Flesh eating fish, ziplines and rum….quite the week! We spent the early portion of the week working on Galt and getting ready for our next move over to Martinique. After some frustrating days, we decided it was time for our last chance for adventure on St. Lucia so we rented our trusty little car again and headed out. Some friends told us about a fish pond that was an easy hike up from Rodney Bay beach. After several wrong turns on potholed roads, we parked the car, found the path and realized a bit too late that we probably could have driven the entire way to the pond. After a short hike we came across a quiet pond that hid a secret. The pond was reportedly full of little fish that would eat away the dead skin from your feet when you submerged your feet in the water. Bill bravely went first and it looked like a piranha feeding frenzy as they attacked his tired and worn feet. When I did not see blood pouring into the water, I decided it was safe to slip my foot into the pond. As I climbed on the rock to sit down, the little fish clustered around the rock staring at me wildly. I hesitantly stuck my foot into the middle of the little fish and they began to gently peck away at my feet. Too gently! It tickled so horribly that I could only stand it for about 5 second intervals. Bill sat there as if nothing was happening to his feet at all! After a few more quick dunks, I decided my tired and worn feet would just have to keep their dead skin attached! Once Bill was done with his tiny fish spa treatment, we walked down to Marie’s Beach Bar which was a 40 year old establishment and something of an institution on St. Lucia. Marie was a feisty woman who said she would not hesitate to use her machete if someone tried to walk out on their bill. We both decided it was best to take her at her word!
Early the next morning, we made our way to Rainforest Adventures which was housed in the St. Lucian Rainforest preserve for a try at zip lining. The first big adventure was getting fitted into all the gear topped by a lovely hairnet. Our group was then shuttled by a treetop tram up the mountain to the zip line course. It was a series of 8 ziplines that soared through the rainforest canopy with stops in between each line. The guides were very meticulous about making sure all the harnesses were attached correctly prior to shoving us off a very high platform. Some of the lines zipped along at quite the fast pace and it often felt like we were going to crash into the next platform but the guides grabbed us with the brake line every time and everyone arrived safely to the bottom. The hard part was that you can’t zipline uphill….so we had to make a strenuous trek up a steep path to get back on the aerial tram for the ride down the mountain but we made it back without any issues and I was quite proud of us! Adventure number three was finding our Airbnb for the night. In the islands, there are no exact addresses so Airbnb just gives you the name of the road. Our GPS system in the rental car was set to Chinese so it was definitely no help. I did figure out that “weechie weechie ook taw” must mean “Watch out! There is a man in the road!” because it said that a lot! We finally found the road and turned to make our way up the hill. We ended up on a dead end road and as the GPS yelled, “weechie weechie ook taw” a man stepped out into the road to help us. I showed him the picture of the Airbnb and asked him if he knew where Christine’s place was. He nodded and said, “Yah, she is a friend of mine. Go back up this road, then take the other road up the hill, round the corner and you’ll see it”. Then, he proceeded to repeat the same directions four more times. It is a thing in St. Lucia to give the same exact directions four time in a row. I don’t know why but at least his directions were accurate! We finally made it to the Airbnb and were smothered in love by the hostess, Christine. She was a mother hen who hovered over us protectively until we finally locked ourselves in our room. She was a heck of a cook though and made us an amazing porkchop dinner so we figured a bit of motherly smothering was worth it. We ended our St. Lucia tour with a trip to the St. Lucia Rum Distillery. It was an interesting tour that explained the history of rum distilling on the island from the time of sugar plantations to modern times. It ended with the usual line of rum products for tasting and a bottle in Bill’s bag to sip on later. Our final stop was at Marigot Bay where the original Dr. Dolittle was filmed. Dr. Dolittle’s giant pink snail was no longer in the bay but I enjoyed it just the same! Tomorrow we will turn in our rental car which has been a trusty steed on our adventures. I forgot to mention that St. Lucia is the only island we have visited that has actual functioning red lights! We won’t miss those….they just seem to confuse everyone….. Fingers crossed that the next blog will be sent out from Martinique which is a day’s sail away. Enjoy Mardi Gras and if you give up something for Lent, be sure it’s not something too difficult! God will understand!
