The Pitons, Saint Lucia

Today is our third day in Saint Lucia. We arrived early Saturday afternoon and spent the rest of that day clearing customs, dropping off laundry and doing a small grocery shop at the Rodney Bay Marina. The anchorage in Rodney Bay was quiet, sea wise, but we were anchored close to the Sandals Resort and there was music playing into the early morning.

The second day we went back to the lagoon/marina and found a bigger shopping complex. We got a kick out of some of the signs that we at the Burger King. Randy and Aleitha did some souvenir shopping and then we all did a more complete grocery shop. Picked up the laundry and headed back to the boat.

In the afternoon we dinghied over to Jambe de Bois, a little restaurant at the base of Pigeon Island. It is situated in the national park so a fee was entailed whether or not we took part in any of the park activities. Griff, Randy and Aleitha went snorkeling while I spent time working on the blogs since we were able to access the net at the restaurant. We were also able to exchange some of our novels at the book exchange. We all took advantage of the fact we had internet access and called family back home. Most of those we contacted were not impressed with us telling them about the sunny, 30^o weather we were experiencing since they were in the middle of a spring snow storm.

Since Aleitha and Randy have arrived our evening routine has changed a bit. We have Aleitha and Randy addicted to DS BrainAge, it actually didn’t take long, so we all do that every evening or late afternoon. We eat a bit later than usual and then play cards (partner crib – men vs. women). We are about even now for wins and losses. We all spend some time during the evening just reading.

Today we left Rodney Bay around 0700 to sail to the southern end of the island. The trip was uneventful. The winds were from the ENE at 2 – 20 knots and the seas were approximately 0 – 0.5 metres – very smooth sailing. Randy and Aleitha were at the helm for the entire trip except for leaving and entering harbour. I even took some time to play the recorder.

We sailed to a bay, The Pitons, south of Soufriere. This bay is one that Oprah says it is one of the 5 places she feels you should visit before you die. The bay has mountains (~ 2500feet) at either end – Petit and Gros Piton. These were formed when lava was pushed up from the volcano and solidified.

We decided that we would use the services of Shane, the boat boy who helped us pick up a mooring ball, and take a tour around the area. Shane took us over to Soufriere (means sulfur in the air) where he introduced us to Ricardo who would be our taxi driver for the tour. We started our tour at the Botanical Gardens – lush, tropical gardens on a private estate. The gardens included hot sulphur pools that had been in use since the time of Napoleon and a waterfall that has been featured in a couple of movies – Superman II and Romancing the Stone. The guide was very knowledgeable about the plants and history of the area.

From there we went on to visit The Volcano. This area is one were the gases from the volcano come to the surface and heat the water in the pools. Lots of steam and bubbling pools. The temperature in the pools was 100⁰C and the steam was much hotter. One of the pools was called Gabriel’s Pool. It was formed when a guide named Gabriel was showing a tour group how soft the ground was. He jumped up and down not realizing it was hollow underneath. He broke through the crust and landed in a boiling pool up to his waist. Tours are no longer allowed to walk over the area.

Next on the tour was a stop at a volcanic waterfall and the opportunity to soak in a warm mineral pool which the guide claimed would make us look and feel 10 years younger! The guys took advantage of the opportunity since they were wearing shorts that would dry quickly, the girls didn’t. At each stop on the tour we had a different guide. Each was quite knowledgeable about the sights they were showing us.

The last thing on the tour was time to roam around the town of Soufriere. We ended our time there with our usual purchase of ice cream. Then it was back to the boat and a quick snorkel session for Randy and Aleitha in the nearby Marine Reserve (which they report was awesome) while I wrote this blog and Griff was the ‘boat boy’.