Perched on the northern tip of the lush and vibrant Caribbean island of St Lucia is a quaint islet known as Pigeon Island.
The island is of extreme historical importance and is a protected national park.
As well as being of historical importance, the island was also home to two mountains and two beaches.
What is Pigeon Island?
Pigeon Island, as the name suggests, used to be an island, separated from mainland St Lucia by the Caribbean sea. However in 1972 a causeway was built from sand and it was now linked to St Lucia.
Pigeon Island History
The island had historical significance and was in fact home to some of St Lucia’s most important historical monuments. It contained ruins of military buildings which were used during the battles between the French and the British for the island of St Lucia. Pigeon Island was made a National Park in 1979 and a National Landmark in 1992.
My Experience on Pigeon Island
Our taxi’s tyres churned through a thin layer of sand as we approached the islet’s carpark.
I gazed at the sky in dismay as a layer of thick, grey clouds completely coated the once blue canvas, blocking out all rays of sunlight. Now that the sun was hiding its face we would be forced to ‘shade-bathe’ instead.
Waving goodbye to the taxi driver, we made our way towards the beach, passing a couple of stalls where locals showed off bracelets and fruit.
The beach we arrived on was a small stretch of sand with rock walls jutting out to sea at both ends. The swathe of golden sand was backed by a cluster of trees and the waves lapped gently against the shores.
From the beach I could see right across Rodney Bay to the jutting hillocks at the southern end of it, dressed in forests. The beach of Rodney Bay stretched to the left, a narrow strip of golden hugging the coastline. Behind the beach stood numerous buildings with orange and red roofs: resorts and restaurants alike, which were so distant they looked like dots on the horizon.
As our taxi driver had promised, the beach was reasonably quiet, with just a couple of other families either frolicking in the shallows or relaxing on sun-loungers.
We managed to bag a sun-lounger each and lay stretched out, praying for the now-shy sun to re-emerge.
The clouds shifted and a shaft of sunlight illuminated the beach, giving it a beauty that I had failed to notice earlier.
In that same moment, I noticed a colourful little boat slowly approaching the beach. It was painted black, green, red and yellow with a small red motor on the back. Its white, plastic canopy was coated with a layer of yellowing palm leaves and it flew numerous flags from an array of countries including Spain and the United States.
The boat’s occupant was cheery, a Piton beer in hand and numerous bunches of bananas in the boat with him. He must have come to see if anyone wanted to buy some bananas.
Whilst I didn’t buy any bananas, I did purchase a palm leaf that had been woven into the shape of a fish. It had been a random and unplanned purchase from a keen beach-seller.
After some time waiting patiently for the sun to arrive (it left as swiftly as it came), we strolled up the beach towards the islet’s only restaurant called Jambe de Bois. Perched upon a rocky stretch of coastline, this quaint little restaurant had gorgeous views of the bay.
We settled down at a wooden table with views of the tranquil ocean and began to order from the restaurant’s small but traditional menu. The food was delicious. I also couldn’t resist sampling the island’s local beer – Piton beer, named after the island’s famous Piton mountains.
I sat back in my chair, gazing at the beautiful, purple flowers which hung from a nearby tree and took a sip of the cool, refreshing lager.
The afternoon consisted of more sunbathing – shade-bathing. I felt the breeze on my skin, carrying with it the salty tang of the ocean. At least it wasn’t cold.
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