Autumn was never lovelier, nor warmer. The heat is less humid and it is now cooler at night so we don’t need the air con, and rarely the fan. The trade winds have now started too which makes it feel cooler, the locals call them the Advent winds. We have had a busy few weeks here in St Lucia. I continue to enjoy some great walks with the ladies. One was to the east coast, Cas en Bar beach, a beautiful crescent of sand, sheltered from the Atlantic waves by a headland and rocks to the north. It is the kite and wind surfing centre of the island and has a rustic diner, Marjorie’s, previously a regular haunt of Amy Winehouse and her family who have/had a place here. It is another funky, arty, driftwood hangout that originally began in a space shuttle booster engine. Yes, you did hear right. It washed up in 1994 having been discarded from the shuttle as it parted from the booster somewhere over the Caribbean, after being launched in French New Guinea. NASA denied it was from a shuttle for many years but it has all the markings and is big, as you can see from the photo. It has been artfully graffitied to add to the atmosphere of the setting. We walked along the beach to a small headland that was a sacred burial site of the Arawak Indians 4000 yrs ago. It looks unremarkable at first, but if you look carefully there are several small mounds. A skeleton was found there a few years back and has been carbon dated to around 2000 BC. This is a site of enormous archaeological and historical significance, but there are now plans to build a hotel and golf course on it. A real travesty and a desecration of a beautiful and magical place. Turtles nest in the area too. Developers and money threaten nature here too…..
We walked along the coast, heading north, past Secret Cove to Donkey Bay, in beautiful wild scenery. Apart from the cactus, it was not dissimilar to the back of the Wight. Another stark reminder of man’s effect of the planet was a hermit crab that had made it’s home in a discarded toothpaste tube top, instead of a shell. It looked happy enough, but what an ironic image!! Near beautiful Donkey Bay, we saw a scar on the landscape, the start of developments, recently begun by a large excavator. We all felt saddened at the hardness of the developers’ hearts, and the St Lucian Government supporting them, that think this kind of development is acceptable. We headed away from the coastline and then back through the hills, descending past an idyllic lake with horses grazing nearby, egrets helping themselves to lice from their backs every now and again. We finished with breakfast at Marjorie’s, including some incredible Lucian fruit cake made by Sue.
The following walk was around Vigie and along the beach. This is a rocky promontory at the edge of Castries harbour with a lovely old Lucian feel. It had been occupied by the British Army and the old buildings can still be seen. Some have been reused as the French Embassy, and one as the National Archives, but the beautiful former Women’s Barracks are now derelict with a particular beauty. We walked around and up the rock, almost to the historic lighthouse at the top, with beautiful views of the harbour and coast in both directions. Vigie is right next to the airport of the same name and we saw a few light aircraft and jets arrive during our walk. We then walked along the beautiful beach with far reaching views to Martinique and maybe, just maybe, a glimpse of the clouds over Dominica, the next island along. On a clear day it can sometimes be faintly seen. We finished with breakfast at one of the beach cafes and, as it was Finola’s birthday, cake and bubbly.
On 24th November, the Arc Rally from Gran Canaria to St Lucia began. On St Lucia, there is a flotilla of yachts that sail from Castries to Rodney Bay in celebration of the yachts setting off from the Canaries. Anthony was fortunate to be able to join as crew on the J24 of Conrad, a fellow St Lucia Yacht Club member. Anthony used to do a lot, and I mean a lot, of sailing on J24s in his younger years so he thoroughly enjoyed his day out…and got to helm all the way. More of the Arc later in the blog.
He then left for Blighty the Wednesday after that to prepare for Mary’s 90th birthday party. I had a quiet week on my own before I then returned for a busy week of catching up with loved ones. On the Saturday before I left, after the Vigie walk, Emilia and I went to Elaine’s to make ugly tee shirts. ‘What?’, I hear you say, ‘is an ugly tee shirt?’. Well, it is too hot here to wear Christmas jumpers, so the tradition is to make a really, really, gaudy Christmas tee shirt, baubles, tinsel the lot. What fun we had designing and making these for our staff meeting on 16th December. Millie and I then headed off for some Christmas shopping and found a great Christmas fair with steel band and some great local products. On the Sunday, Millie and I went to Windjammer Resort to hangout and meet up with Ruth and Zac, and their daughter Emmy. We caught the bus to the next town Maresil and walked about a mile to the coast at East Winds, another lovely bay and resort. We half clambered, half strolled a short way along the coast to the beautiful Windjammer beach and found our way to the main pool…..beautiful as you can see below. Millie is an expert at nonchalantly walking up and taking hotel towels so we can blend in with the guests. We explored the resort, swam in the pool, sauntered along the beach and sunbathed on the comfy loungers. Lying there reading my book in the shade of a coconut palm, by the stunning pool, I listened to Ed Sheeran playing then Millie, suddenly squealed, ‘He’s singing live, Allie!’. We had both assumed it was tracks playing but a brilliant local guy was, indeed, singing live and was so good, I doubt Ed himself could have sounded much better. So the entertainment was fantastic! We got some local music too and watched the staff putting up yet more Christmas decs around the poolside restaurant. Ruth and Zac arrived a bit later and after a drink by the pool, we went back to their house for a bit before Zac drove us home.
The Wednesday after this, 4th, I worked at my new clinic in Vieux Fort and then was off to the airport to wait for my 8.30pm flight home. I was lucky enough to get an aisle seat with 3 empty seats next to me, so did get 2 or 3 hours of sleep and arrived to a freezing Gatwick in plenty of time for my coach to Southampton. After a lovely lunch with Isaac, a joy to see him and catch up, I got the ‘jet’ to Cowes where Anthony was waiting for me. That night, Mary’s actual 90th, we were treated to a delicious feast in her honour at Buddles Butt, courtesy of Miles and the Daveys. She had a brilliant time, as did we all, and for me it was wonderful to see good friends again. The following day I spent time with Claire, Thomas and Charlotte and Saturday, with Laura and stayed that night in my home with her. The 3 full days that I was on the IOW with my family was special, with hugs and catching up, wonderful but all too short. Mary’s party was a happy and fun, and the whole weekend involved laughter, food and wine in bucket-fulls.
It was harder to say ‘Goodbye’, than in July….I could so easily slot back into life and would have loved more time with everyone, but I was beginning to look forward to leaving the weather! On Monday, I had a lovely lunch with my boys and then time with my brothers at Eileen’s, my Aunt. More special hours.
Anthony and I then flew back here on the Wednesday, direct back to the warm sun. I have to admit, much as it was hard to leave those I love, it was great to be back and I am appreciating the climate and beauty here anew. I was looking forward to getting back to work on the following day, but the 13th was a public holiday so I have just had a long weekend.
More on the Arc, I said earlier….well, since we got back, the boats have been finishing and Rodney Bay has changed in our absence. We went to the Marina to see the boats and some arriving….it was like Cowes week….buzzing. It was great to see boats that had traveled over 3000 mile across the ocean to get to St Lucia. What an achievement and part of me would love to accomplish what they have, despite not being much of a sailor any more. On Saturday, we went to a great BBQ for Arc yachtsmen and women at the SLYC which was lots of fun and yesterday, lay on the beach at Pigeon Island watching boats cross the finish line through my binoculars. The toes are warm again, the tan is topping up nicely and we are now have Isaac and Sam here, a BBQ ready to take to the beach and bubbly in the fridge!! Let my first hot Christmas in the sun begin……..
Allie's Caribbean Travel Blog 