On Sunday I started writing about a half day tour my friend Steve and I took with Murry (phone: 1 758 488 1357) from the town of Soufriere Into the Piton Management Area, which is a World Heritage Site. I talked about the town 
of Soufriere and two of the waterfalls we saw on Sunday and on Tuesday I wrote about the Sulphur Springs, drive-in volcano, and mud baths. Today I am going to finish my writing about this area of St Lucia the same way we ended our wonderful tour, at the Diamond Botanical Garden!
The botanical garden started off as a land grant from King Louis XIV of France to three brothers in 1713. They built a hot baths and mineral pool from the hot spring fed water that comes down the Diamond Waterfall.
Over time the baths were destroyed or buried until Andre du Boulay started refurbishing the area in 1928. When he passed away in 1983 his daughter started running the baths and added her green thumb to the area with the addition of the botanical garden.
I have been to several gardens before and most of them are landscaped and meticulous. This one is much more natural and that adds to the peacefulness and tranquility of your stroll among the many beautiful plants and flowers. It is as if you are walking through the rainforest.
The waterfall is a pristine natural site that can keep you mesmerized for longer than you think, and the hot baths seem overly inviting, but we passed since we did the mud baths a few hours earlier. In the tiny gift shop/snack bar we had a couple little birds that actually came into my hand at one point. Earlier in our walk we found an awesome little lizard that simply added to our time here.
Walking among the plants, flowers, birds, and waterfall you fell like you have seen it all and feel at peace with the world in the mist of all this natural beauty. As you leave the botanical gardens have one more secret for you. As you cross over a small channel you read how this aqueduct was built in 1765 and feeds the waterwheel that started off crushing sugar cane in the plantation and later provided electricity. Wow! What a day!
