| "This was my focal point," Nick Pinnock, the owner of Ti Kaye Village, told us as he stood at the stairs descending into the open-air restaurant and bar. "As I stood on that rock," he said pointing to a ledge above our heads, "I sighted this view - this point," he said stretching his arm towards the jungle peninsula, "and built everything else around it." |
Ti Kaye Village, a restaurant, pool, and 33 cottages, is built on 10
acres high upon cliffs overlooking the beautiful white beach of Anse Cochon
and an outstretched point of lush jungle that embraces the small bay.
We stood there gazing past the billowing white curtains framing the main
building, and observed the beauty of the view. Balancing service
and relaxation with the exhilarating temptation of exploring and getting
to know the sights and sounds of St. Lucia, Ti Kaye provides the comfort
and service of an island resort, and yet also integrates the flavors, language,
and feel of the island.
 Each cottage is nestled into the hillside overlooking a view of the Caribbean Sea. While amenities like a romantic four poster bed draped with billowing white curtains and optional air conditioning provide an aura of luxury, cottages also feature wide slatted Venetian blinds and an open air shower. Snuggling in bed at night with the blinds open, the ocean  breeze
flows through the room, and the calming sounds of the jungle envelope and
relax: The deeper sounding gleek, gleek, gleeks of the tree frogs,
literally outside the window and even inside the garden shower, harmonize
with the higher pitched melodies of crickets and a the resounding hollow
tones of bamboo wind chimes. Just past the French doors of the verandah,
fireflies sparkle and alight the trees beneath a rising crescent moon.
We often spent mornings relaxing on our cottage porch, enjoying the view, reading in the hammock, or rocking in the rustic rocking chairs made from wood cleared in the construction of Ti Kaye village. Guests in a cottage with a plunge pool can periodically cool off as the tropical sun warms the air. |
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The cottages are staggered along the hillside so that each gets an
unobstructed view of the bay and sunset. We found our cottage, located
near the pool and dining area, to be fairly quiet and private. A
set of duplex cottages (rooms that have the potential to be adjoining)
perched high on the upper hill. These cottages overlook the resort,
but also have a panoramic view of the bay. The location of these
cottages, being high up on the cliff side, afford privacy.
 In the rooms themselves, there are a selection of drinks (bottled water, sparkling water, sodas, beer) and snacks in a small refrigerator, coffee and a coffee maker, a hair dryer, a phone and shower items like shampoo, conditioner, soap, and a sewing kit. An environmentally friendly bug spray is also included in your room. If you have a hankering for something that is not provided in your room, you can ask one of the staff if they can locate it in the kitchen or town. Most of the cottages are located off one main road extending from the
restaurant/pool area to a canyon overlook at the edge of the property.
For the ocean front rooms, small pathways and stairs lead down the cliff
side, and for the duplex cottages, paths and stairs lead up the cliff from
the road. There is also a workout room with a few Nautilus and cardio
machines at the top of a long set of stairs. Several honeymooner's
cottages, with spectacular views of the canyon and a private bay, are located
at the end of the road.
 The resort pool is near the main dining room and is edged with lawn topped with comfortable lounge chairs. Bright umbrellas provide shade from the bright tropical sun. To get to the beach, guests can either descend a long set of stairs (Max and I found this a great way to work off breakfast), or can catch a ride from the  office.
At the beach, there is a bar, restaurant, and dive shop with a phone to
call up for a ride home at the end of the day.
There are a myriad of activities that will keep even the most restless guest occupied. You can spend lazy days on the Anse Cochon beach, or choose more active water sports at the beach either snorkeling, scuba diving, or sea kayaking to one of the more isolated beaches just south of the resort. Guests can also do St. Lucia excursions. Check with Jeannine or Nick about arranging a trip to view the spectacular Pitons and experience the warm healing waters of the hot springs of the Soufriere Volcano, exploring the rainforest by foot or even by bike, or planning a shopping trip in the nearby town of Castries. Our stay did overlap with a big St. Lucian holiday - Wit Monday.
This occasion, combined with the excitement of a five-day West Indian vs.