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The week started off with a bang…literally. We were packing our gear to dinghy over to Pigeon Island National Park when all of a sudden, a tender from one of the cruise ships ran over our dinghy and shoved it under the swim platform! Bill went over to have a heated discussion with the cruise worker who called over to the ship for the “safety” officers to come “do an investigation”. Not much to investigate in my opinion since there were at least 20 witnesses to the fact that their captain plowed over our poor dinghy! The officers came over on the next tender and climbed aboard Galt to discuss the situation. As the safety officers watched the tender ‘captain’ maneuver the tender, one of them said, “Wow, that guy doesn’t know how to drive,” and shook his head. After asking some questions and taking some notes, we all exchanged contact information in case the dinghy had issues over the next few days. Luckily, it seemed to weather the event quite well and we figured the dinghy survived the day better than the tender ‘captain’s’ job had. Once the excitement was over, we made our way over to Pigeon Island National Park. The park was once a small fort held by the British. It had some ruins and two peaks which could be hiked. We chose the smaller of the two peaks and had an easy hike to the top where we were rewarded with amazing views of Rodney Bay.
We spent the next few days trying to track down a rental car. The Sixt Car Rental at the marina wanted $100 USD per day for a car. No deal. Bill then called four other car companies who informed him they had no cars to rent. Finally, on Thursday, one of the rental companies called and said they had a car returned so we grabbed it quickly for the bargain rate of $50 USD per day. On Friday, we headed south down to the town of Soufriere. We had anchored at Soufriere last summer on our way to Grenada but we had not been allowed to get off the boat so we were looking forward to exploring the area. We headed to Diamond Estate Gardens where we had a nice walk through the gardens that culminated at the Diamond waterfall. The waterfall had amazing colors that shifted with the light. The colors were from the many ores that were in the river which flowed directly from the volcano upstream. The estate offered private mineral baths so Bill and I opted for a bit a spoiling and enjoyed a few minutes in a very hot bath. Feeling refreshed and relaxed, we made our way into town for dinner. The problem with being an obvious tourist in Soufiere is that you cannot simply walk down the street. From the moment the car hits the main road, you are directed to parking by three different guys pointing in three different directions followed by at least ten guys trying to sell you tours and last but not least, the jewelry salesman offering “handmade” necklaces….perfectly handmade in China. After running the gauntlet, we had a not so great dinner but the view of the Pitons was incredible so we called it a good day. The next day not a good day. It was a great and amazing day! It was one of those days that you remember for years as if it was yesterday. In the morning, we went to Morne Coubaril Historical Park. It was an old plantation that had recreated a small village to show what life had been like during plantation times on the island. The plantation house itself was still in use and was privately owned. We were very glad to dodge the cruise ship tours and we have realized how spoiled we have been during the Times of the Stupid. We rounded out the tour with a rum tasting which suited Bill just fine. From the park, we drove to the world’s only drive-in volcano. We did not really know what to expect but I promise you, it would have exceeded any expectations we could have had! As we walked into the cauldron, steam rose from every surface. Our tour guide explained that they used to allow tourists to walk amongst the steam but one of the guides cracked through the surface and fell into the boiling water. He had second degree burns on his legs but lived to tell the tale. As we approached the top viewing area, we could hear the loud roar of the pits bubbling like a boiling cauldron. The volcano had not erupted since 1766 but I’d say it’s making a plan. We teased the guide about sacrificing a virgin in 1766 but the French ruled the island at that time so we figured they could not have located a virgin. She seemed to enjoy our humor so we had a fun tour with her. Following the volcano walk was the sulfur mud baths! They had four different baths that went from tear the skin off your body down to merely scalding hot. We chose the merely scalding hot bath and luxuriated in the hot bath while smearing mud all over ourselves. I figured in the States this type of spa treatment would have been at least $100 so we found it a bargain at only $20! It was fun to watch the tour guides “decorate” their tourists with mud designs and precariously placed handprints. A good time for all! We both