The Final Days in Paradise

Well tonight is the very last night of our vacation.  We board the plane at Hewanorra  Airport late tomorrow afternoon.   Of course, that means that we still have plenty of time to get a little sunburnt by the pool tomorrow afternoon.  Gotta bring some of that Lucian sun home with us to Des Moines!  I am not excited about coming home to freezing rain, but I am ready to be home.  I can’t wait to see Aaron and celebrate Christmas with my family. 

The last few days have been a lot of fun! Dinner on Wednesday night at Silk was fantastic.  We shared a bottle of wine and ate family-style – eating off of everyone else’s plates! Thursday we went on an all day tour of the island.  I had seen a lot of the sites, but it was nice for everyone else to get a chance to experience things.  Our driver’s name was Richie, and he was a lot of fun.  We went up the east side of the island first, because we had been up the west side to Soufriere twice already this week.  Our first stop was at Mandele Lookout.  This is the same lookout Cuthy took the DMU crew to to on the way to Castries.  It has a really nice view of the town of Dennery, where Lucius took us to the fish fry and I almost got eaten by a homeless woman.

Then we went up the coast and across the island to the market at Castries.  We went to a part of the market I hadn’t been able to go to earlier, so there were some new things to see.  I got a few final souvenirs, Dad got a t-shirt, and Mom and Abi did a lot of shopping.  We saw a lot of really beautiful carvings while we were there.  Also, while dad and I were waiting outside for Mom and Abi to finish, a man with coconut palm fronds approached us.  It took a long time to convince him that we weren’t married, but eventually he realized we weren’t pulling his leg.  Mom and Abi joined us and the man made an angel fish and a hummingbird out of the palm fronds for Abi and I. 

Next we headed south toward Soufriere.  Unfortunately, this is the same route that made me sick earlier in the trip.  Fortunately, although I felt a little nauseated, the trip was alright.  This may have been because we made several stops during the drive.  First we stopped at the lookout over Marigot Bay and then we went to a rum tasting at a the Saint Lucian distillery.  As you can imagine, we had a lot of fun there.  The tasting was pretty much a free-for-all.  You went into the room and walked up to a long counter with at least 12 different bottles of rum and small plastic cups.  You could try as many and as much as you liked!  I think between the four of us we tried all of them.  Then the trouble started.  You see there is a store and the prices are too good to pass up.  We left with seven bottles of different kinds of rum and only spent about $80!  Now we just have to figure out how to get them home…

Finally, around 2 PM, it was lunch time.  We stopped at The Beacon, the same restaurant I had lunch at the last time I was in Soufriere. The food and the view was just as good as the first time!  After lunch, we went to Toraille Waterfall. Again, this is the same waterfall I was at when I went to Soufriere earlier in the trip.  However, this time I was prepared and had my swim suit with me!  We got to swim in the waterfall, which was VERY cold! But it was nice and refreshing.  Then we got to do a guided tour of the volcano before a trip to the mud baths.  The water in the bath is mineral water that is heated by the springs coming out of the volcano.  The mud is gathered from a bit farther upstream and is rubbed on your skin allowed to dry.  Apparently, both the mud and the water have healing properties.  All I know is that it was a lot of fun to play in mud and my skin felt very smooth afterward.

Thursday was a long day and the amount of time in the car wore on all of us, so we had a very mellow night in the hotel.  This morning we got up to get ready for our zip lining excursion and Mom was not feeling well, so we ended up leaving her behind to rest.  Dad, Abi, and I were in a group with another family from just south of London. They were very nice, but very awkward.  Of course, it could just be cultural differences.  Perhaps we seemed very brash to them.  It’s not unheard of when the three of us spend time together.  Our driver’s name was Mark and he was a very informative tour guide during the ride up to Soufriere.

The zip line was located on a cocoa plantation near Soufriere.  We were met at the gate by a guide who took us through the plantation.  The first stop was at the gift shop, where we got complimentary t-shirts.  Then she showed us many different types of plants (did you know there are 60-80 types of mangos in Saint Lucia? I didn’t know there were that many in the whole WORLD), some replicas of the old slave living quarters, and how they make the cocoa pods into different products.  Finally, we got suited up in our harnesses, hair nets (!), big gloves, and helmets and learned how to zip line.

