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.