in the October 2009 DialAFlight magazine. All information was correct at time of going to print.

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