India cricket match, created a festival feel. On Monday, locals descended
upon the beautiful beach of Anse Cochon where there was much dancing, swimming,
BBQing, and tropical fun had by all. Under the shade of a large grove
of trees, men traded off singing Socca music into a microphone (the music
sounded like a calypso rap to us). Kids darted in and out of the
water, several yachts tied up together in the bay, and few teenagers kicked
a ball up and down the beach.
 The festival ended as quickly as it came: on Tuesday, the beach was deserted save for a few Ti Kaye village guests, the resident beach vendor, our friendly beach bartender, and one boat of local fishermen way out in the bay. On Fridays, guests can join a group for happy hour and short bus ride to Anse le Raye for the weekly seafood festival. This is a communal local event that features local seafood dishes and veggies. It is a terrific way to interact with the local community, and Nick and Jeannine helped to translate and explain different dishes and vendors. |
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| One of the unique aspects of Ti Kaye village is the staff's willingness
to translate - if you will - between St. Lucian life and resort life.
Whether it is translating fish dishes on Friday nights, translating the
Patois name for each of the cottages on the island, advising guests on
where and how they should go on an island excursion, or even identifying
and removing a large lizard from your bathroom shower, Nick and his staff
provide an excellent introduction to a small part of St. Lucia. Even
the quite wonderful dinners are a nice fusion of West Indian and European.
Consider yourself invited to owner Nick's guest house - or rather one of his many guest houses. A vacation at Ti Kaye village feels like visiting a personal friend's island cottage. When staying at the resort, you really feel like you have entered a friendly little village where the amount of privacy that you want is entirely up to you. St. Lucia has two airports -- Hewanorra International Airport (UVF) at Vieux Fort on the south end of the island and Vigie Airport (SLU) near Castries is in the northwest part; it takes about 1 ½ hour to drive from one to the other. Most commuter flights, including LIAT and American Airline Eagle, fly into Vigie airport. We flew AA from San Juan.
The final turn-off to the resort is a ¾ mile drive along a dirt
road to the resort and to the beach. The off-road experience increases
the transformation to your vacation getaway. While it feels like
you are on the road to the middle of nowhere, in this case "nowhere" is
your cottage bungalow overlooking the bay of Anse Cochon. The road
appears to end right at the beach for the resort.
 Looking right, the beach extends down for 100 yards, but the canopy of the forest blocks part of the view. Looking to the left, trees partially block the end of the beach and the 100 foot cliff. At the foot of the cliff, the beach bar and dive shop rest at the foot of a brand new dive dock extending invitingly into the bay. Before we can soak in all of the sites of the beach, we veer to the left and straight up the cliff to the reception desk for the village. We meet our private guide, Anslem James, and head off in a Suzuki Samari down the southern coastline to Soufriere. We stopped at the side of the road to pluck a cashew fruit and its loan nut from a tree - Anslem explained that many folks suck the juice from the fruit before roasting the nut. We passed all sorts of beautiful vistas, people traveling from town to town, and even a man who would pose with an eight foot boa constrictor. We meandered through a small village called Canaries -- women stood at the side of the river washing clothes on the shores of the Canaries river. We continued towards Soufrerie -- and the two Pitons, or peaks -- further south.  11:45 am As the Pitons emerged into view, we stopped to eat at the Hummingbird Beach Resort at the very edge of Soufrerie. We had a spectacular view of Petite Piton from our open air dining room. Max had a chicken curry dish served with slices of breadfruit, rice, and carrots while I had a light and refreshing cup of gazpacho. The restaurant is part of a small hotel, and you can buy batiks made on site at the gift shop. Lunch ran around $45 for the three of us. 12:45 pm We traveled onward to the site of Sulfur Springs - a volcanic caldaria that imploded some 200 years ago. What remains is a massive crater with pools of boiling mineral water -- the iron and sulfur oxides make the water appear like boiling black cauldrons. There is a spring that is open to the public at the volcano -- Christina, our guide, told us that many people from the nearby village come to bathe in the waters, but Anslam warned us to wait until the cool evenings or mornings to bathe at this spring -- the water is between 80 and 90 degrees, and quite warm in the middle of a hot tropical day.  