Our guides during the zip lining portion of the tour were Merle and Dalton.  They were both very friendly and very good at their job, which basically consisted of getting clumsy, clueless tourists from tree to tree.  Merle was very dry and monotone, probably because she gives the same speech about 10 times per day, but she did relax and joke with us a bit over time.  The first line was the highest, and everyone was getting accustomed to the technique, so there were some troubles.  I braked a bit too early, but easily turned around and performed the proper self-rescue technique (you just pull yourself in).  After that Dad, Abi, and I mostly had it down.  Unfortunately, the British family was significantly more cautious and less athletically inclined.  They all got stuck multiple times and had a very difficult time pulling themselves in.

After zip lining we got a very nice, albeit quick, lunch at the plantation, did a little shopping at the gift shop, and got back on the van.  We made it back to the hotel at about 2, but Mark was kind enough to take dad and me to St. Jude’s Hospital so I could return the local cell phone I had borrowed.  The hospital is only five minutes away from the resort, so it wasn’t too far out of his way, but it was nice of him all the same.  While we were there I got to see Cuthy one last time and say goodbye.  We spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool and getting ready for dinner.  It’s almost time for our reservation, so I’m going to post this blog.  I’ll fill you in on our travel adventures in a few days!

Snorkeling and Sugar Beach

First of all, this post is dedicated to my Aunt Jean, who is celebrating her 29^th birthday today.  ;) Happy birthday, Aunt Jean! Wish you were here so I could celebrate with you!

Now, on to business.  Monday started with the spa and relaxing by the pool.  That night was the Manager’s Cocktail Party, which was basically just an introduction of the staff in the lobby area with a few appetizers.  This simply served to remind us of a cruise ship, again.  Then we grabbed some dinner at Coconut Walk and went outside to watch the resort’s entertainment team put on a show called Caribbean Night.  There was a band who sang some reggae and calypso songs as well as a dance team who performed various dances that can be found throughout the Caribbean.  It was pretty entertaining.

Yesterday we had our first excursion!  About 10 of us got picked up at the front of the resort at 8 AM and were driven to Laborie.  There we boarded a catamaran called The Majestic that would take us to two snorkeling sites: one right off Sugar Beach and one by Anse Chastanet.  They were both near Soufriere and the Pitons.  The boat’s crew was very friendly. The captain’s name was Bradley, but he kindly informed us that the ladies on the boat could call him Chocolate or Juicy.  There was another crew member on the boat who talked to us for a while, and was very friendly, but none of us can remember his name.  The sea was surging a bit, and it was very windy, but the ride was nice.  At one point the crew even let out the jib for a while.  The ride lasted about 30 minutes and the views were fabulous.

The snorkeling was done in little areas off of beaches that were roped off and protected as marine sanctuaries.  There was so much to see!  There were lots of different fish and corals; I even saw a lionfish and a few crabs.  Also, on the way to the second site, we sailed right past a pod of dolphins! It was so fun to watch them swim around the boat.  There must have been about 10 of them.  After we snorkeled the second time, the crew took us to the bat cave.  It is a crevice in a cliff on the side of Soufriere’s harbor that has hundreds of bats in it.  You could hear them even from about 20 feet away.  Oh, and did I mention that we got rum punch? :)

After snorkeling we were picked up and driven back to Coconut Bay.  We showered and spent most of the afternoon sleeping.  Dad and I found some nice hammocks to take our naps in until it started raining on us.  That evening there were local vendors in the lobby, so we decided to do a little souvenir shopping.  We also checked out the Coconut Bay gift shop, where I got a Bounty rum hat, and the Diamonds International on the second floor of the lobby.  I got a pair of tiny tanzanite studs for free and Dad got Mom an entire set of jewelry for their anniversary.  The stones are called Caribbean Topaz and the color is called Martini Fire, which is a very nice yellow color.

Today we went to Sugar Beach, which is my mom’s favorite beach in the entire world.  It is owned by a resort by the same name that caters to some seriously famous and rich clientele.  The resort itself is way out of our price range, but you can sit your butt on a towel on the beach for free!  The resort is located on the side of Petit Piton, which means it has a lovely view of both the Pitons, but that also means that the walk down to the beach was seriously treacherous.  My hamstrings were shaky once we finally made it down to the beach!

The beach itself is gorgeous.  The sand is perfectly white and soft, but that might be because it is imported from Guyana.  The water, however, is local, and it is crystal clear and blue as can be.  The best part, for me at least, was watching all the little crabs run around on the sand.  They popped in and out of their holes to clear out the sand that had fallen in during the high tide.  Abi, however, did not find this amusing, and spent most of the day worried that she would step on a crab.  Of course, we were all very understanding of this worry and did our best to set her fears at ease (not!).

