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St. Lucia Dec. 2017 Land Based #155654
02/26/2018 02:41 PM
02/26/2018 02:41 PM
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 846
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Sunset_Sammy Offline OP
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Sunset_Sammy  Offline OP
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 846
St. Lucia December 2017
Dec. 14 Up Up & Away
Flew JetBlue, as always, Buffalo to JFK and then on the St. Lucia. The flight to St. Lucia was full, there are always a lot of Lucian ex-pats heading home for the holidays and this year was no different. So many were bringing gifts for their families that the flight was delayed for over an hour as they struggled to get all the luggage loaded onto the plane. I was traveling alone, so at the departure gate at JFK I started looking around for someone who might want to share a taxi. I spotted a fellow that looked like a yachtie, and sure enough, he was heading to the marina in Rodney Bay and readily accepted my offer to share a taxi. Graham was a Brit traveling down from Boston to see his son off on the WARC.
As we were nearing the island there was no cloud cover over Dominica, you could see the scarring on the mountains from hurricane Irma induced slides; it looked akin to having a cat and a leather sofa, like someone had clawed the greenery from the slopes of the mountains.
We arrived after the daily American Airlines and BA flights, but made it through C&I in good time. they were separating travelers staying at a hotel from those staying at a residence, most likely to check for items which may require duty be paid. Graham made it through before me and had already arranged for a taxi. As we were walking to it I heard a familiar voice call my name, Trendy had come to the airport to greet his mom and aunt who had come to the island for the holidays. A distant aunt had just retired as the Governor General, a position she had held for 20 years and many of the family were coming home for the celebration.
We dropped Graham and Trendy off at the marina, then the taxi took me to the Tropical Breeze Guest House in Gros Islet where I was staying. There was some confusion about my reservation; the owners, Ruth and John, were abroad for the holidays and Patrick, the caretaker, doesn’t usually check people in.
I put my luggage away, changed clothes and walked over to the marina. Feeling a bit peckish I stopped at the Bread Basket for a beef roti and a couple beers. The Bread Basket is the local food option at the marina and the most reasonably priced restaurant in the complex. After my dinner I headed over to the Boardwalk Bar to catch up with some friends. Around 11:30 I walked back to the hotel for some well needed rest.
Dec 15
Got up, showered, dressed and was ready to go find some saltfish for breakfast. Patrick was in the dining room and had Ruth on the phone. Unbeknownst to me, my reservation had been canceled; apparently my credit card was declined when I booked, I was surprised as I had a confirmation number. Ruth told me they didn’t have any empty rooms for the night and offered to let me stay in a room they use for storage at no charge. It was a nice jester, but I was able to find another guest house just around the corner. Turns out this problem was really a blessing; the Chez Marie Alish is much nicer and not too much more expensive, $65 a night including tax. Whereas at Tropical Breeze you get a bedroom and private bath, here it is more like an actual hotel room with a kitchenette and balcony. It’s going to be my go to place to stay in future travels. I left most of my stuff at Tropical Breeze and just dropped my backpack off at Chez Marie after checking in.
I headed out in search of breakfast and was sorry to find my usual stop, a small house on a side street where the lady sells food out of her kitchen window, was closed. No worries, there is another place on the main road that has a food stand on the sidewalk in the mornings. I had a salty and bread (saltfish sandwich on Creole bread) and a cup of cocoa tea. I walked along the beach to Pigeon Point, not a bad walk you pass a couple high end resorts on the way.
The beach was more crowded than usual, looks like more cruise ship people are coming here, there were more loungers and umbrellas on the beach than I remember from the past. I didn’t know anyone at the beach so I just had a couple beers and headed back towards town.

[Linked Image]
The local restaurants at Pigeon Point

The small beach just outside of town has become my favorite; it doesn’t have any facilities but during the week it’s practically empty. The sand is soft and the swells don’t run as bad here as they do at Reduit. There is a little bar, Bayview Chillers Bar, close enough to walk to for a drink, but I usually just bring a bottle of coconut water and my flask of rum. They have recently built a comfort station a couple doors down from the bar, clean restrooms and showers for a dollar EC.

