When the St. Lucia Tourism Board invites you to come to the Caribbean and eat chocolate, the only answer is yes. For the past five days, I’ve been saying yes, yes, yes and now that I’m home with a reliable internet connection, it’s time to take you on a photo journey with me.

August is Chocolate Heritage Month in St. Lucia and while the locals haven’t spent much time in the past making actual chocolate on the island, they do put the mighty cocoa bean to good use and soon enough, there’s going to be a ton of chocolate production on the island. Perhaps Chocolate Future Month would be a better name for it? In any case, most of my photos are chocolate/cocoa related, so make sure to have a snack before you sit down and scroll through lest you try to eat the screen.

No trip to the market is complete without some spices. Those glass bottles at the top are filled with the ingredients to make your own spiced rum at home. I can just imagine the conversation with Customs now…

Dry season? What dry season?

The lighting was terrible, but Coal Pot is one of the best restaurants in St. Lucia and this red snapper in creole sauce proved it.

It’s hard to overstate just how lush and verdant the whole island is. From a boat tour:

Chef Jordy Lavanderos of Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet shows off the resorts’ huge organic garden/farm while St. Lucian and Top Chef runner-up Nina Compton listens closely. 

Unreal view of the legendary Pitons from my room at Anse Chastenet:

Dried cocoa beans!

One of St. Lucia’s favorite dishes is the “crab back,” a swimmer crab stuffed with crab meat, bread crumbs, garlic, and spices. It’s amazing and I want to eat a thousand of them. This one came from the rustic and lovely Fond Doux plantation.

Double-rainbow view from my amazing Jade Mountain suite, complete with private infinity pool and butler service!

The most St. Lucian shot of all time: a glass of cocoa tea and a cocoa pod with the Pitons in the background. Courtesy of Jade Mountain chocolate master Wouter Tjeertes of Amsterdam.

It was an amazing trip and I can’t wait to go back when the Hotel Chocolat factory is up and running. Have you been to St. Lucia? What was your experience like?