09/08/2023

Michal Hertlík Traveller & Photographer Comes To Saint Lucia

By SNN

During the month of July, World Renowned  Traveller, Photographer, Documentarist, Adventurer, Collector & Hispanist Michal Hertlík finally came to Saint Lucia . Visiting the island was a number one goal of his and he was excited to experience the culture as if he was a local.

Saint Lucia News Now sat down with him and asked him to reinterpret his experence of the island. A number of questions was asked and his answeres was as follows 

How was your trip to Saint Lucia?

The journey itself was great and fast as I only had to transfer once. The connection through London and the direct flight to the island are quite nice, so it is comfortable for Europeans. As for traveling around the island, overall I have to say that I enjoyed it immensely. I was really looking forward to this trip because Saint Lucia was my first island in the Caribbean that I travelled in its entirety. Well, what comes first will always create you as such an image of the thing. Thus, I can already imagine what it is like on other Caribbean islands. Overall, I evaluate my trip very positively, during 11 days I accomplished everything I planned to accomplish, and I can finally say that I know Saint Lucia from all sides.

What was the reason for your trip?

It was a coincidence of three things at once. The first is that since I was a child (since I was 7-8 years old) it was my dream to visit Saint Lucia. Most people do not understand how it is possible that a person from Slovakia at such a young age not only knows about a small island somewhere on the other side of the globe, but also wants to visit it and it is his dream. From such a young age I was interested in philately – postage stamps, I myself studied the geography of the world, and in the process Saint Lucia caught my attention. It was mainly due to its flag, postage stamps and the great distance from Slovakia. The second is that I'm a traveller, photographer, and documentarist and have been traveling throughout Latin America and documenting the countries there for 10 years. My goal and dream at the same time is to visit all the countries of the continent, including the islands in the Caribbean, spend some time everywhere and get to know the countries in depth. Since Saint Lucia is part of the Caribbean, it was on my list. The third is that at the very time I was looking around my new destination, a carnival was taking place on the island. Thus, without a doubt, the decision fell on Saint Lucia. After arriving there, my goal was clear – to explore the whole island, experience the carnival and document everything there through my photos so that I could show it to the world.

What are the things you liked and didn't like about the island?

To end this question on a positive note, I'll start with the things I didn't like or wish were different. I tried to hitchhike all over the island when I needed to go somewhere and there was no bus nearby or I didn't go by car with my local friends. I was very unpleasantly surprised that the residents of Saint Lucia do not stop hitchhikers. During the entire stay, only one single person stopped me and took me to another city. Since I speak Spanish, it's a pitty I didn't meet more Spanish-speaking people from Latin America on the island. If I had to say the thing I liked the least, it would be the food, but I'll break that down below. Being a philatelist, I visited the main post office in Castries and the philatelic shop, where the lady told me that the people of Saint Lucia are not into philately at all and that she doesn't even know philatelists, which personally disappointed me. I would change the bus system and give exact departure times so that people can orient themselves by time, not by when the whole bus is full, because it can take up even to three hours.

There are of course many more things that I liked. I will say modestly that I liked the whole island. I experienced the most beautiful carnival I could have experienced. I tried many adventure activities across the island. I really enjoyed the interaction with the locals who were very curious and excited when they saw me. I adored the colorfulness of all the towns and villages I visited, but not least the sensational cassava breads and Marigot Bay rum liqueurs.

Would you recommend people from your country to visit the island?

Definitely yes. I even plan to make my own itinerary and take clients from Slovakia to Saint Lucia to experience the beauty and charm of this pearl. I will also recommend and promote the island in interviews in the Slovak media.

Are the people friendly?

Generally speaking, I had a pleasant experience with the locals. Of course, there were a few worse exceptions, but that's everywhere in the world. Having learned a few words in the Patwa creole language, I spoke to the locals and joked with them. In short, I love interacting with the locals because they make the country what it is. It would be even better if they stopped the hitchhikers.

What recommendations do you have for the government?

I would definitely promote Saint Lucia more in the world, especially in Europe, because people don't know about it at all, or maybe they just heard its name, but they can't imagine what they can experience there. Europeans have the finances to travel and spend there, so it would only benefit the state exchequer and the tourism industry. The Ministry of Tourism could work more with travellers, photographers, and influencers to promote the island. Already on the island itself, I would promote other destinations more than just climbing Gros Piton or smearing yourself with mud in Sulphur Springs. The island has much more to offer. In other places and areas, I would try to build more tourist attractions and improve the overall infrastructure to make it more appealing to visitors. In several places on the island, I would build or improve protection on roadways due to dangerous curves and road heights.

How was the food on the island especially that we have the highest rate of diabetes per capita in the world?

As I mentioned before, the food was the least pleasant experience for me. As a traveller, I seek to try all the local specialties everywhere in order to get to know the local culture also through gastronomy. The restaurants in Saint Lucia either didn't have national dishes at all, or I didn't like them at all. Being a local person, I would create such restaurant businesses that all tourists would visit them, because the possibilities on the island are there, only people do not know how to use them to their advantage. Tropical fruits, spices, sea fish. Instead, everywhere everything is fried, unsalted, undercooked, tasteless, plain, simply bad. From the point of view of the food, I could not imagine living on the island for a long time. The things I really liked were cassava breads, hot coconut tea, banana ketchup, mango yogurt and goat cheese with blueberries.

Was the mode of transportation good?

I indicated above that I would change the bus schedule. I was a bit annoyed that there were a lot of people crammed inside the vans, but that's just part of the island culture. Saint Lucia is a small island so small buses are the only possible mode of transportation, plus taxis of course, so yes it was good.

Do you ever plan to come back?

Saint Lucia is a beautiful pearl of the Eastern Caribbean, so definitely yes. Although I have visited most of the places on the island, there is always more to explore. Whether I come back there alone or with my clients will be seen in the future. For now, I can only underline that Saint Lucia is my dream come true and I'm extremely happy that I had the opportunity to explore, discover, and experience the island on my own like a local.

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