As I write this we are both sitting with our laptops on our knees on the balcony of our room, working away quitely.
The only noise is the tap-tapping on the keys, the pidgeons cooing and the occasional growling from Simon at the cheeky little blackbirds that are so tame, they come and sit at our feet, or fly into our room behind us.
We arrived in St Lucia yesterday which was Saturday our time. Our first real example of Caribbean flight service – as we queued up (the check in counter is outside the building!!!) they told us our flight was full, then changed their minds and said it wasn’t.
We checked in and wondered if we would ever see our bags again. The boarding passes didn’t have any indication of a gate number so we wandered through to the bar where I sampled a delicious rum or two. I know it was only 9am but the planes were tiny, and I’d just seen a pilot at the check in counter who was busy telling the hostess how tired he was from his big night out! Eeeek.
Anyway we decided to walk to the furtherest away gate to see if it was our and it was, but there was no plane and yet and no indication when one might arrive. Eventually planes did arrive and they were duely filled up but it just seemed as though the officials would shout out a destination and people would leap up and rush through the doors to the planes.
When it came our turn we were near the front of the line to leave the building but wondered why everyone was rushing past us. We soon learned that the tiny tiny plane seating was first-come first-served basis and everyone wanted a window seat. (God knows why!!!)
A child vomitted on the flight and it was a little bumpy coming into St Lucia but otherwise the 30 minute trip was OK, even for me.
We are near the main city, Castries. First impressions of our place here were amazing… two free drinks as we checked in, a personal ‘ambassador’ to help with any queries during the stay…. But then after three hours and our room still wasn’t ready, we were grumpy about having to sit around waiting. Some more grumpy others, I must say, but tantrums mean nothing here!
Finally we got to our room and relaxed. Its beautiful, but has a Mediterrean theme which is stupid. I wake up thinking I’m in a Greek villa.
Today we hired a car and drive to the other end of St Lucia to see the famous Piton mountains. Two cone shaped volcanoes that stick up out of the sea right on the end of the island. Very beautiful! We drove and drove and drove and evenutally ended up at a resort in between the two Pitons, which has a nice beach and a very captive market. There is nothing for miles around and the road is so windy and scary, it is difficult to imagine all the Americans and Brits venturing out on it anyway. We had lunch and nearly choked on the prices but it is very secluded and cateres for some with better currencies than ours!!! Very impressive landscape however so worth it for the experience.
The trip there was so amazing, such windy roads like going over the Kaimai Ranges or over to Akaroa endlessly. But steeper roads, sheerer cliffs. We travelled through villages called Anse la Raye, Canaries and Soufriere.
My favourite part was going through the banana plantations were we bought a bunch of bananas straight off the tree from a roadside seller. The bananas hang on the trees covered in bright blue plastic wrapping to keep the hummingbirds etc off. $10 East Caribbean currency for a bunch.
In the middle of all this – and the plantation went for miles and miles on the only straight part of the road – were a whole heap of critters playing street cricket. Simon stopped to take a cool picture of them and made a few little friends (harmless cos they weren’t taxi drivers this time!!)
Long journey but well worth it so too the little villages and the landscape.
Tomorrow we’ll head north into Gros Islet which is a fast growing town.
PICTURES: (as requested by Mrs F Courtney) Simon on our balcony, the bananas in the trees, the Pitons with a street seller man, and the Gros Piton as seen from the beach between the two.
