St. Lucia - Day 2

Day 2 of our trip - Saturday, August 18 2012 

Another day in paradise!  We woke up on the second day of our trip and headed to breakfast.  I took some pictures along the way.

Pathway on the property

Fruits growing throughout the property

interesting flower

I like to call this one the strawberry shortcake flower

Our plan was to take it easy and relax by the pool today.  Breakfast was good, it was buffet style and there were a few other couples already there when we got there.  We tried their local cherry juice, which tasted like a combination of oranges and mangos, toast with butter and their homemade mango banana jam, coffee, and eggs.

After breakfast, Brian and I were hanging out by the front office where they have Wi-Fi.  We were checking out e-mails as I overheard a guest wanting to do a sail and snorkel trip but she needed a minimum of four people.  When she saw us outside the office, she asked if we’d be interested in doing the sail and snorkel with her and her boyfriend, it was only $60 a person.  They introduced themselves, Christiana and Aidin from Southern California.  We said sure!  They seem really nice.  The office was able to set up the trip for today.  Brian and I were both excited to meet other people here.  They are staying at the hotel until Thursday, so maybe we will do other excursions with them!

The four of us met the taxi driver around noon and we headed into town.  Our driver, Marcus, was really nice and stopped the car to point out the beautiful views along the way.

view of one of the pitons

As we drove closer to the port of Soufriere, you could tell it was a poor area.  We met up with one of the guys who would be taking us out on the boat, Shae, who led us to a small shop to pick up the snorkel gear.  Once we got our masks and fins, he took us to the boat.  It was so nice and big and all ours for the entire day!   

The views as we were pulling away from the island were absolutely gorgeous.  Shae offered us drinks and we all enjoyed the local piton beer as we sailed our way north of the island.  

Town of Soufriere

The captain of the boat was an older man named Andrew.  After about 45 minutes of sailing, we arrived at the area we would be snorkeling, called Anse Cochon.

view of the petit piton

Brian and Aidin enjoying the ride

about to jump in!

As soon as we anchored the boat, we could see bright yellow fish in the water right away!  We all jumped off the back of the boat and into the water.  It felt nice and refreshing.  I’ve never really snorkeled before so this was a cool experience.  We spotted an eel, a turtle, sea urchins, coral, and lots of colorful fish.  It was so peaceful and relaxing being in the water among all the sea life.  A few local vendors approached us while we were snorkeling on their kayaks trying to sell us mangoes and shells and other island items.  Christiana was pretty good at fending them off.  We snorkeled for about an hour or so, and then got back on the boat.  Aidin bought four mangoes from one of the Kayak salesman and gave Brian and me two of them.  We bit into the fresh and juicy mangoes while we were still dripping wet from the ocean.  I felt like such a true islander at that moment!

The four of us moved to the front of the boat on the way back to enjoy the views and take pictures.  Christiana and Aidin were telling us about their long trip from California to St. Lucia and their long trip and layovers planned for the trip back home.  In total, it took them nearly 24 hours to get to the island.  That made Brian and me very appreciative of our direct flight!

a cave where there is a large population of bats

St. Lucia flag

When our boat docked, there were three or four young boys helping us step off the boat.  They immediately started asking for money.  We told them that we were sorry, and that we had none, but they made us feel pretty uncomfortable.  They wouldn’t leave us alone.  When we got off the dock, we spotted our taxi driver – good timing.  Marcus took us to a local supermarket so we could buy snacks, wine, and beer. 

When we got back to the plantation and settled back into our room, we realized Brian’s back was completely sunburned from snorkeling. Oops.  We’ll have to remember to put more sunblock on next time.

We showered and got ready for dinner.  By the time we walked over to the main restaurant on the property, we were starving.  The waitress brought warm garlic bread to our table.  To start, I ordered a salad and Brian got the black eyed pea soup (really good) and we ordered a bottle of wine.  For the main course I got the Red Snapper which came with a fruit salsa and rice.  Brian had a sirloin steak with mashed potatoes.  For desert we ordered cocoa fondues -the frozen cocktail that we tried on the first night and tasted like red velvet, and a crepe flambe.

Well, the sun completely tired us out for today, but we still have lots of things we want to do this week:  the plantation tour, climb the Gros Piton, maybe zipline, go to Jalousie beach, relax by the pool, and the surprise I have planned for Brian’s birthday on Tuesday.  I’m excited that his birthday is tomorrow!  It’ll be a nice relaxing day.