History spoke across the time continuum, aided in the present day by our knowledgeable guide Denise Murray, as SO toured the historic St Lucian Pigeon Island site, as part of our recent tourist checklist.

The journey into the past of this preservation site proved a worthwhile learning experience. There was, of course, the crash course in Caribbean history about the island originally being an Arawak habitation, then a base for French pirate François Le Clerc, before being conquered in 1778 by British Admiral George Rodney, who made the 40-acre hilly expanse a fortress christened Fort Rodney, which today recalls a bygone era with ruins of stone buildings.

The afternoon outing to Pigeon Island (so named because in days of yore, pigeons were used to carry messages to the mainland) made for an endurance test, too, as there were hiking trail treks to platform lookout spots, flights of stairs to ascend to former gun barracks, and hillsides to descend for beachside refreshments to wrap up the day.

Take a pictorial gander with us as history intersects with jaw-droppingly beautiful vistas of an island paradise.

— Omar Tomlinson