We only had a couple of hours at the beach, but I think Mom is satisfied. Tonight we are going to our first fancy dinner at the resort.  We will be eating at the Asian restaurant called Silk.  Then tomorrow we get to take a full island tour! I’ll let you know how it goes.

This Life Certainly Doesn’t Suck

The last few days have been very relaxing. My family made it to Saint Lucia safe and sound at about 4:30 Sunday afternoon.  We got checked in and got settled before dinner at Coconut Walk, the resort’s main restaurant.  Coconut Walk is set up basically like a college dinning center.  You walk in, get sat, and then you go around to different stations to get food made for you, or there are lots of dishes in hot pans to choose from.  The only difference is that the food is WAY better.  We’ve had a lot of good stuff, but the red snapper and the freshly blended fruit smoothies are probably my favorite so far.  For those of you who go on cruises with us, Dad has started calling Coconut Walk the Windjammer.  Actually, this whole all-inclusive resort thing is very reminiscent of a cruise.  All the food and drinks are free, you can only eat at certain times, you have to make good friends with the bartenders (So far Joker is our favorite bartender), and you plan excursions through a desk in the lobby.  Sound familiar to anyone else?

We went to sleep early on Sunday night and then woke up early the next morning.  Mom went for a walk and got bunch of really pretty pictures of the resort and the beach.  Then she and I went to the gym and got in a quick workout.  Breakfast was at Coconut Walk and then we all changed into our swimsuits to go sit out at the beach.  It has been crazy windy here the last few days.  I asked someone and they said it is usually windy, but not THIS windy.  We felt like we were getting sand blasted on the beach.  It was still really nice, though, and, hey, my skin is really smooth!  The water is a nice temperature, but is very choppy due to the wind. It has also been sprinkling off and on, but nothing bad enough to keep us inside.  Around lunch time I took a break from the sun and had a chat with Aaron over Skype.  Then we had lunch at Bites Beach Grill out by the pools. 

That afternoon we moved to the lounge chairs by the main pool.  It doesn’t seem very busy here.  I’m surprised, but it’s nice to be able to have our pick of the chairs. After a while we hit up the swim up bar and then made our way to the small water park on the resort. The only attractions are two water slides and a lazy river, but what else do you need, really?  We had a lot of fun floating and sliding, and then we headed over to the adult-only swimming pool for the rest of the afternoon.  They have these really nice beds with some shade cover and some lounge chairs that you can turn to face the sun, so we took advantage of those.  Then it was shower time and dinner at Coconut Walk.

After dinner we hung out at the bar for a bit.  Mom and I tried some top shelf Saint Lucian rum called Admiral Rodney’s.  It was a dark rum and was so good I think I could have had it straight.  We also watched an acapella group from Stanford University called Everyday People perform.  We have seen them twice now, and they are very good!  Mom says it’s like watching show choir without the show.  They are going to be around the whole week, so I’m sure we’ll see them perform again.  After a while we wondered down to the beach.  The tide was out and the moon was full, so it was very pleasant to walk along in the surf.  We walked for a while and Abi, Dad, and I did some races (I was the fastest, but Dad ran the farthest, Abi just complained about her feet and the fact that it wasn’t a track. Lame :P).  Overall it was a very nice evening.

This morning Abi and I woke up early to go do yoga.  Apparently yoga is popular, though.  The class was too full and the instructor asked us to come back the next day.  No big deal.  We had breakfast and then Mom and Dad went to book some excursions for us.  It’s going to be a busy week!  Tomorrow morning we’re going snorkeling at a couple different beaches.  Thursday we’re going on an island tour that includes a lot of time in Soufriere and lunch at the Beacon.  Friday we’re going zip lining in the Pitons! I’m very excited about that.  We are also planning on going to Mom’s favorite beach in Jalousie, just south of Soufriere, on Wednesday.  That pretty much fills up our whole vacation.

Since we’re going to be busy for the rest of our vacation, Mom, Abi, and I decided to go to the spa today.  I got a half hour back and shoulder massage.  It was amazing.  Shakira, my masseuse, got out some serious knots in my shoulders where I get tense when I’m stressed.  I feel wonderfully loose now.  After my massage, Shakira gave me a pedicure.  Now I can post a picture of my pretty feet in the surf!  Mom got a massage and body scrub combo and Abi got a massage and a facial. We are all so relaxed and pretty now.  The rest of the day we will just be relaxing at the pool or on the beach.  I can’t wait to tell you all about our excursions.  Keep an eye out for more posts.

