Saint Lucia Lovin
For the new year, I went on holiday to Saint Lucia with my family. I have never been to the Caribbean before so I was excited to see how different it was from English lifestyle as well as loosing the winter white and getting a nice tan.
Saint Lucia is rich with foliage, the island is covered with palm trees and is famous for their production of delicious banana, coconuts and caribbean rum.
All around the island, the locals are so friendly. The culture of Saint Lucia has been influenced by African, East Indian, French and English heritage, so meeting a group of English tourists was delightful pleasure opposed to the mass groups of Americans and Canadians the island entertains. We took a road trip around Saint Lucia to discover the history of its past and how the vegetation of the island keeps the communities thriving.
On the road trip, I saw much of the amazing scenery the island holds that you couldn't possibly find in any other European country. As we trekked up the mountains we got beautiful views of the coast and the Caribbean forests.
Here are some images of the island I took on my Iphone, no filters or instagram. 
We went to a market in the town centre, tables laid out with trinkets and nicknacks. I found a few tables that were selling hand made wooden jewellery and I thought they were rather pretty, all the colours and textures alongside each other. The design of the jewellery representing traditional Caribbean fashion, beaded cuffs, pendant necklaces, large colourful earrings. Our tour guide Wendy explained to us that when single, women dress in bright exotic colours to attract a mate, much like the 'peacock' effect only gender reversal. Once married, the women then dress down with dull shades so they do not stand out and lure any unwanted attention.
It was a beautiful holiday and I had so much fun, we all adsorbed the culture and took advantage of the fresh produce that you cant get at home. Drinking amazing fruit cocktails fuelled by Saint Lucian rum from the islands distillery, prepared by enthusiastic locals, singing and dancing all day!
It was an amazing break and a great start to the new year. Coming home and being greeted by snow was a chilling surprise but I know were I would much rather be.
I have more images of my holiday on instagram, if you want to have a look, search olivianeo :)
