2 hrs, 0.8 kms

I can definitely see the French touch here in St Lucia . Towns are dense and laid in a clear grid pattern. Each town has all the government services clearly marked (post office, police station etc) The towns are centered around a Catholic church and a little plaza (with actual park benches!) It seems that the French made a much greater effort to import their culture and style on their colonies, whereas the British is seems were a bit more more laissez-faire in how they ran their colonies.

Canaries also has a nice beach which continue on at the base of a cliff. I suppose I could make this my "base camp" for the next couple of days--and ask around until I find an guy who will rent me a room. A bit pricey, but not impossible. I decide I'm going to check the next town before making my decision.

While waiting for a van that isn't full to pick me up, a French tourist offers me a ride in his rental car. He's still getting used to driving on the left side of the road and maneuvering the mountain turns, but we still strike up a conversation . He has an impressive adventurer resume... he's traveled to Congo Kinshasa (a country not on my list) and works on an offshore oil rig in Cameroun

"A great way to save up money and time for traveling" I comment with a tinge of envy.

"Do you think that Cameroun is going to develop?"

He isn't so optimistic "There are plenty of opportunities in Cameroun. It's easy to get rich there. But there are cultural problems... if one person gets a good job and makes good money, 20 member of his extended family will come and leech off of him..."

Suddenly we're interrupted by a stunning view. Far below us is a town on a quiet bay and on the other side extending out into the sea, right at the edge of the sea or two fairy tale-like mountains... lush green, arrow like pointing to the sky.

These are the Pitons, St Lucia's signature attraction. This is definitey where I want to set up my base camp.

We stop to take some pictures--but I want to come back to this spot on my own and really soak it all in.