On January 11th (Wednesday), Brad and Ruth, Karen and Dennis, and Rick and I left for a two-week vacation to the Caribbean. Our first destination was to be St. Lucia. I was still in my boot for another few days so both Karen and I got a wheelchair to help us through the long trek to our gate. That actually ended up being nice because all 6 of us were able to board the plane first and get settled before everyone else got on.
Our flight left in the afternoon and arrived in Atlanta just after 8PM local time. We were able to grab a shuttle to the hotel (Airport Fairfield Inn North) and get settled for the night. We had been told that we would not be able to retrieve our luggage in Atlanta because it would be checked all the way through to St. Lucia, so we each packed an overnight bag. Unfortunately, we DID have to retrieve our bags so all thru the trip we had to pull around an extra carry on with our two other large bags plus two backpacks. Kind of a pain but all's well that ends well:) After getting to the hotel we were hungry so we ordered a chicken salad from a nearby pizza joint. We then enjoyed some downtime in the hotel room.
We woke up early to catch our plane for the last half of our trip. It was a nice flight, and as we were coming into St. Lucia I could see the Piton mountains which our so famous there in St. Lucia.
After arriving we gathered our luggage and the rental cars and found The Blackbird restaurant nearby for dinner.
It was good to be in an open air place and we enjoyed some good food. Unfortunately, the mosquitos loved me and I ended up with TWENTY FOUR mosquito bites around my ankles! Of course, we got some bug spray that night to remedy any more trouble with that. After dinner it was dark so we drove up to the north of the island (about an hour and a half) to find our rental home. The caretaker of RayHope House, Ruth, met us at the home and gave us a tour and showed us the necessary things we needed to know. The home proved to be very nice for us. It had stairs which were a little hard to maneuver for a few of us but other than that it was very nice. Two sitting areas, four bedrooms, a nice kitchen and an outdoor pool.
That first evening the guys went out to grab some groceries for snacks and breakfasts. The others were so nice to let us have the master bedroom which had a nice big bathroom and jetted tub (Which we never used:) We were able to unpack and get settled.
The next morning (Friday) after lounging around the house, Rick and I and Karen and Dennis took a drive over to Pigeon Island National Park. We decided not to go into the park because it was a lot of walking and climbing and neither Karen nor I were up for that so we opted for the little beach shops just next to the park. The beach was absolutely full of people from the cruise ship that was in port but we enjoyed doing a little souvenir shopping.
After that we drove around a little more to see the area. We saw Brad and Ruth coming out of a restaurant in Rodney Bay. They had just had a little appetizer. We were hungry so we convinced them to have dinner with us. We found a place right there. It was Amici Italian restaurant, and we had a very nice meal together. Afterwards we retreated back to the privacy of our house.
The next morning (Saturday) Rick and I headed out early for the Castries Farmer's Market. We enjoyed perusing the market and bought a few fun souvenirs. We had been looking for an avocado and we found only one place that had one. She actually had two but this avocado was so big that we only needed one. It cost us TEN DOLLARS (US), but that avocado was the largest one we had ever seen! It was not ripe but by the end of our stay it was ready to eat and it was delicious! We also got a little taste of a different kind of apple that is grown on the island. It was sour but good.
On our drive there we stopped just outside of Castries and had some lunch.
Our food was really good! Rick loved his curry and plantains!
At one particular viewpoint when the Pitons came into view we stopped to take another picture. We learned that the peddler who took our picture had the same name as me! Her name was actually Jahnelle Janelle. Her first and middle name were the same but spelled differently. She joked that her parents couldn't decide how to spell her name so they gave her both names. It is rare that I find someone with my same name, but on the island I met two ladies with my name:)
The view of the Pitons was spectacular! We couldn't wait to get down to the beach.
Sugar beach is located between Gros Piton and Petit Piton and I had read that it was one of the best beaches on the island. All beaches in St. Lucia are public. This one is on the property of a hotel called Viceroy. The resort was really beautiful with little villas all around. It was built on the side of a mountain, and so we were instructed to park in the parking lot at the top and then we had to walk down a long steep road to get to the beach. My foot was still swollen and in pain from my surgery but I plugged along down that steep road to get to that beach! By the end my poor right leg was just shaking. It had atrophied from not using it for six weeks and every time I put weight on it my leg would shake tremendously! Needless to say, I was grateful to get to the bottom on level land.
The beach did not disappoint! It was in such a beautiful setting with those two great peaks looking down on us. We enjoyed a few hours there until the sun went down. These pictures are in no certain order but it shows how much we loved it!
