| Slideshow: Photos of
Things To Do on the Caribbean Island of St. Lucia, West
Indies |
 |
Julie
Register, Your Guide to Spas, visited LeSport, The Body Holiday, an
all-inclusive resort on St. Lucia in June 2002
A wide variety of
produce is grown in St. Lucia
The coconut was introduced from Polynesia in the 16th century. It
is known as the tree of life because of its many uses: the leaves for
mats, the water for drinking, the milk or cream for cooking and the
flesh for eating. The nut, when dried into copra, is then processed
into oil that is used for cooking, margarine, soap and lotion. The
first coconut factory in St. Lucia was opened in 1953 by Andre du
Boulay, the owner of Soufriere & Diamond estates.
The
original wild banana plant was a native of Southeast Asia and was
introduced to the Caribbean in 1516. The Banana Industry in St. Lucia
is second to Tourism as the largest earner of foreign exchange. The
main varieties grown for export are the Valery, Robusta and giant
Canandish. It takes 9-12 months for a banana plant to bear a single
bunch of fruit. After harvesting the fruit, the mature tree is cut
down leaving a young plant or "sucker" to grow in its place.
|
Cocoa is a native of Central and South America. The Spanish
explorers introduced the first cuttings to the Caribbean in 1625 and
large plantations began being planted. Although the cocoa tree has
been cultivated for 400 years, it wasn't until the mid-1800's that the
beans were used to product chocolate as a confectionary. The large
ribbed pods grow straight from the trunk of the tree. When mature, the
pods are bright yellow, red or orange. Each pod contains dozens of
large beans closely packed in a slimy white pulp. The beans are
fermented, then dried in the sun. Finally, they are "danced"
in a large iron or copper "taich" to acquire a polish. The
polished beans are exported for the creation of cocoa and
chocolate. |
Bois Bande' is a famous Caribbean aphrodesiac. Small
pieces are cut from the bark of a mature tree and boiled with other
herbs for a remedy for impotence. A liqueur called "Seventh
Heaven" containing this remedy is produced by La Belle Creole and
marketed throughout St. Lucia.
|
  
At nearby Sulphur Springs, I saw a cashew tree. The cashew nut
grows at the end of the red fruit. The curved green shell is removed
to reveal the familiar cashew nut. |
This aquaduct was built in 1765 to take water from the river to the
large water wheel at Soufriere Estate Factory. The wheel was used to
power machinery for cane crushing thenlater for extracting juice from
limes. The water wheel was used to work the generators that produced
electricity for the town of Souriere. Fora modest home, the monthly
charge for this service was $25 per month. This aquaduct is
approximately three miles long. |
| Produce
at the Diamond Botanical Gardens, Mineral Baths, and Waterfall
near Soufriere (French for Sulphur). |
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More
Spas in the Caribbean |
Related
Resources |
LeSport,
The Body Holiday
Address:
Cariblue Beach
P.O. Box 437
Castries, St. Lucia
West Indies
Phone:
(758) 450-8551
Reservations in the US/Can:
1-800-544-2883
Reservations in the UK:
44 (0) 870 220 2344
Fax:
(758)450-0368
Email
Web Site:
http://www.lesport.com.lc/ |
Spa Guide Reviews
LaSource, The Amazing
Holiday, Grenada
Ladera Resort, St. Lucia
Our Lucaya on Grand
Bahama Island, The Bahamas
Other Spas in the
Caribbean
Anguilla,
British West Indies
Aruba,
West Indies
Bahamas
Barbados
Bermuda
Bonaire,
Dutch Caribbean
British
Virgin Islands
Cayman
Islands, British West Indies
Cuba
Grenada,
West Indies
Jamaica
Marinique,
French West Indies
Puerto
Rico
St. Barts,
French West Indies
St. Kitts
& Nevis
St.
Lucia, West Indies
St.
Martin, French West Indies
Trinidad
& Tobago, West Indies
US
Virgin Islands |
St. Lucia Tourist Board
St. Lucia Online
St. Lucia Hotel &
Tourism Association
Air
Jamiaca
Other Caribbean
Resources on About
Caribbean
for Visitors
Caribbean
Cruises
Caribbean
Family Vacations
Caribbean
Fishing
Honeymoons
and Romantic Getaways |
Photos copyright 2002, Julie
Register
Licensed to About.com
unless marked * which are courtesy of LeSport
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