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 St
Lucia (pronounced ‘Loosha’) is the second largest
of the Windwards, lying between St Vincent and Martinique
with an area of 238 square miles. The island has become a
popular tourist destination, with sporting facilities,
splendid beaches, a clear, warm sea and sunshine. (The
island was the scene of the films Dr Doolittle, Water, and
Superman II.) The scenery is of outstanding beauty, and in
the neighborhood of the Pitons it has an element of
grandeur. The highest peak is Morne Gimie (3,118 feet),
but the most spectacular are the Gros Piton (2,619 feet)
and the Petit Piton (2,461 feet) which are old volcanic
forest-clad plugs rising sheer out of the sea near the
town of Soufrière on the west coast. A few miles away is
one of the world’s most accessible volcanoes. Here you
can see soufrières: vents in the volcano which exude
hydrogen sulfide, steam and other gases and deposit sulfur
and other compounds in pools of boiling water. The
mountains are intersected by numerous short rivers which
in places debouch into broad, fertile and well-cultivated
valleys. Expect to be hot, if staying here, they are
well-sheltered from the breeze. |
