St Lucia 2018

When we went to bed last night, our plan was to wake at 6:30 and, if by some miracle it wasn't raining, to eat a quick breakfast and head to Soufriere, 46km south of our resort, to see Les Pitons - the twin volcanic peaks that St. Lucia is known for.  Well, the miracle came to pass:  there was no rain and the forecast showed no likelihood of rain til 12 noon.  Up we got, were at breakfast as soon as it opened, and were on the road before 8:30. 46km in St. Lucia can take a long, long time.  The roads are narrow, windy, filled with potholes, and the switchbacks are never-ending.  To make things worse, our Chevvy Spark has no pep at all, so the mountainous roads were brutal.  All told, the 46km distance took us one-and-a-half hours. The lushness of the island and its mountainous terrain were incredible to see.  But coming down the final stretch into Soufriere and seeing Les Pitons set out before our eyes was truly a special sight to behold. We quick...

For at least the last 10 years, we have gone south on this Remembrance Day long weekend. And not once has it rained to speak of. When we turned in last night, the forecast for today was anything but promising. In fact, as we left breakfast  at 9:30 , the rain started. We headed to the beach in spite of it, and found that the combo of a beach umbrella and a palm tree kept us fairly dry. But there were times when the rain came in absolute buckets and there was no getting around the water! When you fly from Canada to the southern Caribbean for four short days, you become bent on making beach-time happen – rain, or no rain. So we spent a full three hours amid the start-stop-start showers. It was actually kind of entertaining, as everyone else seemed bent on making the most of it, too, and the number of water sport participants was more exciting than a Netflix feature! First, a cool-dude water-skier went out and showed off using one ski. Next, a woman with a ski-board – she wasn't quite...

Before I get into today, let me share a few contextual things about St. Lucia. Named after Saint Lucia of Syracuse by European explorers in the 1600s, the island is 238 lush tropical square miles, often referred to as the Eden of the Caribbean. Home to 170,000 people, it's best known for its twin peaks – the Pitons – that soar over 2000 feet about sea level.  First sighted by the Spanish in early 1500s, the Brits tried to colonize it in the 1600s, and the French a century later. The British and French fought over it for 150 years. The Treaty of Paris finally ceded it to the British in 1814. English replaced French as the official language in 1842, but most people still speak the local French Creole dialect. St. Lucia gained full independence in 1979. So with that background checked off, let me tell you about today. We awoke to the sound of pouring rain, so we rolled over and caught up on much-needed sleep  until 8:30 . The breakfast buffet was excellent, featuring an ...