Through the banana fields we go
Saint Lucia all the way
Soca carols play (on the radio)
Making spirits bright
What fun it is to drive and eat
Before the blizzard strikes!
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| Full lunch: Curry beef, rice, mac and cheese, "greens", black eyed peas, potato salad. |
St. Lucia is a diverse mix of cultures: As a formerly French colony, turned British, populated by African slaves, its cuisine is a mixture of Creole and East Indian, with some British influence (East Indian indentured servants were brought to work in the Caribbean during the 19th century, after the abolition of slavery throughout the British empire). There was much fish; there was much curry. There was a significant amount of dasheen pie, yet never enough.
Dasheen is a form of taro, of which both the leaves and root are used. The starchy root is used to make dasheen pie, something akin to a potato croquette. But better.
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| Dasheen. Before pie. | | |
On Saturday mornings, the Castries food market in the capital comes alive with produce and spice vendors. It was rainy, but that didn't harm the okra (unfortunately).
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| Ginger, cabbage and cukes, Oh My. |
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| Soggy market. |
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| Okra! Ugh. |
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| Escaping the rain. |
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| My suitcase smells like curry. |
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| Cocoa tea: boiled with milk, drunk with glee. |
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| Hooked. |
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| Keeping an eye on their eggs. |
Several communities on the island throw evening fish fries on the weekends, with music as well as, um, fish. The fry at Anse La Raye, a fishing village on the west coast, is mostly attended by locals. And this guy, my friend, Mr. Boxfish. RIP, my friend.
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| Blackfish, fishcake, shrimp, mussels, fried cassava bread, and turtle. Yes, turtle. |
Fishcakes, curry chicken, and roti: a trio that repeated itself throughout the trip, without complaint.
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| Lamb roti and a Piton, the local beer. |
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| (The actual Pitons). |
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| Curry chicken plate, with the ubiquitous tuna-potato salad. |
One small lunch deviation for callalloo soup and soda bread (there's your British influence):
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| Mmm, healthy. |
St. Lucians make a drink called spice rum, which is white rum soaked in herbs and spices and mixed (sometimes) with grenadine to make a tonic good for curing... well, it seems just about everything.
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| A little medicinal, but I did have a cold. |
We bought a jug of spices to make our own at home. Infusing time: A minimum of 6 months. Included: Cinnamon, bay leaves, star anise, peppercorns, allspice, cloves, and the bark of a tree that I embarrassingly forgot the name of. Jug: An old Carlo Rossi bottle. An excellent example of reuse, I think.
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| Pre-rum. Check back in 6 months for post-rum. |
Banana plantations were vital to the economy of St. Lucia during the 20th century, taking hold after sugarcane was gradually phased out in the 1950s. But in the 90s, the EU stopped preferentially buying bananas from the Windward Islands, and St. Lucia's economy took a hit from which it has not recovered.
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| Driving through the banana fields. |
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| Their bananas are much, much tastier than ours. |
We visited a local organic farm that sells its produce to nearby hotels and restaurants. Cassava, dasheen, carrots, okra, pineapple, squash, corn, and herbs are all planted together.
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| Sorrel, used to make a traditional Christmas drink. |
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| Okra: now I know what to avoid. |
Of course, there was the requisite foreign soft drink to try. I do it so you don't have too.
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| Unless you're a hummingbird, avoid this. |
On a more serious note -- the island was badly hit by Hurricane Tomas this past November. Many people we met were still without running water, houses and roads have been destroyed by landslides, and several people lost their lives. This holiday, consider donating to those in need, wherever they may be.
