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Driving into the actual village of Soufrière, I expect to find a lively mash of visitor-friendly local restaurants, bars and shops to serve the huge number of people who pass through on their way to the attractions. The setting and scenery of the island's oldest town can't be beat - colorful fishing boats bobbing off the beach, with Petit Piton rising in the background, French-colonial architecture on walkable streets, a historic square, even a long west-facing waterfront. But there are no real focal points for visitors or places in the prettiest areas to sit and get a meal or a drink while soaking up the atmosphere. When I pull out my camera to take a photo of a vacant building's artfully decaying gingerbread, a nattily dressed gentleman rushes up and yells that he could sue me because he walked in front of the lens. Not exactly a hearty welcome to someone who'd happily spend the day and a C-note or so enjoying such a town's local flavors.

St. Lucia Essentials: Where to Stay and What to Do...

Heading up the steep hill out of Soufrière, I'm still on the lookout for a lookout - a nice rum shop from which to enjoy a view that just keeps getting better as it nears sunset. I pass a couple, but just as I've seen in several other villages, these local spots have been built facing the road, with only their windowless kitchens and bathrooms overlooking – or not – priceless views of the town, the Pitons and the Caribbean Sea. "The average St. Lucian doesn't care about tourism because he's not a stakeholder," explains Jimmy Haynes when I join him for a traditional sous kaye – fresh fish marinated in lime, chives, garlic, salt and pepper – at Jardin Cacao, the restaurant at Fond Doux Plantation .

"And, unfortunately, that removes him from the island's biggest industry and its future." Haynes feels strongly that his country's only chance is to allow more locals to benefit from tourism. "And the only way to do that is at the village level," adds Lyton Lamontagne, owner, along with his wife, Eroline, of Fond Doux. "We St. Lucians have sold off our most valuable property – the beaches – to foreign investors, so the only places left for the people are inland and the villages."

The Lamontagnes and their historic inland plantation stand as one of the true local success stories and serve as a model for other St. Lucians looking for entree into tourism. Fond Doux has enjoyed steady growth, both in its stunning gardens and traditional cocoa-to-chocolate operation, as well as in its collection of accommodations, which have slowly built to include 10 Creole cottages scattered throughout the 135-acre property. A standout example of everything that's right with sustainable tourism is the Angelina, a 160-year-old French-colonial cottage that originally stood in Castries. The Lamontagnes bought the elegant two-story home for a song, saving it just before its scheduled demolition. They trucked the building, complete with gingerbread dormer and wide, rocker-ready porch, down to Soufrière, restored it on a prime spot in their gardens and now offer it as one of the most unique places to stay on the island.

St. Lucia Essentials...

After a couple of glasses of Chairman's Reserve rum, I mention the big resorts, present and future, in the island's north. "It's ridiculous," says Lyton Lamontagne. "People don't want to come to St. Lucia to stay in the kind of place they can get anywhere. I don't want to go to New York and stay in a Creole cottage; if I go there, I want to stay in a high-rise hotel. If you come here, you want to see how we live - and we're happy to show you."

Online Editor's Note: To read the rest of this article, surf over to our Scribd page for the full PDF version or head to Zinio to download the full digital issue from January/February 2010.

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