Just Cruises Plus

July 12 Contest Photo - Pitons of St. Lucia

We had 5 correct answers to our photo contest.  Congratulations to Bob Mandl of Coram, NY, winner of the $25 gift card.  His name was randomly selected from those who responded correctly.

The island in the photograph has two distinctions in addition to the famous Pitons featured in the photograph.

First, St Lucia has more Pulitzer prize winners per capita than any other sovereign nation in the world.  In 1978, Sir William Arthur Lewis won the prize for economics and in 1992, Derek Alton Walcott won a Pulitzer for poetry.

A second unique characteristic is that St Lucia has the only drive through volcano in the world.  Don’t worry, its dormant.  However, the smell of sulfur is still present.

The most known features are the Pitons shown in the photograph.  These two pointy mountains, known individually as “Gros” and “Petit”, are located near the southwest end of the island.  Mountain climbers are familiar with pitons which are metal spikes used in mountain climbing.

Other Views of St Lucia

St Lucia is one of many volcanic islands in the Caribbean.  While most are dormant, a famous eruption occurred on the nearby island of Martinique in 1902.  Nearly the entire town was killed in the massive eruption that is said to have had the power of 40 Hiroshima atomic bombs.  The lone survivor was a man who was in jail for drunkenness.  The walls of the jail were thick and gave him protection from the blast.  I would not want to have his hangover.

Volcanic islands are characterized by high mountains and lots of rain.  They are great for hikers and climbers and the scenery is very dramatic.  These islands have dark and/or pebble beaches and the snorkeling and diving are not the best.

Other volcanic islands in the Caribbean are Dominique, Nevis, Saba, St Kitts, Grenada, and Monsterrat.  Coral islands are the other type of islands found in the Caribbean.  The Caymans, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Antigua Anguilla, Barbados and St Martin are typical Coral islands.  They were formed over thousands of years by the death of coral which piled up to form islands.  Beaches are the more familiar colors and snorkeling and diving are outstanding on these islands.

Trivia Challenge

There is one nation in the Caribbean where one large part of the island is volcanic and the other part is coral.  Can you name the nation?   All responses must be emailed to us by Thursday, July 24.  All correct responses will be placed in a random drawing for a $25 gift card.