St Lucia

January 22 - 28, 2015

1 - Grenada, 2 - Carriacou, 3 - Union Island, 4 - Tobago Cays, 5 - Mayreau,
6 - Bequia, 7 - St. Lucia

A - Rodney Bay,  B - The Pitons,  C - The Pink Plantation
D - Marigot Bay,  E - Pigeon Island

We left Bequia just as the sun was coming up -- 6:15.  Because we had decided not to stop in St Vincent, due to reported crime, we had a 9 1/2 hour trip ahead of us.  We opted to go directly to St Lucia.  Unfortunately, St Lucia is beginning to get the same reputation as it's neighbor.  We had no problems.  In fact, Brian left his credit card at a gas station.  24  hours later he went back to see if it was there.  They remembered him and put it in his hot little hand! 

St Lucia's claim to fame are the Pitons.  They are two volcanic spires that rise out of the water.  Gross Piton is 2,530 feet high and Petit Piton is 2,438 feet.  
We rented a car for three days.  Our first day of exploring took us to Ladera for lunch.  It is ranked as a top destination in the Caribbean by Conde Nast. I'm surprised they let us in!  The whole resort focuses on the fabulous Pitons and wealthy guests.  
Even though the island is only 238 square miles, driving even a short distance takes hours. Winding two lane roads with hairpin curves occasionally became one lane.  Our top speed got up to 30 mph.  What  we thought would be an hour drive took 3 1/2 hours.  Needless to say, we had a LATE lunch.  

Our lunch time view. 

The architecture at Ladera is pure
Polynesian!  Carved accents
everywhere.

Day two of the car rental started out with breakfast and shopping in Rodney Bay .  In one of the shops I saw some art by Michelle Elliot.  I had purchased one of her prints on a previous trip.  The salesperson told us we should visit her restaurant, The Pink Plantation.  It also has a gallery with a large collection of her work.  Luck was with us!  As we drove towards Marigot Bay, I spotted a small sign pointing to her shop.  What a fabulous stop!  Great art, food, landscaping and charming people.  The main building is a 140 year old French Colonial home with ocean views on 2 acres of lush tropical gardens. Magnificent!   

  

After sensory overload at the Pink Plantation we continued south to Marigot Bay, our original destination.  It is a small marina in a well sheltered bay.  A new resort is part of the facility. 

   

The last day with a car we set out to find a beach.  I had read of two in the area that were ranked in the top five by lonely planet guide book.  Unfortunately, we found that they were both part of resorts.  Jon, who can usually talk anyone down, tried to gain entry at Smuggler's Bay.  We watched as he talked to two security guards and then chatted with the main office on the phone.  The best he could do was $75/person to use the beach.  Too rich for our blood.  We headed back to Pigeon Island (which really isn't an island and there were no pigeons).  We found a nice beach that the locals use.  It was adjacent to the Sandals Resort.  Brian, Jon and Bonnie bet I couldn't get past the guard gate at Sandals.  That was the challenge I needed.  I strolled down our beach and through the gate without a question from the guard.  The beach wasn't any better than where we were and the locals were more fun....but I did win the bet!

Gregory, our floating produce stand,
comes by almost every day with an
assortment of fresh Caribbean fruits
and vegetables.  He is quite the
marketing genius.

This is quite brilliant!  The sewing
machine is attached to the floor.
Kenney's bench seat is below the
floor.  The entire floor becomes his
work table.

Our bimini was in rough shape.  When it rained the water came through it like it didn't exist.  We had thought we would leave St Lucia on Tuesday, but then we met Kenny at Rodney Bay Sails and our departure was moved back a day.  Kenny is super nice and very professional.  He gave us an itemized bid and promised he could have the work done on Tuesday.  His price was reasonable. We were impressed with him and the results were excellent.  We wish we could hang around for a couple more days to have some additional work done by him.  

Nigel

Ken

Nigel, our dock master, stopped by to tell us a Krogen story.  His boss, Ken, is visiting from England and is only here for a couple of days. Ken originally arrived in St Lucia from Spain on a Krogen Whaleback in the mid 80's.  When he got here the entire marina site was a giant swamp.  He developed the marina by dredging the area and has gone on to become the head of the IGC Americas.  Another Krogen success story------ 

Our last day in St Lucia we took the bus
to a beach in Rodney Bay.  A perfect day!
One of us walked the beach and swam....
guess who!




Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!