We woke up at 6:30a, my stomach again upset. Pepto to the rescue! Michelle went on to the on-site Dragonfly restaurant for breakfast (two eggs over easy, bacon, and toast). Addison and I showed up later at 7:50a, myself quickly ordering two scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast with blueberry jam. We made it to the lobby at 8:15a then took a van to Castries port (after a small delay at another resort waiting for other people to arrive). Along the way we passed the airport with its New Orleans-like crypts beyond. Boarding the boat I realized there were only nine of us and was a bit concerned that the trip would be cancelled. We cruised out of the small part of the port we were in, characterized by smaller boats and dock buildings, some in a state of disrepair. It was actually quite cool, and the palm trees looming over them made it even cooler.
Old mansion or hotel in the inner harbor of Castries, St. Lucia
As we entered the deeper part of the port we went past a nifty police boat. We also saw a large double hull catamaran with covered space below and above. We made a stop at the dock next to a Carnival cruise ship and picked up quite a few more people. The ship dwarfed the nearby businesses that catered to the tourists, including several restaurants and bars. Our final pickup done we sailed out of port past a lighthouse and a couple of small sea mounts and out to the open sea. According to the captain the depth quickly goes from a couple hundred feat to a couple thousand feet not far from the port.
St. Lucia police boat
Castries’ inner harbor
Harbor menu in French, despite St. Lucia being part of the Commonwealth
Carnival cruise ship at Castries
Cruise ship lifeboats
Small seamount on the way out of the harbor
The majority of fellow tourists seemed to be from the UK and we were all eagerly keeping our eyes peeled for whales, dolphins, and sharks as we cruised down the west (Caribbean) coast of St. Lucia. Michelle and Addison mainly stayed in the covered main area on the benches there while I bounced between there, the open top deck, the bow, and the (very stinky due to diesel fumes) stern. I wish I could say that we saw a ton of sea life. Sadly, while they claim a eighty percent sighting rate that means that one day a week people go home disappointed. On that week it was apparently Thursday. I think we did see a few flying fish but that’s all.
Oil storage south of Castries
Petit Piton, St. Lucia
Somebody is living the life!
The Pitons, St. Lucia
Soufriere, St. Lucia
It wasn’t for lack of trying, either. We cruised all the way down past the Pitons (even beyond Caille Blanc where we stayed the first two nights) and back, on the way down far out and on the way back a bit closer. We saw the beach we snorkeled at on Monday, Anse Chastanet, with the fancy Anse Chastanet and Jade Mountain resorts looming on the hillside above. We also saw the small town of Canaries as well as Soufriere just north of Petit Piton and Sugar Beach nestled between the Pitons. The boat was loud and the diesel fumes strong, I do wonder if killing the engine a bit may have helped. Ah well. It also didn’t help that the weather for the first hour (basically all the way until we turned back towards Castries) was terrible, and the weather on the way back not much better — made for terrible photography. Major bummer.
Michelle and Addison on the whale watching boat
Peninsula near Anse Chastanet beach with the Pitons beyond
Caribbean coast of St. Lucia
Another look at the western (Caribbean) coast
The weather improved as did the visibility
Since there were no whales to be gawked at, nor much of anything else, the guides talked about the island a bit, such as Canaries being only reachable by canoe for a long time before finally getting road access and the large oil storage facility just south of Castries having been owned by Hess until recently. When the guides weren’t talking the ubiquitous Reggae-pop was to be heard. We cruised back into the harbor, dropped off the cruise ship passengers, then went deeper into the smaller part of the port before disembarking ourselves. We made it back to Windjammer Landing about 1:30p.
Houses lined up along Castries’ harbor
Cool old ship in the harbor
Palms towered over some small houses on the shore
Cool old building no longer in use
Harbor, Castries, St. Lucia
We decided to eat at Jammers where Michelle had a salad entree and chocolate and strawberry ice cream, Addison had a Heartbreaker burger with eggs over hard and fries, and I had a club panini and fries with two scoops of coffee ice cream. A bit expensive, as always, but hit the spot. The beach was strangely empty, turns out it was due to sea urchins. A bit of a bummer as we weren’t able to go swimming. We instead went back to our unit and rested. Michelle and I went up to the sun terrace to work on the blog and read (respectively) before a brief but heavy shower chased us back inside.
Windjammer Landing view
A look at Windjammer Landing’s main building complex
Michelle and I went to see the sunset alone as Addison didn’t want to. However, he changed his mind and met us a little after we had arrived at the beach and just in time to see some spectacular colors. We had hoped to see the legendary green flash as the sun touched the horizon but it was obscured by clouds at the last moment. Kind of how the day went!
Beach at Windjammer Landing, closed due to sea urchins
Hammocks at Windjammer Landing
Sailboat at sunset
Another gorgeous St. Lucia sunset
Michelle and Addison enjoying the evening
Our final St. Lucia sunset in the books we went back to the room where I offloaded the cameras and was in bed by midnight.