Island Life - A Quick Recap of Our Trip to St. Lucia

Anse Chastanet beach in Soufriere, St. Lucia

I can’t believe the vacation we’ve been planning and looking forward to for months has come and gone!  It was such an adventure and unforgettable experience.  Brian and I are so happy that we got to do so many things and that the vacation was everything and more that we hoped for.  I kept a journal of everything we did each day, so when I get a chance to type it all out, I’ll do a post for each day we were in our tropical paradise.

Relaxing before heading to the beach on Brian's birthday

Just a little background info/highlights: We stayed at a working Cocoa plantation called Fond Doux Holiday Plantation in Soufriere, St. Lucia. There are 10 cottages on the property, so we were able to make friends easily, as we saw familiar faces each day.  We were there for one week, and although it is considered rainy season, it only rained one day, while tropical storm Isaac was rolling through.  I thoroughly enjoyed the “island life”, so much so that I even forgot my flip flips on three different occasions, feeling no need to have shoes and or any belongings.  I took over 1700 pictures.  I know, a bit overboard for seven days but there was so much to see!  So many new tropical flowers, plants, birds, fruit, people, and experiences that I had to capture.

Town of Soufriere, St. Lucia

After a week of being on vacation and feeling stress-free and well-rested, it’s hard to get back into the normal routine of waking up early and going to work.  But I also have a new appreciation for how fortunate I am, and how people in other parts of the world live on so much less, but are still perfectly content.  It made me realize that I don’t always need to have something new or expensive – I should appreciate what I already have.  Soufriere is not the main tourist town on the island, so we got to see a lot of how the people actually live.  Although we were a bit sheltered staying at the plantation, every time we left the property we saw how different their lives are from the typical American.  Worn out clothes and shoes, older cell phones, older cars, small houses, etc. were the norm.  As we walked around with our Iphones and camera, I quickly realized how fortunate we were. 

The main things I took away from our trip to St. Lucia were the beauty of the island, the slower pace, or "island time", a few good friends, and the wonderful quality time that Brian and I got to spend together.  I can't wait to share more in the upcoming posts!  Stay tuned.

Cheers!