Back in Vieux Fort

Hello everyone!  Sorry it has been a few days since I updated.  Not too much has been going on, though.  Thursday morning Cuthy arrived at the Summer’s Inn to pick us all up.  Griffin and I had started packing a few nights before, so we were pretty much ready to go, but we still woke up early to say goodbye to the family.  I really hope I get to see them again.  We got to Vieux Fort at about 11, stopped at the guest house to drop off our luggage, and then went straight to St. Jude’s.  Once there, we got right back on another van with all the department heads to go to a tour of the new hospital that is under construction.  They fit 15 adults, many of them rather tall men, into that van!  I’m glad it was a short ride.

The new hospital is going to be very nice.  Unfortunately, there have been delays upon delays during the construction process.  At first they thought they would just renovate after the fire, but then they decided to update the facilities as well.  It was a good idea, why not avoid more construction in just a few years?  Unfortunately it extended the length and price of the project.  Now they’re having a hard time funding the project.  From what I understand, they’ve been working with the Prime Minister of Taiwan and they are hoping to get the project funded and finished within two years.  That makes it 6 years in the stadium instead of a proper hospital!  However, from what I can see, and what was described to us, the new hospital is going to be one of the best in Saint Lucia.  It will definitely be worth the wait.

After our tour we went back to the guest house and changed into our swimming suits for a trip to the beach!  We picked Emily up at the hospital and went to a restaurant on the beach called The Reef.  It had decent food, but slow service, so we were starving by the time our food arrived.  At the restaurant we met Eileen, a volunteer from Ireland that Emily has been spending time with.  She was very nice and offered to spend time with me on Friday night when everyone else had gone.  We didn’t get to spend much time on the beach, but that’s okay because it was very windy. Cuthy came back to get us at about 3:30 so we could go back and get showered before our fancy dinner at a nearby sugar plantation.

We were picked up again at about 5:30.  We went into town first so that Griffin and I could get some EC out to pay for dinner and to pick up the Head of Nursing, Verna Charles.  Dr. Hansen invited her along to say thank you for helping with all the students she sends out here.  She was wonderful company, a very nice woman.  It was about a 30 minute drive to the plantation, which is called Balenbouche Estate.  It is set back from the main roads and looks like it is in a very beautifully wooded area.  Unfortunately, it was dark by the time we got there.  The house itself is over 170 years old and belonged to the original Danish family that ran the sugar plantation.  We were told that there are several small cabins on the property that people can rent and the plantation now runs a small organic farm.  It is now run by a German woman and her two daughters.

We had a while until dinner, so they let us wander around the house.  It’s beautiful! The furniture, although apparently not original, was all antique and seemed, to my uniformed eyes, to be age appropriate.  The ladies cooked dinner for us and it was served family-style.  We had rice and chicken and caper soup (So good! I went back for seconds), baked eggplants and tomatoes with basil, steamed vegetables, salad, lentils, and fried fish fingers.  It was all so good.  They also served us homemade rum punch (YUM), fresh mango juice, and coconut cake for desert.  We ate dinner out on the wrap around porch and enjoyed the temperature and the night sounds.  The plantation has about 5 dogs and a couple cats running around the property (that’s how they keep animals here, no one really owns a pet).  One of the dogs made friends with me and sat by me very politely with her head on my lap during dinner.  I gave her a couple scraps of food, which I suspect was her goal all along.  She was so sweet that I couldn’t be upset about her manipulations, though.

The next day was Griffin, Dr. Hansen, and Ursula’s last day on the island.  They didn’t have to be at the airport until 2, so Griffin and I decided to go back to the beach.  We got there at about 10 and stayed until 12:30.  It was even windier than the day before, and we didn’t have much time, so we just played in the surf and walked along the beach for awhile.  We made friends with one beach dog, who followed us around the whole time even though it was obvious we didn’t have food, and a kitten who was very friendly.  At 11, we had an early lunch at Island Breeze, another restaurant on the beach.  The owner was very friendly and served us some more homemade rum punch, this time with a kick!  We got some delicious sea food and talked for a while before Cuthy came to get us.