[Linked Image]
The beach at Gros Islet

[Linked Image]
A couple local fishing boats on shore in Gros Islet

After the beach I stopped at the Golden Apple Bar for lunch. This is now my favorite place to eat in Gros Islet; I used to like Golden Taste but they’ve become a little too touristy, full menu, appetizers and such. At Golden Apple you get your typical meal, a main with rice, some sort of legume, provisions, salad and either lo mien, potato or green fig salad, steamed veg and such changes by the day. Prices range from 10 EC for stewed backs, 12 for turkey or chicken, 15 for pork, lamb or turtle and 20 for goat not all are available each day.

[Linked Image]
Trendy at Golden Apple

At my age getting ready for the jump up involves an afternoon nap, so that was next on the agenda before heading to the marina to meet Trendy. We hang out at the Boardwalk Bar, a kiosk type bar next to the water. We met up with John, another friend, and the crew of a British yacht; Graham and his son were there also. They had decided to charter a yacht for a few days and sail to the Grenadines. I gave them some advice for stops along the way and suggestions on things to do. After a few drinks we all walked over to the street party. The early part of the evening is more geared towards tourists, the street is just a sea of white faces and the music leaves a little to be desired, I even heard a Tom Jones song playing. The vibe and the music change around 10:30 when more of the locals arrive. I went over to chill at the Irie Bar, a very laid back place with a back room that reminds me of the movie The Deer Hunter. They always have good music playing and I think the DJ was surprised I recognized Buju Banton on one song, but how could you mistake his voice. I looked around for the gang and found them at the fish roast place, one of the women from the yacht was wishing she hadn’t drank so much rum punch while praying for a swift death at the same time. The party wraps up around 2:00 am so on the way back we stopped at one of the drink stands set up on someone’s front porch for a couple night caps.

[Linked Image]
Irie Bar, very local

[Linked Image]
Like the sign says

Some of the highlights over the next few days:
Saturday –Took the bus to Rodney Bay and grabbed coffee and breakfast, a ham & cheese quiche at Bonne Baguette then down to Happy Day bar to chill and watch the boat traffic heading into the lagoon. Grabbed a bus to Castries and hit the market for lunch and some spices to take home.

[Linked Image]
A German yacht with a jury rigged mast leaving the lagoon

Sunday – Lazy day at the beach in Gros Islet, a lot of families have picnics here on Sundays so it was busier than usual. A couple vans pulled up with well dressed folks in them and right there where I was swimming a young girl (12 or 13) was baptized in the sea by the local preacher.
Monday – The government has put money into developing Vigie Beach, right near the airport and an easy walk from the cruise port, so I decided to check it out. I took the bus to the roundabout near there and walked along the beach to the complex. There were a few small bars and restaurants to choose from, I had a nice lunch of curry chicken and a couple beers before making my way back.

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

Vigie Beach

That’s pretty much how this vacation went, days at the beach nights at the bar. I hadn’t planned on coming to St. Lucia for a land based trip this year as we will be sailing up from Grenada with the last leg of the 2017 World Arc in March, but I had some vacation time I had to use up by the end of the year and since it’s one of the cheaper islands to visit I figured why not. It was a little boring traveling alone, Trendy has been picking up odd jobs working on yachts at the marina, but what else do you need besides a beach, rum and a bottle of coconut water to keep hydrated.

[Linked Image]

Friday Dec. 22
Trendy and I took an early bus to Castries and then headed to Soufriere. He wanted to see his mom and I was looking forward to a couple days on the beach there. Boomer, another friend of mine, was back in St. Lucia after spending a couple years in the US. I had hoped to run into him but as we found out he was staying in Castries. I did have Christmas gifts for his daughters who I hadn’t seen in a few years.
We got off the bus and some folks were costumed up for the Jab doorhor, or devil outside, they dance through the streets to drums and you give them a small offering of a couple coins. Being Christmas Eve, the town was busier than usual, you could tell it wasn’t an ordinary day.

