CHILLIN IN ST. LUCIA

Dave and I finally got a chance to have a time out and relax. This is the first time in many, many years that we have actually taken a trip that didn't revolve around BUSINESS.

Yes, we had 1o days on the Island of St. Lucia in the South Eastern Caribbean. The resort was located between the Atlantic Ocean and The Caribbean Sea. So, you had water views from both sides. We were lucky to be on the Caribbean side. We had a spectacular view from the balcony of our room that changed constantly. These are just a few shots that we took from there. Several mornings we ate breakfast on our balcony.

While we were there we took a water trip by catamaran to see some of the sites on the island. On this day we were headed to Soufriere to see the volcano, mineral baths and botanical garden.

We went to Diamond Botanical Gardens and saw the water fall located there. This is the waterfall that was filmed in the movie, "Romancing the Stone".

The gardens were beautiful. We were disappointed that we did not see parrots or many undomesticated animals on our trip. One dead snake that we were told was very poisonous.On this trip we also saw the Pitons, these two mountains in the background, that are landmarks of St. Lucia. One of the highlights of our trip was zip lining through the Rain Forest. The zip lining itself wasn't too bad once you got the hang of it. (no pun intended for those of you who have done this and know what I mean) Getting to each zip line was another story. It is very warm and humid in the rain forest and there was a lot of climbing and hiking to each line. Some of the lines were 1500 feet in length, but they never told us how high up we were. Here I am zipping along.

There were two rope bridges that we had to cross. It was scary and a bit strenuous. It was a good thing that there were a few people ahead of us, as there were times that I had to catch my breath after the climbs and hikes. The harnesses that you wear are not too flattering or I would show you the shot Dave took of me on the rope bridge. One of the kids that put the harnesses and safety stuff on us asked me if this (zip lining) was on my "Bucket List".

We took a couple trips into Castries to visit the central market. This was like our farmer's market and flea markets. Dave was looking for locally made herbal remedies. At the market we found all kinds of yummy spices. The women selling the spices, as well as some of the women that were buying from the vendors were very helpful and gave us information on how the many spices could be used medicinally. Here are some ladies that were trying to tell Dave how to use the local spices for making Spiced Rum.They were so sweet. They kept telling him over and over, until he finally got it. They also told him that the spices would be VERY GOOD for him. The lady in orange was the vendor and the other two ladies were shoppers.

The market was a fun place. We really liked the part of it that was like the farmer's market. Dave saw a young fellow with a liter water bottle that he was having filled with coconut water. There was also an older gentleman that got some coconut water and drank it straight from the coconut. Thinking this was pretty cool, Dave bought a coconut for a dollar fifty Eastern Caribbean (about sixty cents US) and the lady selling them cut one open for him with here machete.

She spoke only Creole, so another lady there told her what Dave wanted. Here he is drinking his coconut water. He also had her cut the coconut in two and he ate the jelly inside.

As luck would have it, all of our spices made it home from St. Lucia.

We took a ton of pictures while we were there. Well about 1000. We got a kick out of taking shots of flowers and statues and just cool looking things. This is an archway in the resort that kept changing with the light. It was rainy and then sunny.
The trees and the flowers were amazing. Look at these.

Another thing that Dave enjoyed picturing were the sunsets. Always awesome.

Each day we got going fairly early. We walked on the beach, climbed the mountains, and always made sure we got out early enough to grab a good spot on the beach. The water was great and the sun felt even better. It was in the eighties every day and the trade winds made it perfect. Here is Dave on the beach. Yes, he is looking for stones, coral and shells. No he didn't completely detour away from business.

The beach was kept clean and each morning you would see the guys out picking up and raking the sand. Here is a wheel barrow with a great saying.
We truly had fun and we did relax. Being in the water and on the beach was a high point for me. Dave said the best thing he did was get a massage. He waited til the next to the last day to do it. He was pretty mellow afterword and he said he thought he had died and gone to heaven.

And there we were, Just Chillin in St. Lucia

and as the Island People would say:

No Problem ! No Pressure !