Max: The volcano is billed as the only "drive-through" volcano in the Caribbean. In fact, that is the case, the front entrance to the park is part of the wall of the volcano. Entrance fees to the park are about $3 EC per person. The park accepts US dollars, but EC dollars are preferable. Even at the gate, you can smell the sulfur. The drive to the overlook is about 1/3 mile from the entrance. You can tell where the overlook trail begins by the tourist kiosk at the side of the road. On the tour, Christina told us all sorts of geological facts and local lore about the volcano.  1:45 pm We continued on to a local watering hole, the Piton Falls. A water cascade splashed down a 60 foot cliff and plunged into a small wading pool. Warmed by its travels down the rocky cliff, the shower and accompanying pool was a refreshing welcome to our hot day.  On the day that we were there, it was fairly crowded, but then we touring during a St. Lucian holiday. There is a changing room right before the pool, so there is no need to wear your bathing suit to the falls. The entrance fee to the waterfall is $4 EC per person.  2:30 pm Sipping the namesake beer, we relax and enjoy the spectacular view of the Pitons from a rocky terrace at the Ladera resort bar. The bar itself opens up to embrace he cleavage between these two magnificent peaks rising up from the bay.  If you decide to travel from the hotel, you can rent a jeep yourself, but we would recommend either having Jeannine or Nick set up a tour for you, or finding a reputable person to drive you around the island -- the locals know great places to go. 4:00 pm
 We saw a lizard fish perched on the edge of a rock, seemingly gazing up at the heavens, and a pod of squid flashing browns, reds, and yellows. About halfway to the point, we encountered a large coral head with graceful orange sea fans gently waving with the current, and even a narrow orange file fish that camouflaged itself to look like part of the fan. We saw small day-glow blennies scooting around several different kinds of brain corals, and even some bright red and blue sponges.  The small cove is literally a nursery for small fish -- I swam through a school of small iridescent blue fish that looked only a bit larger than brine shrimp. They seemed to smack into the front of my mask -- a kaleidoscope of yellow, blue striped fines and silver flashes. And then they disappeared. There are lots of urchins around the rocks, we would recommend booties when walking around the snorkeling area as a precaution.  5:00 pm The best part of the beach experience after the snorkeling was sipping cool Piton Shandies by the beach bar. The Shandy, made at a brewery on the island, is a playful mixture of beer and either lemon or ginger juice. It's a great drink to kick back on a hot afternoon without worrying too much about getting a buzz before dinner. The beach bar of course serves far stronger drinks if that pre-dinner buzz is what you're after. We lounged under shady palm trees set back from the beach a bit, but
other couples chose to sun themselves nearer the water's edge. Guests
can check in with the bar to take out a kayak or to get a lounge chair.
 We start our meal with a Caribbean shrimp salad -- flavors of garlic, lemon, celery tops, and curry infused the shrimp, mango, pineapple, and christophene (a local squash). Corinne's roasted pork medallions and caramelized onions in a savory balsamic vinegar and wine reduction is delightful, while Max has the veal scaloppini with a cream pasta tied together with a mushroom sauce. For dessert, we order a selection of sweets, which includes a cherry cloud resembling ice cream, but much fluffier, a carrot cake, and a mango cream puff that melts away on our tongues. "Boju!" I try out my newly learned patios word as we enter the breakfast area. While I enjoy my European yogurt and freshly picked bananas, Max makes pigs in blankets with sausage, French toast, and a local hot sauce. We ask the waitress about a local beverage, cocoa tea, and she goes about finding out if the chef has the ingredients and time to make it. She returns with a steaming pot cocoa tea - a hot chocolate combined with freshly ground island spices (cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and some others we couldn't quite discern). The aroma and complex flavor of the tea was quite amazing.  Corinne: One of the nicest aspects about dining at Ti Kaye Village was the willingness of the chefs to accommodate our requests. 8:30 am
10:00 am
 Max: Island Divers has a dive boat affiliated with the resort. Having a dive boat on location makes diving from the resort really convenient and it allows you to store your stuff away at the shop at the end of the day. The dive shop has lockers so that divers and snorkelers can leave some of their heavier gear down at the beach. There is a fresh water tub to wash your gear at the end of day before storing it in the locker. The lockers are self-serve, and you will need to supply your own padlock. The front desk can also arrange for a ride to the beach or, more importantly, uphill from the beach to the resort. Within a few months, Ti Kaye plans to have an off road golf cart to shuttle dive equipment, luggage, and guests. 10:05 am