[Linked Image]
Jab Jab

Now Trendy grew up in Soufriere, so every corner we turned someone would yell out “Daddy Screw” (his local nickname) and we’d stop and chat for a minute. We checked into the Downtown Hotel, I got my swim suit on and we headed over to Hummingbird Beach. Stopped at the rum shack for a beer then took a dip and relaxed on the sand. The government is currently building some shops at the beach to help bring tourism to the town and provide some well needed jobs. It’s nice for the area, but I do like the undeveloped aspect of it now. Well that’s progress, if it goes as well as Vigie Beach or Pigeon Point it will be good for the community.

[Linked Image]
Hummingbird Beach

[Linked Image]
Petit Piton

We visited Trendy’s sister and stopped at a couple places for drinks with his homeboys before heading back to the hotel. My main reason to visit Soufriere this year was to see Boomers daughters, Twilight and Twinkle. I was going to call their grandmother before leaving for vacation to get their sizes but since I was traveling with carry on only, I figured I would just give them cards with some money in them and they could buy what they wanted. It was nice to see them again, and they had grown quite a bit since I last saw them.
We stopped by a local bar where the soccer match was on TV. Every time someone scored half the bar would run out into the street yelling and jumping up and down, pretty crazy scene and if you just walked up on it at that time you wouldn’t know what to expect.
It was still late afternoon so I went back to the beach while Trendy looked up some old friends and went to see his mom and aunt. We met later at the hotel, changed and showered then went for dinner, I finished up the night at The Big Yard while he was out on the howl with his friends, I just can’t keep up with the young guys like I used to.


Dec 23
Next morning breakfast was at the restaurant on the first floor of the hotel building. The tables were full so I ordered take out not realizing they make one breakfast at a time. As time was dragging on I went outside for a coconut water and then a cocoa tea from one of the ladies on the side of the road. After about 45 minutes or breakfasts finally arrived, by then the other dinners had finished so we grabbed one of the empty tables.
We queued up for the bus to Castries, a lot of people were traveling that day and it was a “rush hour” situation to get on; after being shut out of 2 buses we put politeness aside got on the third bus. Now I always warn people not to look at the tires on the bus before boarding and luckily followed my own advice. The driver must have wanted to make as many trips as possible that day, we were careening around the curves coming down the step roads, at times I thought the bus was going to roll over but we made it safe and sound.
The rest of the day was beach time, dinner, and Boardwalk Bar for drinks. A local church was putting on a Christmas pageant at the intersection by Golden Apple complete with chorus groups and skits. Made for some relaxing entertainment during dinner, especially the short play that revolved around the arrival of a Christmas Barrel.
Dec 24
We walked over to Pigeon Point, a friend of ours had gotten in a little mix up the night before, but hey just another day in the neighborhood. We had some beers and then back to town for a bite at Golden Apple Bar. I went to the beach for a swim and Trendy headed back to the marina where he is boat sitting a yacht while the owner is abroad.
John met us at Boardwalk Bar that night; we stayed till they closed up and then the guys walked me back to Gros Islet. Had a couple at the Spanish bar before bidding our fond adieus and calling it a night.
Dec. 25
The taxi arrived as arranged for the next morning and it was one of Trendy’s friends so he was able to ride along for the trip to the airport. I grabbed a roti at one of the snack bars in the terminal and then it was back to reality for a few weeks until my next trip to Carriacou for Carnival in February.

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

A couple sunset pics



[/b][b]

Last edited by Carol_Hill; 02/26/2018 03:32 PM.

