St. Lucia Taxi
Castries, St. Lucia
E mail: vic@stluciataxi.com
Tel: 758-584-0965

St. Lucia was “discovered” by Christopher Columbus in 1502.  However, St. Lucia was previously inhabited by the Arawark Indians whose settlements were taken over by the Carib Indians. At the time of Columbus’ arrival to St. Lucia it was the home of the Caribs.  The island was known as Ioüanalao” and “Hewanorra” (Hewanorra—name of airport in south of island), which means “there where the iguana is found.”(St. Lucia Tourist Board).  The British attempted to settle in the island in 1605 and 1639 respectively.  But it was the French who were successful in obtaining it 1651 when it was purchased by two representatives of the French West India Company.  As the colonial powers struggled for mastery in Europe and the Caribbean, St. Lucia “changed hands” between the French and British 14 times until the island was ceded to Britain in 1814 as spoils of war.  St. Lucia remained a British Colony until its independence February 21, 1979.
St. Lucia is 27 miles long and 14 miles wide and it is 238 square miles or 616 square kilometers. The island is about 3.5 times the size of Washington DC (CIA FactBook). Its highest mountain is Morne Gimie 3118 ft or 950 m, and Morne Fortune is the highest point above sea level at 900 ft.  While the official language of the island is English, most people speak a French Patois making the island unofficially bilingual.  St. Lucia’s population is estimated at 168,000, and life expectancy is 71 and 77 for males and female respectively. The closest island to St. Lucia are Martinique, 21 miles from our Northern tip, and St. Vincent, 26 miles from our Southern tip. Both islands are visible on a clear day.  Barbados is 110 miles Southeast of St. Lucia.  St. Lucia has a rich blend of African, British and French cultural influence which can be seen in the food, dress and festivals.  St. Lucia has given the world two Nobel laureates; the late Arthur Lewis was 1979 recipient for Economics, and Derek Walcott was 1992 recipient for Literature.  The official currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar (EC).