The Castries Craft Market, St. Lucia

Happy Friday all!  We decided to venture out, explore the island and do a little shopping at the The Castries Craft Market in St. Lucia.  You can rent a car here on the island, but, people drive pretty crazy and you really need to know the alternate routes when the road suddenly ends. It’s pretty easy to take a cab anywhere you need to go and most cost around $15-$25US to get to any town.

We walked around downtown for a bit before heading into the market.

Castries is where all the cruise ships dock.  I LOVE foreign cruise ships ~ they have such a sense of humor like this one with “eyes” and “lips”

You can also check out their line up of “food trucks”.

The National Tree has huge “fruit” on it.

I am not sure if these are edible or not but when we first saw them, we thought, WOW. those are the hugest grapefruit we have ever seen lol.

There are so many types of birds on the island, it’s hard not to stop and take pictures of all of them.

This is the City Center where all the government buildings are located.

The Market is composed of a group of buildings. Most vendors are selling the same types of things and will accept either Eastern Caribbean (EC) or US Dollars.  I found that things were actually “cheaper” if you asked what the EC value is.  Currently it is trading at $2.65 EC to $1.00US.

There are some touristy items, but, I really LOVED seeing the local and hand made items.

Jewelry and clothes are probably the two most popular items you will see at the market.

We totally bought a fish to add to our Caribbean Living Room

These are coconuts ~ so cool.

I have to admit, I got pretty excited when we hit my favorite section ~ “cooking essentials”.

I never knew Nutmeg looked so cool in it’s shell.

Two things that are unique to St. Lucia ~ Banana Ketchup and Banana BBQ Sauce.  I bought both along with a Mango Pepper Hot Sauce and their “Just Hot” Sauce (it’s yellow with peppers in it)..

In the back of the market they have a farmer’s market and a food court too.  Most prices are more or less negotiable but, the ladies told us the government regulates them so they can only go as low as they can go LOL.

We were starving by the time we return so off to Embers grill on the beach we went.  I had their grilled fish tacos with a salad.  Absolutely amazing ~ probably my favorite dish I have had on the island. 

Crunchy, not fishy, with a mild salsa that is cooled off by the garlic cream sauce on top.

After lunch, we decided to head out for the FREE Snorkel Trip they offer at the Windjammer.  These are the direction they gave us to get to the dock.

Go past the Big Game of Chess…..

Down the board walk……

Cross over the beach ~ don’t mind the crabs you will see along the way on the rocks or in the sand…..

Look for the colorful sail boats and you can sign up at the Water Sports Shack.

Easy, right?! They totally give directions like The Husband.  I am more of a left/right person, he always tells me objects to look for and I forget which way I am supposed to turn LOL.

The snorkeling trip goes out in that little boat behind us and was sort of a flop.  The water was super cloudy from all the rain the island has been getting so you couldn’t see anything.

No worries though because we spent the afternoon basking in the sun on the beach in these chairs…..

Before heading up to our room to watch the sunset and get ready for dinner.  The sunrises and sunsets here are honestly breathtaking……I could watch them for hours.

Dinner was at the Dragon Fly where they were hosting a Caribbean Buffet.

The thing I’ve learned about Caribbean food is that I think I’d be vegetarian if I lived here…there is so much fish, seafood and lamb

My plate was made up mainly of all the vegetable sides and fruit!

Plus the most delicious Pumpkin Soup I’ve ever had in my life. It was smoky like split pea soup by tasted like sweet potatoes with a hint of pumpkin.

In all fairness, I did try and like the Mahi Mahi (its in the top left corner)….my FAVORITE dish of the night, aside from that soup was the Christophene Au Gratin ~ it’s made with the Christophene Vegetable which is similar to a squash.

Today we are heading out for a day trip all around St. Lucia to check out the Botanical Garden, Water Falls, Volcano and Marigot Bay ~ I cannot wait!

See you all later!