Crusoe the Dachshund's St. Lucia Home Exchange
Crusoe the Celebrity Dachshund here! I’m an internet-famous wiener dog with a New York Times Bestselling book.
In December of 2015, I embarked on a grand adventure to the beautiful Caribbean island of St. Lucia! This was a place that my Mum and Dad had been wanting to take me for years, but regulations never allowed a dog to travel there in cabin (only cargo, which Mum would never put me in) until recently.
Mum and Dad have a house there that they use on HomeExchange, as well as a small villa rental company by the name of Oasis Marigot.
So anyway, when we found out I could fly in cabin, it wasn’t long before I was watching the twinkling sapphire colors of the Caribbean Sea from the oval plane window as we soared in towards St. Lucia!
The home my parents have which is available through HomeExchange is called the Great House. A lot of my other travels and adventures are from exchanges we’ve made with this home to other people who want to come experience the beauty of St. Lucia.
So, for this post, I am going to tell you about how wonderful St. Lucia is, and the Great House. So if you ever want to swap, we can; you can visit St. Lucia and I can travel to a new and exciting place that I’ve never been to! Win-win, right?!
The Great House is situated along the ridge of Marigot Bay, a place that was once called “The most beautiful bay in the Caribbean” by author James A Michener.
Pretty fitting for a celebrity such as myself.
I’ve stayed at some nice home exchanges before; France, Italy, Bahamas, Maine, etc. – but this has to be the nicest view yet.
No matter what type of traveler you are, St. Lucia can most likely fulfill what you’re looking for in a vacation. Whether you want to hang by the pool all day and sip the cool local Pitons beer, enjoy a day of sailing down the coast, play golf, go for a bike ride, snorkel, go to the beach, or explore some of the local attractions – there’s plenty to do!
As a dog, I’m quite a versatile traveler myself. I like adventure and exploring, but I also like sleeping and lazing about, so we’ll start there; by the pool.
“Yeah, life is ruff”
And when the pool doesn’t satisfy my relaxation needs, there’s a quaint little beach in Marigot Bay, just a 15 minute walk down the hillside; a lovely place to soak in the sunshine, sniff those Caribbean breezes, and watch the ships go by.
“I think I’m an expert at enjoying life!”
But when your sense of adventure kicks in, it’s not too hard to find something exciting or interesting to do!
One of Mum and Dad’s favorite activities is the day sail tour operated by Oasis Marigot. They take you out on a sailboat to cruise down the west coast of St. Lucia from Marigot Bay to the site of the famous Pitons Mountains!
It’s a pretty cool feeling when those majestic peaks seemingly rise from the horizon!
Something that’s quite interesting about St. Lucia is that it swapped hands between the British and French almost 20 times back in the 17th and 18th centuries, so there’s plenty of very interesting historic sites if you’re into that sort of thing!
One of the especially neat ones is called Pigeon Island National Park, where an old fort sits atop a little island at the very north of St. Lucia, keeping watch over the open seas around for enemy vessels and pirates.
It’s pretty obvious that I’m easily inspired by tales of pirates…
There’s lots of plantation tours available as well – whether of historic or modern operations. See how cocoa is grown and process into cacao, how sugarcane is squished into sweet juices, and how a master can open a coconut in under 5 seconds!
“BTW, I love coconut water!”
And speaking of coconut, there’s some incredible restaurants in St. Lucia. In fact, a little place right here in Marigot Bay called the Rainforest Hideaway was named one of the Top 10 Restaurants in ALL of the Caribbean!
Now I haven’t tried every restaurant in the Caribbean, but the tuna and steak they made me was top notch.
When it comes down to it, St. Lucia is a ruggedly beautiful, unspoiled, authentic-Caribbean island that’s a must-see in my book. Well, more like a must-return. The island itself is full of character, wonder, and history. But there’s another fantastic part that I haven’t mentioned yet – the people!
Lucians are some of the most welcoming, warm, and friendly people I’ve met. And guess what, for many of them, it was the first time they’d ever met a wiener dog!
People love me, what can I say?
When visiting such an island as St. Lucia – that in my mind really represents the authentic Caribbean as it used to be, I really have to recommend a home exchange or a villa rental at the least for a truly immersive experience in the culture, the nature, and everything the island represents.
Hope you get a chance to visit St. Lucia yourself one day! I’m looking forward to my return already.