Drink all day at home, your friends worry about you; do it on vacation and they say "what a good time you're having". Save your friends needless worry, travel more!
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Re: St. Lucia Dec. 2017 Land Based [Re: Sunset_Sammy] #155656
02/26/2018 03:34 PM
02/26/2018 03:34 PM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,466
Central Florida!
Carol_Hill Offline
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Carol_Hill  Offline
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Posts: 82,466
Central Florida!
Hi Sammy. You got it almost right. Like I said, you need to use the IMAGE tag when you insert pictures. Click on the image tag, or type in [img] then the picture address, then [/img]

Thanks for the report. Nice pictures!


Carol Hill
Re: St. Lucia Dec. 2017 Land Based [Re: Sunset_Sammy] #155669
02/27/2018 12:17 AM
02/27/2018 12:17 AM
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,635
Brookfield, CT.
pat Offline
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pat  Offline
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,635
Brookfield, CT.
Very nice. TY for sharing your Christmas trip.😊😊


Respectfully,

pat



"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat
them."
Re: St. Lucia Dec. 2017 Land Based [Re: Sunset_Sammy] #155670
02/27/2018 05:22 AM
02/27/2018 05:22 AM
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 3,996
U.K. and Spain
Jeannius Offline
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Jeannius  Offline
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Posts: 3,996
U.K. and Spain
Great report as always Sammy. Already looking forward to your WARC report.

Re: St. Lucia Dec. 2017 Land Based [Re: Sunset_Sammy] #155671
02/27/2018 08:12 AM
02/27/2018 08:12 AM
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 846
S
Sunset_Sammy Offline OP
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Sunset_Sammy  Offline OP
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 846
Thanks for fixing the pictures. I'll try to get it right with my trip report from Carnival.


Drink all day at home, your friends worry about you; do it on vacation and they say "what a good time you're having". Save your friends needless worry, travel more!
Re: St. Lucia Dec. 2017 Land Based [Re: Sunset_Sammy] #155674
02/27/2018 09:33 AM
02/27/2018 09:33 AM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,493
VIRGINIA
B
BEERMAN Offline
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BEERMAN  Offline
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VIRGINIA
Great report Sam! Looking forward to your WARC report, will you be on the same boat as previous reports? what is the name?

Re: St. Lucia Dec. 2017 Land Based [Re: Sunset_Sammy] #155676
02/27/2018 09:58 AM
02/27/2018 09:58 AM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,466
Central Florida!
Carol_Hill Offline
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Carol_Hill  Offline
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Posts: 82,466
Central Florida!
Sammy--no problem. Looking forward to hearing about more of your adventures!


Carol Hill
Re: St. Lucia Dec. 2017 Land Based [Re: BEERMAN] #155679
02/27/2018 12:55 PM
02/27/2018 12:55 PM
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 846
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Sunset_Sammy Offline OP
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Sunset_Sammy  Offline OP
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 846
Yes, I'll be on Skyelark again, should be a great trip as they haven't cruised the Grenadines since January 2016 so it will be a homecoming of sorts.


Drink all day at home, your friends worry about you; do it on vacation and they say "what a good time you're having". Save your friends needless worry, travel more!
Re: St. Lucia Dec. 2017 Land Based [Re: Sunset_Sammy] #155712
02/28/2018 09:25 AM
02/28/2018 09:25 AM
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 3,996
U.K. and Spain
Jeannius Offline
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Jeannius  Offline
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Posts: 3,996
U.K. and Spain
Originally Posted by Sunset_Sammy
Yes, I'll be on Skyelark again, should be a great trip as they haven't cruised the Grenadines since January 2016 so it will be a homecoming of sorts.
Perhaps you could persuade our mutual friend, Fred, to post a report on his trip aboard Skyelark in the South Pacific last year. He's useless at posting toast

Last edited by Jeannius; 02/28/2018 09:26 AM.
Re: St. Lucia Dec. 2017 Land Based [Re: Sunset_Sammy] #184100
02/14/2019 07:58 AM
02/14/2019 07:58 AM
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 1
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shedinebrian Offline
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shedinebrian  Offline
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Very nice. TY for sharing your Christmas trip.


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