One interesting thing we found here were sea snakes. I walked to the waters edge excited to get in when I saw what I thought was an eel. I called Rick over to check it out and then I saw another one. I walked down the beach a little further and found two more just at the waters edge. I could see people in the water but I was nervous to get in. Rick found someone who explained that they were not eels but were harmless sea snakes. Even though they were harmless it was still little freaky getting in water where you knew they were. Others were in with them so I figured it was ok, We got in and enjoyed St. Lucia's warm water!
Rick did a little snorkeling and found some cool stuff. He brought out a huge centipede looking creature that he found on a rock. I didn't want to have anything to do with it, but he was proud of his little find.
The next day was Sunday. We went to church in the morning in the small branch in Castries. It was a nice meeting with very nice people. There are two sets of missionaries (elders and sisters) and a senior couple serving in the branch. It is always nice to speak with and get to know members around the world.
After church we went home for some lunch and a nap. Later in the afternoon Dennis and Karen took a drive with us up into a mountain town. It was such a pretty drive. I loved waving at the people as we passed by. The St. Lucian people were all so friendly! We also loved talking with Dennis and Karen and hearing stories of their youth:)
I thought this clothesline was cute. Color coordinated!
The next morning (Monday) we had scheduled a catamaran tour. It was a beautiful day on the water.
A shuttle picked us up in Rodney Bay which then picked up 10 other people and then headed to the dock in Castries. We were thinking that it would be nice to have just the few of us on the shuttle. We got there and found that our Catamaran was already filled with lots of people! We were told that there were 74 people on board! So much for small numbers. There was room for all, though, and we had a very nice time.
The catamaran ride into Soufrierre took about an hour.
After arriving we all got onto a bus to take us up to the volcano for our mud baths. This was interesting. We covered ourselves in volcanic mud, took pictures, and then rinsed off in the thermal waters. They say its good for the skin.😁
Our next stop was the waterfall. It was packed with people but we all took turns getting under the waterfall for a photo op.
The next stop was back to the boat for lunch which consisted of salad, chicken, fish, noodles and rice. It was really good food! Of course, they served rum to all of the drinking customers and thereafter things were a lot more lively on the boat! HAHA! People really loosen up after a few drinks.
Our last stop was snorkeling and I loved being in the water. The coral was beautiful and we saw lots of colorful fish! By the time we rolled back into the harbor people were dancing and having a great time! It was fun to watch them. We sure enjoyed the day and being on the water!
After getting back to the house and cleaning up we all went to a very nice dinner at Matthew's Rooftop Restaurant in Rodney Bay. It was on a rooftop and open air. The food was delicious and we each enjoyed sharing our day's adventures!
The next day (Tuesday) we lounged a bit and then all six of us drove up to the the Rainforest Adventure Tram. We enjoyed our tram ride with our guide, Kennie. He was cute and very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna.
After our ride we were served some delicious punch:)
We had fun taking photos by this pretty archway.
After the Tram we were all hungry so after searching for a bit we ended up back in Rodney Bay at a beachside Grill called Spinnakers. Rick and I each had the protein burger and it was sooo good!
Later that evening the two of us went back to Pigeon Bay beach to take some pictures and had some pumpkin/coconut soup at the beachside grill. It was a fun little stop!
Our last full day on St. Lucia we traveled back to Sugar Beach. I just had to see that beautiful place again!
This time we were going to have lunch at the beachside grill so we were able to get a shuttle ride down to the beach from the parking lot. Oh, why did we not do this the first time??Lunch was yummy with a gorgeous view! Just after lunch and setting up our beach spot we ventured out into the water and hopped onto the 'floating water beds'. After lounging there for a bit, Rick said, "Hey, there's Brad and Ruth!" We caught there attention and went over to say hi. They had driven into Soufrierre and caught a water taxi to Sugar Beach. They had been having lunch in the restaurant next to where we ate, and had arrived before we did. We visited with them for a bit, and then they caught their water taxi back to Soufrierre, and we got back into the water:) We stayed until the sun set with a little bit of rain which gave us a chance to take beautiful picture of a rainbow over the Viceroy.
This sunset was perfect. Saturday it had been cloudy so we couldn't see the sun go down into the ocean but this one was just right! I mean just look at that view! Sugar Beach will go down in our books as one of the top five most beautiful places in the world!!
St. Lucia has probably moved into that number one spot of the best island in the Caribbean pulling just ahead of St. Thomas. I'll have to double check Rick's opinion on that but needless to say,
IT WAS AMAZING!
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