Tag Archives: Saint Lucia

16 February 2016
Castries, Saint Lucia

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Saint Lucia is a handsome island with a fairly typical Caribbean cultural schizophrenia: in its first 150 years of recorded history it ping-ponged back and forth between England and France 14 times.

Overlaid to that is a still-strong African influence, derived from the homelands of the slaves brought to work the island. You’ll find the influence in the patois, the cuisine, and music.

Lucians still use music as a way to convey political opinion. Among popular styles is soca.

Folk instruments include the bélè (or ka) drum; a long, hollow tube called the baha; a rattle called the chakchak; the zo (bones); and the gwaj (scraper). Various types of banjos and a four-stringed instrument called the cuatro are also native to the island.

And then there is another influence: gospel music, and particular a collection of songs called sankeys.

The name comes American singer and songwriter Ira Sankey, born in Pennsylvania in 1840.

Known back home as “The Sweet Singer of Methodism,” Sankey wrote many hymns and songs himself, including “The Ninety and Nine.” He also composed and arranged music for many more; more than 1,200 were collected in a booked called “Sacred Songs and Solos” which is still used today.

Sankey did make several visits to the United Kingdom, but apparently not to Saint Lucia. But his book made its way to Saint Lucia with Methodist missionaries and took hold here quite tenaciously.

LUCIA (c) Sandler-1 Castries St Lucia 24Jan2015-1100073 Castries St Lucia 24Jan2015-1100071 Castries St Lucia 24Feb2015-0440 LUCIA (c) Sandler-2

We also visited Saint Lucia earlier this month, on February 9, and in that blog post I wrote about the Pitons.

And then there is Calypso, which originated on Trinidad amongst African slaves as a way to communicate with each other without overseers understanding the words. It still is popular on Saint Lucia, sometimes called by an even older name, Kaiso, from a Congolese word meaning “go on.”

And there is the St. Lucian kwadril, a popular traditional dance. Based on the French quadrille, it is a complicated dance with five distinct parts.

It is also worth noting that the talented but bedeviled singer Amy Winehouse seemed to find a connection to Saint Lucia.

At the time of her death she reportedly was working on an album that would have used Lucian themes and instruments.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Hudson Book Cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

9 February 2016
Castries, Saint Lucia: Ping-pong

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Like much of the Caribbean, it is easy to look at Saint Lucia and see only a pretty, green island fringed by sandy beaches and lorded over by some unusual geological formations.

But it is also a place with a bit of history, an independent nation now part of the British Commonwealth that in its first 150 years of recorded history ping-ponged back and forth between England and France 14 times.

It has an English heritage now, but holds on to French influence in many place names: Soufrière, Castries, Piton, Gros Islet, and Vieux Fort. There’s also a French-based patois spoken by many islanders.

It went back and forth between admirers so many times that some early historians puckishly called it the “Helen of the West Indies.”

Helen of Troy on an English island with a French background and a name based on a Sicilian saint.

LUCIA (c) Sandler-5 LUCIA (c) Sandler-3 LUCIA (c) Sandler-2

Saint Lucia today is probably best known for its distinctive geological landmarks: the Pitons.

There are only two Pitons on Saint Lucia, and they are almost impossible to miss. They can be seen from almost everywhere on the island.

They’re on the flag, one of the more handsome standards I’ve seen. And they’re on the local beer, which naturally moves the Pitons onto billboards and t-shirts, and carnival floats.

The Pitons are volcanic plugs, remnants of huge collapsed stratovolcanoes, created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano.

These particular vents are believed to be dormant and over time the surrounding hill has eroded away, leaving only the plug.

Gros Piton is 771 meters (2,530 feet) above sea level, and about 3 kilometers or 2 miles in diameter at its base. Petit Piton is 743 meters, (2,438 feet) tall, and just one kilometer or two-thirds of a mile in diameter.

Below the pitons is the Soufrière caldera. Nearby you’ll find the Sulphur Springs at Qualibou, an active geothermal field with sulphurous fumaroles (steam vents), hot mud pools, and hot springs.

And below the island is a tectonic plate, a subduction zone, which extends about 700 kilometers or 450 miles through the Lesser Antilles. This is the source of the volcanic origin of most of the Caribbean.

We will be returning to Saint Lucia on February 16, and I welcome you to consult that day’s blog entry for more details.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Hudson Book Cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

 

24 February 2015
 Castries, St. Lucia: The Helen of the West Indies

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant SIlversea Cruises

St. Lucia ping-ponged back and forth 14 times between English and French possession, so much so that some historians called it the Helen of the West Indies.

Helen, as in Helen of Troy, who had so much trouble making up her mind between Menelaus and Paris and Brad Pitt and many others.

Castries St Lucia 24Feb2015-0440

In my lecture to guests about St. Lucia, I said that this is one of the best places in the Caribbean to see a rainbow; I was happy to deliver on my promise as we arrived in Castries harbor.

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Preparation of casava bread in the hills of St. Lucia

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A chocolate bar in the making; Cacao pods waiting ripening. St. Lucia also is a source of vanilla orchids which yield pods for that other essential flavoring of life.

Today. St. Lucia is independent, and set on a path of ecotourism.

We were last here exactly a month ago, and I went on a rainforest tram ride up the mountain and then descended nine zip lines. It’s sorta kinda like flying like a bird; I went back and did it again today.

Castries St Lucia 24Jan2015-1100071

Castries St Lucia 24Jan2015-1100073

You can read more about St. Lucia in my blog posting from January here: http://blog.sandlerbooks.com/?p=2728

All photos copyright 2015 by Corey Sandler, all rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Henry Hudson Dreams cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

 

24 January 2015
 Castries, Saint Lucia: Helen of the West Indies

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Like so much of the Caribbean, it is easy to look at Saint Lucia and see only a pretty, green island fringed by sandy beaches and lorded over by some unusual geological formations.

It is all of that. But it is also a place with a bit of history, an independent nation now part of the British Commonwealth that in its first 150 years of recorded history ping-ponged back and forth between England and France 14 times.

LUCIA (c) Sandler-2

LUCIA (c) Sandler-3

The island bears the name of a Sicilian saint. It has an English heritage now, but holds on to French influence.

It has gone back and forth between admirers so many times that some early historians puckishly called it the “Helen of the West Indies.”

There are only two Pitons on Saint Lucia, but they are almost impossible to miss. They can be seen from almost everywhere on the island. They’re on the flag, one of the more handsome standards I’ve seen.

LUCIA (c) Sandler-1

LUCIA (c) Sandler-4

And they’re on the local beer, which naturally moves the Pitons onto billboards and t-shirts, and carnival floats.

The Pitons are volcanic plugs, part of the Soufriere volcanic complex, remnants of huge collapsed stratovolcanoes. A plug is created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano.

This particular vent is believed to be dormant and over time the surrounding hill has been eroded away, leaving only the plug.

And luring the tourists.

Some with beer.

LUCIA (c) Sandler-5

Today,  I went with a group of guests to the rainforest.

There we rode up the mountain on an aerial tram and then–wearing a triple-secure harness–we flew from one platform to another,  90 feet above the ground on a zip line.

It was a peak of a different kind.

Castries St Lucia 24Jan2015-1100071

Castries St Lucia 24Jan2015-1100073

Castries St Lucia 24Jan2015-1100070

All photos copyright Corey Sandler, all rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution copy of an image, please contact me.

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Henry Hudson Dreams cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)