Castries St Lucia-December 27

We ate last evening at the Italian restaurant Canaletto. It is one of the specialty restaurants where the extra cost is $10 per person to dine there. The Front Office had given us a gift of the meal since we’ve had so much trouble with our AC- or so we decided that was the reason for the invitation to dine there. . It is designed to be a sharing plate restaurant and we found the food no better or worse than the dining room- it was good. We shared an appetizer of tomato and mozzarella, each had a salad, shared veal picatta and each had a dessert of gelato. It was the perfect amount of food for the two of us. We both feel bad about the food waste we see aboard this and any ship. It is not as bad as the Midnight Buffet days but still a shame given how many are hungry in other places in the world.

This morning we sailed into the harbor of Castries, Saint Lucia. Castries, population 20,000, is the

capital and largest city of Saint Lucia and our port for today, December 27, 2015. The quarter with the same name had a population of 70,000 on 22 May 2013 and stretches over an area of 30.5 square miles.

Castries is in a flood plain and is built on reclaimed land. It houses the seat of government and the head offices of many of foreign and local businesses. The city's design is in a grid pattern. Its sheltered harbor receives cargo vessels, ferry boats, and cruise ships. It houses duty-free shopping facilities such as Point Seraphine where we are docked and La Place Carinage across the harbor and visible from our suite.

Castries is the birthplace of Arthur Lewis, winner of the 1979 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.

Castries was founded by the French in 1650 as "Carénage" (meaning "safe anchorage") when St. Lucia was purchased by Jacques Dyel du Parquet, the governor of Martinique. It was renamed in 1756 after Charles Eugène Gabriel de La Croix, marquis de Castries, commander of a French expeditionary force to Corsica that year. The earlier settlement across the harbor at Vigie, started in 1651, was abandoned after a devastating hurricane in 1780.

From 1803 to 1844, the British made the town a major naval port and built fortifications on Morne Fortune, the mountain that overlooks this important harbor. By 1844, Castries had a population of 4,000. By the end of the century it had become a major coaling station, because it was the only port in the Caribbean capable of accommodating the Royal Navy.

During World War II, a German U-boat sailed into Castries harbor and sank two allied ships in 1942, including the Canadian ocean liner RMS Lady Nelson, which was subsequently refloated in the harbor and taken to Canada to be converted to a hospital ship. Castries has been rebuilt many times, following major fires in 1796 and 1813, and most notably on June 19, 1948.

Inside the cathedral

Castries has landmarks, such as the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Derek Walcott Square (renamed from Columbus Square to honor the island's Nobel Prize-winning poet, Derek Walcott), the City Library, the Government House, and Fort Charlotte, at the top of Morne Fortune (an 845-foot hill). Beaches are a major draw for tourists, and there are several in or very near Castries.

Derek Walcott Square

Shopping seems to be the main pastime for tourists. We saw the same diamond, watch and jewelry companies that are present all throughout the Caribbean. Since we need nothing like that and we seriously doubt there are bargains to be had anywhere. Jim did peek into the bamboo store, Carihola, but found nothing of interest.

Many shopping Opportunities

We were surprised to read in the daily newspaper that you couldn’t wear ashore anything camouflage clothing or anything that had camouflage on it. Makes me wonder the genesis of that law.

It is a lovely place, but don’t think I’d like to live here.