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A Return Trip to St. Lucia? A Travelog Submitted by Lisa Lanham |
 St. Lucia has been on the top of my list of dive destinations for a long time. I’d heard that the reefs were lush and the landscape magnificent but it didn’t prepare me for the view outside the plane as we banked and the pitons came into sight. The trip from the airport to our resort proved to be equally exciting. Winding through the steep mountain terrain you get a real sense of the untouched beauty of the island. Anse Chanstanet is nestled on the side of a mountain on the west coast of St. Lucia just north of Soufriere and is perhaps one of the most beautiful resorts I’ve been to. Their aim is to spoil you and that’s exactly what they do. From the fabulous meals to the luxurious day spa the customer service was impeccable.
Diving in St. Lucia is second to none in the Carribean. Each day consisted of two tank boat dives each morning and two different night dives. The nice thing about diving from Anse Chastanet is that it is located right next to the Pitons and therefore all of the best dive sites. While most resorts have at least a half hour boat ride to the dive sites, our longest boat ride was 10 minutes. The reefs in St. Lucia are rich and healthy, teeming with marine life. Dive sites like Fairyland and the Anse Couchon wall are the most colorful reefs I’ve ever seen. They have coral in every color of the rainbow. I recommend diving with a light so you can appreciate just how beautiful they really are. Superman’s Flight is a dive that you don’t want to miss. If drift diving gets your blood pumping then this is the dive for you. Jump in and hold on to your mask. All you have to do is steer. Luckily all of the diving is drift diving so there is no need to fight the current. One of my favorite dive sites was Turtle Reef which is aptly named. All told I think we spotted almost a dozen relatively large hawkbill turtles during the week we were there. Some were even nice enough to pose for pictures! The one wreck dive we did was the wreck of the Lesleen M, a freighter that was sunk specifically for divers. She sits upright in about 70 feet of water and can be penetrated from midship back to the stern. The Lesleen M is home to several spotted moray eels and is very lush with sponges and coral.
 The week went by too fast and ended too soon. Before we knew it we were winding our way through the little villages back to the airport, counting the days until we could come back to St. Lucia and Anse Chastanet.
Congratulations to Alan Sokal for completing his Open Water Certification Dives, Laura Duffy for completing Advanced Open Water, Sharon Sokal for completing her Nitrox Certification, and to Kiesha Johnson for completing the climb to the top of Gros Piton Mountain! Stop by the dive shop to see the photos. It’s unanimous—everyone wants a repeat trip to Anse Chastanet—so mark your calendars—NDC is looking to head back in January 2009!
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