Then it was time for everyone to leave. I helped carry everyone’s luggage down to the car and said my goodbyes. I was very sad to see Griffin leave; we’ve gotten very close over the last few weeks (I even used a semi-colon there because I know she loves them so much :P).  Then I went back to our quiet, empty, double-bed room and  took a nap.  Unfortunately, I ended up spending most of the night Friday working on my final paper for this course, so I couldn’t spend any time with Eileen.  At least it’s over with so I can enjoy the rest of my vacation without having to worry about homework.  This morning I Skyped with Aaron and re-packed my things.  I had to be out of the guest house by 1 PM, so Cuthy picked me up and brought me to Coconut Bay where I’m going to be staying with my family.

There is one little hitch: My family isn’t here yet.  They don’t get to Saint Lucia until about 3 PM and then they have to go through customs.  I got to the resort and they said they couldn’t let me in until 2 PM.  So I’m writing this post in a little covered waiting area outside the gate house.  Whatever, could be worse!  At least it’s nice out, although it does look a little rainy.  It is almost 2, though, so I’m going to pack up and see if I can go in.  I can’t wait to spend a week here with my family!  I’ll continue posting updates throughout the week.

Last Night in Castries

Yesterday was very uneventful.  It was our last day to work on our presentations for the Health Ministry, so I spent almost the entire day working on my PowerPoint.  I did take a few study breaks though.  Griffin and I had a picnic on the veranda for lunch.  We have been trying to finish all the food we bought, so our meals have been really random.  For example, Monday night we had mashed potatoes and mac and cheese! The irony of doing research about healthy diets while eating instant potatoes and boxed Velveeta macaroni and cheese was not lost on us, don’t worry!  We did pretty well at lunch though! We had to finish our vegetables and our meat, so I had a turkey, tomato, lettuce, cucumber and ranch sandwich on a pita with some carrots on the side and Griffin had a salad.  Oh, we did finish up one bag of Munchies, though.  It can’t all be healthy!

That evening we had some more Icicles with Rianna and Kijahna out on the porch.  Kijahna told us all about a game she had to play at school that day called netball.  Honestly, to me it sounds like a mix between basketball and quiddich.  All I know is that there are no nets involved.  These two girls crack me up though.  They are both so smart and they give these faces that look just like the faces their mom makes.  I’m sure they would hate to hear that, but I think it’s wonderful.  Poor Janna has been so sick.  She has had a sore throat for days and ended up going to the clinic last night and staying for hours.  I guess they sent her home with some antibiotics, but she is still having to take a lot of pain meds.  We gave her our remaining Icicle today.  It was her favorite flavor, and maybe it’ll numb her throat up some!

This morning was a bit of a frenzy.  I had my PowerPoint completed, but Lekei and Ursula were still working on theirs.  At 11:30 we met with Dr. Hansen to make sure we were all on the right track, and then we had until 2 PM to get everything finished and be ready to leave.  Poor Lekei was in our room until 1:30 trying to finish her presentation up.  She alternated between typing furiously, mumbling to herself, and praying to God that she would get everything finished on time. Thankfully for our presentation, her prayers were answered.  Ursula also got her part done, and we made it out to the van almost on time.

I thought there were going to be a lot of strangers at the presentation, but it turned out to all be familiar faces!  Lisa was there with all of her staff members: Mary Anna and Melva from our time in Castries and Francillia and Nisa from our time in Soufriére.  A room full of friendly faces lightened the pressure considerably.  The presentation itself was over child obesity prevalence and evidence based solutions.  Lisa and her staff are working hard at teaching children how to eat healthy and we wanted to give them even more tools to add to their arsenal.  I started the presentation with a broad overview about childhood obesity in the Caribbean.  Ursula presented several successful physical activity interventions from the US that could be altered to fit the Saint Lucian culture.  Finally, Lekei presented one nutritional intervention from the US as well as some dietary guidelines that could be put into school policy.  Lisa said that we had some good ideas and she is particularly excited about some of the interventions that Lekei and Ursula presented.  We left the PowerPoint with them so they can use it as they see fit.

Then the goodbyes started.  It is too sad to think that I may never see these women again, so I refuse to entertain the idea.  I will simply have to stay in touch and come back to Saint Lucia someday!  I was especially sad to say goodbye to Mary Anna.  She is such a wonderful woman, and I really think that Griffin and I bonded with her during our time together.  She gave me a big hug and her email address.  Hopefully, I will stay in touch with her.  After our goodbyes we headed across the street to the market so Griffin and Dr. Hansen could do some last minute shopping.  Many of the shops were already closed for the day, but we managed to find everything we needed. 