11:45 am Lunch
 Corinne: I have the shark selection, served with Caribbean salsa with mango, curry, garlic, and a hint of spicy peppers. It is accompanied by christophene fritters topped with a crispy melted cheese. Christophene is a local squash, and the fritter had an intensity of deep sweet flavors reminiscent of fried plantain, sweet potato, and acorn squash topped with a crispy and salty flavored cheese. These mysterious little bites were heaven to my mouth. Max: I have the duck tonight. As usual, the chef comes through with melding traditional European dishes with a West Indian flair. The duck breast is really tender and moist, and the red sauce appears to be a tropical citrus twist to the traditional l'orange that comes with duck. The fresh steamed carrots go really well with the duck and cream pasta underneath. We end the meal with a Caribbean version of Black Forest Cake, which combined flavors of cherry, chocolate, whipped cream, and of course, a smooth vanilla sponge cake.  Dinner Attire: While the resort is casual, the suggested dinner attire for men is long pants with a collared shirt (polo or button-down). During the day, the resort requests that wet bathing suits not be worn in the restaurant, and that bathing suits should be covered with a cover-up or t-shirt. Morning of our last day: 6:15 am We awaken to sunlight and a gusty breeze. I hit the button on our coffee maker and stroll out to the porch overlooking the long arm of the point extending around the edge of the bay.  The boat of fishermen we have watched all week arrive at the bay. The five men ride standing up and single file in a very narrow skiff. Two men dive into the water and begin scouting the edge of the bay for schools of large fish, while three others untangle their long net on the bow of the boat.  A frigate bird sweeps overhead and I wonder if she is competing with the fishermen, or hoping to steal a small catch from them. I look over my shoulder to see Max already swinging in the hammock with a book, and a red throated finch inquisitively looking over his shoulder for some small breakfast crumb. Ti Kaye Village is a place where the customs and traditions of St. Lucia converge with the amenities and luxuries of an island retreat. It is a wonderful place to unwind, to relax, and to experience the sights and sounds of a jungle paradise. |
After
arriving at Vigie Airport in Castries, we were met by Lucius, our taxi
driver to Ti Kaye village. The resort arranges transportation to
and from the airport as part of your reservation. Once we got into
the car, Lucius informed us, "It's a forty minute drive from the airport
to Ti Kaye." Although the resort is only 13 miles from the capitol,
St. Lucia is a lush and hilly island. There are no straight roads,
but rather they wind and meander. Getting to Ti Kaye itself provides
a nice introduction to the northern part of the island. We drove
through the main market area of Castries, where kiosks are set up selling
local wares and produce. During the tourist season, the market area
can get crowded since this is where cruise ships disembark their passengers.
Caribelle Batik, a local Batik factory, lies just outside of Castries on
top of a large hill. We stopped to purchase a few locally made caftans,
dresses, and scarves before continuing on our trip. Outside of town,
the road meanders through one of the largest banana plantations on the
island. After you pass the village of Anse La Ray, the road winds
uphill again towards the turnoff for the resort. Lucius provided
an excellent commentary on the various tropical trees along the way including
banana, mango, cashew, and cocoa trees. With the windows rolled down,
the smells of the tropics heighten your senses on your way to Ti Kaye Village.
The
wreck itself lies at about sixty feet of water, and as far as wreck dives
go, this is one of the best ones we have done. The wreck itself is
around 150 feet long and is encrusted with brightly colored corals, sponges,
and sea fans which provide a perfect habitat for small reef creatures like
the red banded shrimp, small blennies, sea stars, and pink and white tufted
bristle worms. Small schools of fish fry darted in and out of the
openings of the wreck, and we saw two frogfish - a large bright yellow
one and a smaller black one - hanging out on the main deck of the ship.
Part of the top deck is gone, leaving a nice open area for divers to swim
through, and in the front of the ship, sea fans grow underside the bow,
providing an eerie underwater forest for a school of squirrel fish.