You couldn’t make this place up if you tried. On a beach called Smuggler’s Cove, surrounded by thick forest and limestone cliffs, the story goes that three local fishermen used to come down for an early morning swim – in the nude – in the calm waters of their favourite hidden location. The morning ritual has sadly moved elsewhere since the opening of the Cap Maison Resort & Spa, but the name lives on, as does the spontaneous, joyous love of the ocean.
Drop anchor and stop for an incredibly chilled lunch of surf ceviche, Creole fish stew, grilled conch, or – best of all – The Naked Fisherman’s Beach Picnic: a sharing table of house favourites such as crispy squid and saltfish beignet, served right down on the sand.
The short drinks menu is as legendary as the location itself: jugs of white wine sangria for the table, or rum punches ladled into your glass with gratings of fiery nutmeg, as lunch slips into a lazy afternoon and day morphs into evening to the tune of the gentle lapping waves. On the grand island of St Lucia, the Naked Fisherman is in a realm of its own.