After we had finished shopping Lucius picked us up and took us to pick up some food at the Rodney Bay mall.  I got some Subway.  It was tasty, but fast food isn’t the same on island time.  Everything took so much longer than I’m used too!  Eventually we all got our food and hopped back on the van to go home where we said goodbye to Lucius.  I fit in a quick skype date with mom and then everyone gathered in our room to have a little going away party.  You see, Lekei is staying in Castries until she flies home on Monday and the rest of us are going to Vieux Fort in the morning, so this was our last night all together.  Ursula made us tomato rice, which is a Nigerian dish, and we all pooled the remnants of our food together to make an eclectic little spread.  We also did our best to finish the rum!

After dinner, Rianna and Kijahna came up to play cards with us.  Well, Ursula took a little nap on the couch, but the rest of us played a few hands of cards.  Rianna came up first, so I taught her how to play War.  When Kijahna joined us, Lekei taught us all how to play Crazy 8’s.  She wiped the floor with us on the first round, so Kijahna and Rianna decided to teach us how to play a game called Donkey.  It’s basically like spoons, but you try to match suits, not numbers.  The last person to lay their hand on the table after the first person has matching suits gets a D.  You continue on until someone has enough letters to spell out donkey.  Usually, the loser has to give everyone who played a ride, but since Dr. Hansen lost, we just let Rianna do the honors. 

It was such a fun night.  I’m going to be so sad to say goodbye to the Leons, especially those two girls.  I really feel like I made some friends during my time here.  I’m going to do my best to convince my family to come stay at the Summer’s Inn if we stay in Castries for one night.  Abi has to get to know these girls.  If I love them so much she’s going to be head over heels.  Also, Sunday is Richardson’s birthday and Janna wants to go celebrate at Coconut Bay! We are going to exchange emails so she can let me know if they are coming.  Hopefully they do, because I am dreading saying goodbye in the morning. I love traveling and meeting new people, but it just makes saying goodbye so hard.  On the bright side, my family will soon be here to cheer me up.  I can’t wait!

Sunday Funday and Mondays are the Same Everywhere

Yesterday was our first day at the beach and we had so much fun!  We didn’t leave until about 1 PM, so the morning was very mellow.  I talked to Aaron because it was our one year anniversary and did homework; Dr. Hansen and Ursula went to the Catholic Church in Gros Islet; Griffin and Emily went to the shopping center at Rodney Bay; and Lekei stressed out about her homework.  At about 11:30, Rianna came and knocked on my door already ready in her swim suit.  She was ready for the beach!  We started getting our things around and changed into out swim suits.  Janna was busy cooking our picnic lunch and Lekei decided to stay home to do homework, so Richardson drove Mary, Griffin, Emily, me, and Rianna (because she just couldn’t wait any longer) to the beach on the first trip.  Unfortunately, Emily got a call from the doctor who was giving her a ride back to Vieux Fort, so when Richardson came back with Janna, Kijahna, and their neighbors he had to leave again to take her to meet her ride.  Hopefully we’ll get a chance to go to the beach with her on Thursday or Friday when we’re back in Vieux Fort.

The beach is only five minutes away from the Leon’s house and it is beautiful!  It is on a point of land that juts out between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, one on the north side and one on the south.  The Atlantic Ocean was much rougher than the Caribbean and had a very rocky shore.  Richardson told us that the rocks were placed there to break the waves because the peninsula was man made.  In fact, the far end had originally been an island called Pigeon Island and had been used as a fort by the British forces in the 1800s.  The south side of the peninsula, on the other hand, was a lovely white sand beach with just enough waves to be fun.  We got some chairs and umbrellas and settled in for a nice day at the beach.

We spent about four hours just laying around.  Kijahna and I swam out a ways and played in the waves while Griffin and Rianna played on the shore.  When Richardson got back, he and Kijahna practiced doing flips out of the water.  Rianna didn't understand what sunscreen was or why we kept having to put it on.  The most frustrating part for her was that we couldn't get in the water until we had let it soak in!  Then it was lunch time!  Janna had prepared the national dish: green figs and salt fish.  The dish was basically a stewed cod that had been preserved in salt mixed with cabbage and onions.  Boiled green bananas are also added to the dish.  The green bananas were good, kind of like potatoes, but the salt fish was SO salty.  It was alright, but not my favorite.  We also had salad and an avocado on the side.  Then we played in the sand! We dug a big hole for Rianna to sit in and gave her a mermaid tail.  I covered my own legs up while I was sitting cross legged and Kijahna tried to turn them into a whale tail, but I think they just look like pointy stubs.

