Rejuvenate (v) to make (someone) feel or look young,
healthy, or energetic again. –Merriam Webster
 |
(View of Rodney Bay and Reduit Beach from Pigeon Island) |
St Lucia,
simply beautiful. Or
simply rejuvenating. Between
lounging around at the beach and venturing around the island with my other
half, I took this time off very seriously by relaxing to the fullest. I am
fortunate to have family living in St Lucia now so I have even more of a reason
to visit. A year and a half ago my mom opened up a bed and breakfast in Rodney
Bay, a town a few miles north of the capital Castries. Last year I stayed for a
month during my Christmas holiday from school and my third trip to the island
was this past March during my spring break. I couldn’t stay a month this time
but I still managed to get off enough time from work to enjoy the sunshine
before heading back to frozen Chicago.
 |
(St Lucian Santa Claus at Reduit Beach; photo credit: my mom because I was lounging) |
This was my boyfriend’s first trip to the Caribbean and St
Lucia so I hoped to show him everything the island had to offer. He grew up in
Oahu, Hawaii so life on a tropical island comes naturally for him and already
the first day he was a beach bum. The first few days we stayed near my mom’s
place, enjoying Reduit beach during the day and the bars and restaurants of Rodney
Bay at night.
Both of us are active and love to hike so we drove (they drive
on the left side of the road in SL, so that’s always an adventure for those
used to driving on the right) to Pigeon Island. We hiked around the island
and tried to snorkel by the coral but the current was strong and kicking up
sand so we couldn’t see much. Instead we headed back to Rodney Bay where the
most popular beach on the island is. Reduit beach is the most visited beach on
the island, mainly due to the fact that cruise ships taxi their people from
Castries and dump them on Reduit beach. To my surprise, at the busiest beach on
the island we were able to find dozens of shells and even a few conch shells.
Last year I had spent a month laying on that beach and I had no idea that I
could find so many beautiful shells just a few feet under water.
 |
(Snorkeling at Reduit Beach) |
 |
(Collection of shells from Reduit Beach) |
Hiking around Pigeon Island was just a warm up for our hike
up the Gros Piton. The national symbol of St Lucia are its two mountainous
volcanic plugs found on the southwestern side of the island between two towns, Soufriere
and Choiseul. The Gros Piton is 786 meters (2,579 feet) high and can be hiked
up with a tour guide. The Petit Piton is 739 meters (2,424 feet) but due to its
rocky and steep incline it can only be climbed using robes and for those more
advanced. Both of the Pitons are a world heritage site and are long overdue to
erupt. The hike takes an average of four hours up and down but I average below
three hours. This was my third time hiking up and it is still one of my
favorite hikes.
Between the two pitons is Sugar Beach resort, a five start
hotel with the best snorkeling spot. After three hours of hiking we were starving and decided to head down to Sugar Beach for lunch. Sitting in the
shade and looking out across the Caribbean water we enjoyed our lunch and
drinks before grabbing our snorkel gear. Hiking over 2,500 feet above sea level
to diving ten feet below sea level was both adventurous and exhausting.
 |
(Sugar Beach Resort; photo credit: my mom because I was snorkeling) |
 |
(Snorkeling at between the two pitons at Sugar Beach; photo credit: bf) |
I love to eat and have also started to love cooking. During
my trip last year I went to the Castries market and found a stand that sells
different kinds of herbs and spices. Now every time I visit I have to stop in the market and see what new spices I can find. The market is also one of the best places to buy local made art, fruits and vegetables and souvenir t shirts. After
stocking up on new spices and my favorite, Caribbean pepper spice we made our way a few miles south to Marigot Bay beach for another day of relaxing on the beach.
 |
(View looking up from my towel at Marigot Bay Beach) |
 |
(Leaving Marigot Bay via water taxi) |
 |
(Hiking with my mom along the Atlantic side) |
My tropical adventure was the perfect end to an
incredible and life changing year. Over the past year I have grown as
person and have taken on new challenges, graduated from university and found a job I enjoy. None of it would have been possible
without the support of two amazing people (you know who you are). 2015 definitely exceeded my expectations, I can't wait to see what 2016 has in store.
A special thank you to the staff at the White House Inn (my mom's bed and breakfast) for the lovely hospitality and always friendly atmosphere. You can check out the Inn at Sunlovers.co
x The Adventurer
 |
(At Marigot Bay; photo credit: bf) |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you commenting and reading about my adventures! I really appreciate it and love reading all of your comments =o)
x the Adventurer