We took a tour around the island and our first beach stop was at Anse La Raye.

Anse La Raye is a sleepy fishing village, with naturally beautiful waterfalls, beaches and tropical forest. It is the largest town in Anse la Raye Quarter, Saint Lucia, located on the island's western side, near Marigot Bay, and has several examples of French and English colonial architecture. The name Anse la Raye is derived from the rays that are found in the bay.

We continued south, towards the town of Soufriere towards the majestic Pitons, the island’s iconic mountains.

Said to be the most photographed site in the Caribbean and most famous mountain pair on earth, the Pitons are a must-see for anyone who visits the island. Located just south of the town of Soufriere on the west coast, Gros Piton (771 m / 2,619 ft) and Petit Piton (743 m / 2,461 ft) rise regally from the blue Caribbean below. The Pitons were created less than a million years ago by volcanic activity, which still can be witnessed at the Sulphur Springs volcano located nearby, which we then visited.

The dormant La Soufrière volcano (also known as La Grande Soufrière or Qualibou), is described as “the world’s only drive-in volcano.” It’s home to Sulphur Springs Park, the most active geothermal area in the Lesser Antilles. A walk through the rocky La Soufrière crater reveals bubbling hot springs and plumes of steam that shoot toward the sky.

After a good look round the springs we returned to Soufriere itself to return to the port by sea, which gave us a different view of the Pitons.

The sail back to Castries, takes us past many spectacular cliffs and luxury beaches. The one above is just north of Soufriere, while the rock below is passed before turning back into Castries harbour to return to our ship.

We left St Lucia and looked forward to our visit to Martinique the following day, details of which will hopefully be posted within the next couple of days.