At about 4 o’clock we packed up Richardson’s car and went into the Pigeon Island National Park to hike up to the old fort.  There are two big hills, but I think only one of them has any buildings left on them.  It was a steep climb, but short, and the view was amazing!  You could see the whole north end of the island, all the way to the Pitons to the south, and you could even see the shadow of Martinique in the ocean.  At the very top there was the outline of the fort and a basement you could climb into and look out of through small windows.  There were also two cannons.  The sun was starting to set and it was a very nice way to end a wonderful day at the beach.  We climbed back down and made our way home.  Griffin and I had an Icicle (basically the Saint Lucian equivalent of Mr. Freezies – you know frozen flavored water in the plastic tubes?) with Rianna and then we settled down in our room for the night.

This morning taught me that there are Mondays everywhere you go in the world.  Even if you are in a tropical paradise waking up at 6:30 in the morning to get ready for a day of work still sucks.  To make matters worse it was rainy and dreary all morning.  We went to the health ministry and waited for Mary Anna, who picked Griffin and I up.  We drove with her husband to the La Clary Clinic a little ways out of town.  He did have some awesome Caribbean and Saint Lucian Christmas music playing on the way, though, so that brightened our morning.  At the clinic we listened to Mary Anna give a talk to several pregnant women about the importance of breastfeeding their babies.  The talk was certainly informative for me, I learned a lot about breastfeeding, but the women didn’t look so interested.  They got lectured by the doctor there about not paying enough attention.

Then we spent the rest of the morning sitting and talking with Mary Anna while we waited for her clients to show up.  She is a nutritionist so she has meetings with many of the people with diabetes, hypertension, obesity, etc. in order to help them lose weight and control their diseases.  Unfortunately, no one showed up.  She said that is very common when it rains in Saint Lucia.  People don’t want to leave their houses.  So we caught the bus back to Castries and grabbed some lunch at the super market before heading back to Mary Anna’s office in the Castries Health Clinic.  We waited a little longer; I aced a crossword puzzle activity about bananas and helped Mary Anna staple papers together before a customer arrived.  Finally.  She was a new client of and is suffering from high blood pressure, so we observed while Mary Anna asked her about her diet and gave suggestions.

Finally, after a long and uneventful day, Lucius and the others picked us up outside of the health clinic and took us back to our apartment.  So far the evening has been fairly relaxed.  I finished my book and started writing this blog.  Janna surprised us by bringing up a plate of food she made for us.  It had fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, a twice baked potato, and some green banana salad on it and was delicious.  She’s really too nice to us.  In a minute we are going to venture down to Dr. Hansen’s room to try some of the banana cakes that Mary Anna made for each of us.  Then it’s homework for me!  Only two more days until our presentation at the Ministry and I still have to put everything together.  Don’t worry, it will get done.  I miss you all and I hope everyone is staying safe and warm! 

Marigot Bay and the Dennery Fish Fry

 We didn’t have anything to do Saturday during the day except for relaxation and homework.  I woke up at 7 AM so I could go on a run before it got too hot.  I made friends with a man collecting horses, which they leave anywhere they can find a patch of grass for them to graze on, for the stables nearby.  He very kindly offered to give me a ride home on one of the horses if I got tired and couldn’t make it.  I got back to the house and went around the back to see the garden, which I hadn’t explored yet.  As I went around I heard voices and I came across the Leons on their back porch.  When I said hello I think I scared Janna half to death.  It started to rain, so they invited me onto the porch and offered to share some grapefruit and a golden apple for breakfast.  The way they eat grape fruit is genius! They just peel the fruit and cut of big hunks.  When you get your hunk, you just peel the sections away and eat the fruit.  It’s so much easier than the way we do it at home.  So I enjoyed a friendly breakfast on the Leon’s back porch in the pouring rain looking out over Saint Lucia after a run.  There aren’t many better ways to start the day.