still have spots that I am sure the mud won’t come out of for some time. We finished the day at an amazing little hotel that had an infinity pool and the most beautiful view. As I said, a perfect day. Life this week will be doing some repairs and hopefully getting the refrigerator thermostat functioning! The thermostat arrived from Italy so we have fingers crossed it will solve the problem. St. Lucia celebrates their Independence Day on Tuesday so we are hoping there might be some sort of celebration but we never know….it could just be that they drink a lot of rum and have “rum sickness” which is what the locals call a hangover….. ***More pictures on Picture Tab Nothing ends a wonderful trip to a country like having a swab shoved up your nose at the bargain cost of $180.00 per person. In order to check into St. Lucia, we had to get yet another PCR test in St. Vincent. I think we are currently in the vicinity of 22 tests. The St. Vincent test was quite humorous. First, we were shuffled into an office with the usual “wear a mask” and “maintain social distance” nonsense. Then, we were sent into a room that was about 6 X 10 with several other people to fill out paperwork. As usual, the credit card machine was not working so the girl had to run to another office to get the credit card transaction. We were then directed back outside and upstairs to what I can only describe as a phone booth size space that was on the outside deck of the building. The premise was that the person being tested would step into the “phone booth”, close the door and wait for the nurse to approach from the other side of the booth. Needless to say, we voted not to sit in the hot phone booth because we are rebellious souls. We figured that the test cost so much because they had to pay for the construction of the booth. Surprise, surprise, the tests were negative again so on we go!
After getting all the St. Lucia paperwork completed and submitted, we decided to make our way slowly up the coast of St. Vincent and check out of the country in Walliabou Bay. Walliabou was where the main shooting for the first two Pirates of the Caribbean movies was completed so I was excited. On the way to Walliabou, we were going to stop and snorkel in a bat cave. We made our way into an isolated bay and dropped anchor. It is very rare that we have ever felt uneasy or unsafe during all our travels. At this particular bay, we saw a man on the beach. It was a very isolated beach with no obvious way to get there. As we pulled into the bay, the man moved up and hid in the trees. We decided to stay on the boat for a few minutes to see if the man came back out to the beach. He remained hidden in the trees. At that point, neither one of us felt comfortable leaving Galt unattended so we pulled up anchor and left the bat cave snorkel for another time. Once we were settled in Walliabou Bay for the night, we had other boaters who reported having an uncomfortable situation at the bat cave bay that day as well so we were glad we listened to our instincts. Our next adventure of the day was dealing with one of the boat boys who had quoted us a much higher cost for the mooring ball than the actual charge. We were disheartened that he had cheated us because we had never had an issue with the locals prior to this time. When we reported what he had done to the other boat boys, they were not happy. In fact, when he showed up in the bay the next day, they immediately ratted him out and then watched with obvious glee while we confronted him and insisted on our money back. He never admitted guilt but we came to a settlement upon which we could all agree. The funniest part of the day was watching as the other boat boys ostracized him from the group and would not allow him to help with the incoming boats. I doubt he will try to cheat anyone else in the near future! Exploring the movie set in Walliabou did not take long. It was the set for Port Royal in the movies but time, volcanic ash, storms and neglect had taken their toll. We were quite disappointed that no clever entrepreneur had figured out what a money making machine it could have been. Bill and I came up with at least 20 money making ideas before the end of dinner! If anyone is interested in moving to St. Vincent and becoming a millionaire, let me know….we have the ideas for you! There was a small “museum” that had several old pieces of communication equipment and at least fifty old phones that were exactly the same. Nothing was labeled so we were not sure what the items were but someone definitely had a phone fetish. After a couple of days at Walliabou, we checked out of St. Vincent and began our trek to St. Lucia. A trip that was supposed to take 6 hours ended up taking close to 9 hours due to the wind and the waves pushing against us the entire run. We also had a situation where the dreaded “f” word reared its’ ugly head again….you guessed it, the fuel tanks! Sputtering out again for no apparent reason, the fuel tank mystery has returned. Bill