good talk

St. Lucia is an upscale island of 170 thou of whom 85% are Catholic.  It was settled by the Arawaks who were conquered by the warlike Caribs who fended off the Europeans until the French settled Soufriere in 1746.  Changing hands 14 times due to lucrative sugar between the French and English it was called the Helen of the West.  Finally gained by the English by the Treaty of Paris in 1814 St. Lucia gained Independence in 1979.  The Capitol Castries is real nice I stayed at the hotel at the end of the airport's runway.  Derek Walcott Square is named for him who won the Noble Prize in Literature in 1992 I was in their Cathedral.  I enjoyed the Market and bought nice bags which were made from what had once held sugar. I was in their Parliament House and went 3 miles outside Castries to Morne Fortune which has another Fort Charlotte, the Queen of George 111.  I was in Dennerey on the East Coast.  I swam at very nice Sandy Beach in the South at Vieux Fort and also at the good beaches on Pigeon Island which was the stronghold for Jambe de Bois (Pegleg) a Pirate who settled in the 1550's raiding passing Spanish Treasure Ships.  The St. Lucia Jazz Festival wh ich draws Big Names is held on Pigeon Island.  I always traveled by minibus as it was cheap and the way the Locals traveled.  I went to Soufriere whose Square was once the site of many beheadings.  The Main Attraction of St. Lucia are the Pitons at Soufriere which are 2 Volcanic Rocks shaped like Spears rising a half mile, I rented a boat and operator and saw them the way Oprah did a year before when she proclaimed them one of the 5 things to see before one dies, I don't see the Big Excitement their good but.... Oprah is all right but I've seen a lot more of the World than this Dame.