After breakfast I went upstairs and did some reading and some homework.  Mary called a group meeting in the early afternoon to finalize what each person was in charge of for our group presentation at the Health Ministry on Wednesday.  Emily, a medical student we met at St. Jude’s Hospital in Vieux Fort joined us midmorning so she could have some fun over her weekend.  She is volunteering there for a month before heading back home to Indiana.  Then the internet cooperated enough that I got to Skype with my parents and Aaron for about an hour, which completely made my day!  I can’t say that I’ve been very homesick, it’s almost too wonderful here to wish you were anywhere else, but I miss my family and friends.  I just wish that they could all be here with me instead!  I especially miss Aaron.  Saint Lucia is the honeymoon capital of the world for a reason.  There are so many couples and romantic spots.  The whole island is built for romance.  But talking to them helps and I get to see my family in a little less than a week!

At 4 o’clock Lucius arrived to drive to our destinations for the evening.  We were expecting to stop at a rum distillery on our way to the fish fry in Dennery, but Lucius had forgotten that the distillery closed early on Saturdays.  I guess it’s fairly common to take a half day on Saturdays here. We’re flexible though, and Lucius wanted to take us to his home village of Marigot Bay located between Castries and Anse la Raye.  I’m so happy we did!  On the way Lucius drove us through the St. Lucia Community College campus which is in old French and British barracks from  the 1800’s.  Then we headed toward the bay.  We stopped at lookout point overlooking the bay.  The sun was just beginning to set and it was gorgeous!  They also had coconut candy that they let us taste and $1 samples of local rum.  One of the many things my mother has taught me is that you don’t pass up cheap samples of rum, so of course I had to give at least one a try.  I asked the lady working there which one she recommended and she said the spiced rum.  Perfect!  She poured me a small shot out of a plastic bottle with a ton of spices inside and said that she had added sugar and honey to it.  It was amazing.  The rum was so flavorful and sweet and it made you feel warm all over!  Lovely.

Then we headed down toward the bay.  Lucius parked the car and led us along a bridge through a copse of mangroves. The grove was stunning to walk through during sunset and it was so cool to be able to see all the roots under the crystal clear water.  The bridge ended at a restaurant called JJ’s, which was right on the water and is run by Lucius’ brothers.  We caught a ferry from the restaurant’s dock and made our way to the other side of the bay.  Apparently, part of the original Doctor Dolittle, which I enjoyed many times as a child, was filmed at that spot!  They now have a hotel and restaurant called Dolittle’s there in reference to the movie.  The sunset was unbelievable; everything looked fake or like it belonged on a post card.  We met a few British boys who took our picture for us and checked out the restaurant.  Then we made our way back across the bay, through the mangroves, and to the van to get on our way, at last, to Dennery.

We reached Dennery about 45 minutes and one trip through a banana plantation later.  The fish fry was on the beach and it wasn’t very busy when we arrived at about 8 PM.  Lucius said we were early yet.  There were several large wood vendors set up with food and alcohol everywhere.  You could get tuna, mahi mahi, snapper, conch, lobster, and who knows what else. You could get your fish grilled, roasted, or steamed. I decided to get a small, grilled red snapper.  They gave me a plate with a whole fish!  Bones and all!  I also got some Chairman’s rum and coke and Griffin and I shared salad, rice, a piece of fried bread, and the local beer called Piton.  Everything was delicious, but I was having a hard time eating my fish with all the bones in it.  Finally, I asked Lucius if I was allowed to eat with my hands.  He assured me it was and after that I had no problem eating the entire fish! 

Well, everything but the head.  Lucius explained that getting to eat the head of the fish is an honor, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.  THEN, he freaking stuck his fish head in his mouth, sucked all the meat off it, and spit the eye back out into his palm to show me. WHOA!  I asked him to do it again with my fish so I could film it or take a picture, but he wouldn’t.  Too bad.  After dinner we put our feet in the ocean and enjoyed some R&B and Reggae being played by a DJ.  Unfortunately, although there were more people, no one started dancing before we left.  On the way back to the van, an old homeless woman started harassing us.  We were obviously the likely targets as we were some of the only white people there, and they woman had some obvious mental disabilities.  At one point she even jumped forward and snapped her teeth at me! Thankfully, Lucius stepped in between us and got us all to the van unscathed. 

Then we drove all the way back to Rodney Bay.  Lucius drove so nicely that I didn’t feel nauseated the entire evening.  Thank goodness!  We stopped at the market to pick up supplies for our beach day the next day before finally making it back to the apartments at about 11 PM where we promptly paid Lucius well for his hard work and crawled into bed.  Despite the unsettling experience toward the end, it was a truly wonderful evening in Saint Lucia.