We woke up to pink clouds and birds chirping underneath the mosquito netting in room PR3 at Ladera. Since the fourth wall is missing, there was definitely an added exotic benefit– St. Lucia’s Pitons can be a bit windy and Ladera is located near Sulphur Springs, which claims to be the “Caribbean’s only drive in volcano.” The occasional waft of sulphur in the air reminded us to get to sulphur springs.
We asked our butler to bring our breakfast via room service so we could get some work done before we took off to explore the island, and the pot of coffee and eggs cooked to order arrived within 30 minutes.
Since my husband’s schedule only allowed him to spend one and a half days with me at Ladera, we prioritized what activities we wanted to do together– and there was no way were were going to miss out on the drive-in volcano– so our first stop was Sulphur Springs.
It’s an interesting layout, with walks among the bubbling water sources that reminded me of the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. There are also a few little water ways where the mineral rich water trickles out and down to mud baths. We skipped the mud bath option. I’ve found that mud baths and cameras are not a great combo for me.
Our next stop was Diamond Waterfalls and Botanical gardens near Soufriere. The nature hike to the waterfalls was lush and beautiful and mangos grow like weeds. A few fell on the car and made quite a thump. There were plenty of other trees growing cashews and There are mineral baths there with more modern tubs as well as vintage (and really cool) ruins from the former aqueducts used prior to the building of the more modern mineral baths.
Diamond Waterfalls was rather pretty and it was nice to get there early enough to not have the place swamped by tourists. Adrian, our driver/guide, showed us where we could feel the natural temperature of the mineral springs and they were indeed warm. But the sun was getting high enough that nature’s hot tub didn’t sound all that refreshing.
We drove back to Ladera for lunch, stopping along the way at a vista point overlooking Soufriere. There a woman named Big Momma convinced us to buy her homemade spiced rum which she claims is the “local Viagra.” Big Momma was entertaining enough to convince us to buy a bottle. When. we returned to the hotel, we sipped a bit and thought it tasted more like cough medicine.
We ordered room service so we could watch the mid-season finale of Mad Men before we encountered too many spoilers on the internet. My husband enjoyed the jerk fish wrap and I sipped on coconut water served in a fresh green coconut. It was fun.
After saying goodbye to my husband, I decided to head to Dasheene for a proper bite to eat. I got the daily special, King Fish, served grilled in a typical Caribbean style. It was excellent and fun to fend off the birds who wanted to share my lunch with me with the water guns on the dining tables.
After enjoying my in-room pool for a bit, I headed back to the bar at Dasheene Restaurant to watch the sunset. Ladera has a prime location for sunset viewing and the best tables in the bar are held for in-house guests. I chatted a bit with the other locals while enjoying the spectacular sunset and cloud action. The restaurant was hopping– with a live band playing everything from reggae to 70s soft rock classics which made it a very pleasant place to spend the night.
Then I returned to my room to check out the stars with the in-room binoculars. I’m not sure I figured out what all the constellations were, despite having a night sky chart, but that is probably because I felt the need to have another rum punch before heading back to my room for the night.
