Welcome to the exotic island of Saint Lucia, also one of the Windward Islands, St Lucia is located southeastern of the Caribbean Sea, between Martinique and Saint Vincent, with a shape that is said to resemble either a mango or an avocado (depending on your taste). It has an area of 616 sq km, with a total population of 164,213. Most of the population is black, and about 90 percent is Roman Catholic. The island has a tropical climate, with an average annual temperature of 79° F. The capital and largest city is Castries (population estimated at 57,000); it is also the principal port and has a tremendous harbor.

In natural beauty, St. Lucia seems like an island plucked from the South Pacific and set down in the Caribbean. Its dramatic twin coastal peaks, the Pitons, soar 2,000 feet up from the sea, sheltering magnificent rain forests where wild orchids, giant ferns, and birds of paradise flourish. Brilliantly-plumed tropical birds abound, including endangered species like the indigenous St. Lucia parrot. The rainforest is broken only by verdant fields and orchards of banana, coconut, mango, and papaya trees. The island's people have earned a well-deserved reputation for their warmth and charm, and the island itself is dotted with aged fortresses, small villages, and open-air markets.

LANGUAGE:
English is the official language, but a French patois is widely spoken.

TOURISM:
St. Lucia won Recommend Magazine’s 7th Annual Reader’s Choice Award in 2003 and was honored for its marketing efforts in tourism. The island is still mainly a destination for travelers seeking pleasure and enrichment through the wonders of the undiscovered, the adventure of the unfamiliar, the freshness of the unspoiled and the stimulation of the exotic.

FOOD:
St. Lucia's rich cultural heritage is its cuisine. Local chefs combine the island's fresh produce with a wide variety of equally fresh seafood to create tantalizing curries, Creole-style entrees, and pepper pot stews. Callaloo soup, made from a leafy green similar to spinach, is the national dish.

FESTIVALS:
A round of dancing, street masquerading, competitive calypsoing, feasting and general partying, St Lucia's Carnival (called Jounen Kwéyòl in Patois) is one of the true showcases of the island's culture, with storytelling, folk dancing and traditional music such as chak-chak bands afforded as much prominence as the more contemporary Carnival melee of sequined bikinis and thumping Soca music. It's kid-friendly, too, with lots of children's costume parades and special events such as the Junior Carnival King and Queen contests.

There is a broad array of excitement and exotic fixtures in St Lucia. The island's steep coastlines and lovely reefs offer a mystical place for relaxation. The rainforest preserves of St. Lucia's mountainous interior are one of the Caribbean's finest locales for hiking and bird watching. Of course, the island also possesses excellent facilities for golf, tennis, sailing, and a host of other leisure pursuits. A great escape for lovers, on a romantic escapade. Also not to be missed if visiting this fascinating island is St. Lucia's Soufriere volcano, the world's only drive-in volcanic crater. This leaves to say that, St. Lucia is the sort of island that travelers to the Caribbean dream about--a small, lush tropical gem that is still relatively unknown, and ageless in beauty.

By Melissa Hunte