When I’m asked for my best advice for traveling, my top reply is: make friends with a local. Nobody knows like someone who’s lived there all their life.
In the case of my driver, Anthony, he knew all the back roads to avoid traffic in the bigger city. He knew all the food places where the locals, not the tourists, eat.
And I noticed how the locals looked at me, giving me a thumbs up, when they saw that I was supporting one of their own.
Today’s island tour covered mostly the northern part of the country. We had lunch at a simple Caribbean restaurant, where I had delicious grilled chicken with salad, rice, potato salad, and noodles.
I grabbed myself another bottle of St. Lucian rum, this time a little less fancy than what I have been drinking before. But it totally works with a mixer.
I discovered something called banana ketchup, which I have to take home!
And in the heat of the day, I enjoyed fresh coconut water. Afterwards, with a couple of swift moves of his machete, the gentleman split the coconut in half and made a makeshift spoon that let me scoop out all the soft interior meat. Delicious!
( Anthony is a great driver… But not the best photographer! )