One of the most beautiful islands you could ever visit lies halfway between Martinique and St. Vincent - the island of St. Lucia. A beautiful mountainous country with hiking trails and magnifcent vistas of the ocean. The main city is Castries which is in the lower lying area of the island and is the deep water port where the larger resorts such as Sandals Resorts (there are two in Castries) are located. This is the area to go if you are going for the beach and nightlife, but not for diving. Down towards the south are the two most famous structures on St. Lucia near the town of Soufriere. These are the two volcanic cores which rise into the sky on the western shore - the Pitons. Guarding the entrance to a small cove, the Gros Piton and Petit Piton are truly impressive and the most scenic features on the island.

Gros Piton and behind it Petit Piton from the mountainside drive overlooking Soufriere.

While there are many good resorts on St. Lucia, I have to say that Ladera is my personal favorite. The others are on the shoreline and more convenient to the ocean and diving, but Ladera sits 1000 feet up the mountain and looks down on all the others. The view is spectacular and well worth the slight inconvenience. The rooms are open to the ocean view with no outside wall and each has it’s own plunge pool to relax in.

Private plunge pool

Main resort pool

Open air rooms

As might be guessed from the topside topography, the ‘landscape’ underwater is just as verticle. It is very reminiscent of Bonaire where the reefs fall off steeply as well. And the fish fauna here is also quite similar to that area as well with invertibrates everywhere in all their varied forms from crinoids, sponges, and soft corals to all other types of usual suspects like arrow crabs, banded coral shrimp, cowfish, peacocks, eels and schools of fish.