rerouted the tanks so we could get on the move again. He is becoming quite the expert and I think his current record for rerouting tanks is about 2 minutes. We made it to St. Lucia and spent a lovely night in the anchorage at Vieux Fort. We cleared customs and immigration without issue and for once, no cost! We sailed up to Rodney Bay Marina where we will be housed for our time on St. Lucia. The marina is its’ own little village with restaurants, shops, services and more boats than we have seen in a long time. We look forward to exploring the island including a volcano, sulfur springs, breweries and waterfalls. The good news for the week is that when we pulled in, there were five large cruise ships here! Life seems to be getting back into a normal rhythm for the locals which is excellent news! Remember that it is Valentine’s Day this week so you don’t end up in the doghouse! This week, I am going to challenge the Biblical teachings of childhood. We were all taught that Eve fell to the temptation of the serpent and ate the apple thus getting she and Adam driven from Eden. At least, that’s what we were told. Are we sure that’s how it happened? Really sure? I have been to Eden and I am here to tell you I would have eaten the apple without the serpent’s coercion. I promise you that Eve did not eat the apple for knowledge or out of curiosity. She ate the apple to get kicked out of the garden of Eden so she could escape the bugs. Our exploration of the island of St. Vincent led us to gritty towns, old forts and the Garden of Eden. We spent our first day exploring the city of Kingstown. It was the first actual city we have had in a long while. The Vincys are just as creative with naming things as the other islanders so Kingstown was made up of Bay Street, Middle Street and Back Street. The city reminded me of one of the New York City boroughs. A little gritty, a lot of street vendors and a lot people. We finally made our way to a hole in the wall restaurant called the Pirate’s Pub. It was dark and seedy and had amazing food! Most of the British islands have not had much variety of food so Bill was excited to have the difficult choice between curried rabbit and curried mutton. He settled on the rabbit and even I, the picky eater, had to admit it was delicious. After lunch, we walked (uphill, of course) to the oldest botanical garden in the western hemisphere. The garden was established in 1765 by a local doctor. He imported plants from all around the world and the gardens had many plants we had never seen. Our tour guide would say the name of the plants three or four times with the hope that we might recall at least one but no deal. We both decided we needed Bill’s mother, the Master Gardener, on this tour. One interesting thing we learned that day was that mace and nutmeg come from the same pod so a very useful pod….spice up your drink and take out an attacker at the same time!
On the way back to the marina, we met a taxi driver named Khalvin who offered to take us around the island the next day. We started the tour with a trip to Fort Charlotte which was built by the British in 1806. The crazy part of this fort was that the cannons were constructed to point inward to the land. The reason for the land facing cannons was the British feared the Amerindians far more than they feared the French. After much bloodshed, the British conquered the island and St. Vincent remained a British territory until 1979. We then headed out to the countryside to visit the Montreal Gardens. We drove through the region of the island called Mesopotamia which is their farming district. It had beautiful rolling hills and tall mountains with acres of farmland. The gardens were located at the end of a road which had definitely seen better days but as soon as we turned into the gardens, we knew we were going to get some incredible pictures. The garden was lush and full of beautiful flowering plants….and bugs. Lots and lots of bugs. As we walked, I had to be sure to keep my mouth closed so I would not eat bugs for lunch. It had never occurred to me that the Garden of Eden had bugs but if Eve was eating bugs on her daily walk, I am guessing that apple option looked like a possible out. On the way down the mountain, we stopped for lunch at a roadside stand where the women were grilling chicken, pork and breadfruit. We enjoyed a delicious picnic on the beach which was a great way to wrap up the day. Our plans for this week are to make our way up the St. Vincent coast which promises a bat cave and several Pirates of the Caribbean movie sets. After a massively overpriced PCR test ($180.00 each…What a racket!), we will make our way over to St. Lucia. We are looking forward to exploring St. Lucia since we were unable to get off the boat last year on our way down the islands due to the lockdown. All aboard for St. Lucia! *****Many, many more pics on the Pictures tab*** |
AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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