Once again we awoke at 6:30a (I thought this was vacation?!) to pack. At 8a we headed down to Dragonfly for breakfast without Addison (who generally skipped breakfast). Michelle and I had two scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. She had tea and myself coffee. We got really lucky as there was a very heavy but brief rain shower while we ate — we beat the rain by minutes at most. Phew! Was a near miss (or, as Carlin would say, a near hit) when a boy almost walked through some dropped glass but Michelle was able to stop him.
Windjammer Landing buildings
Church-like building at Windjammer Landing
A heavy downpour happened during breakfast
The beach looked spectacular after the downpour
Addison came down to meet us as we were finishing, meeting us at the mini-mart where we bought Oreos, shortbread, and some Pepto. We also went souvenir shopping — t-shirts for Genetta, Addision, and Michelle, a couple of Hawaiian shirts for Addison, and of course a magnet. Headed back to the room to ensure we had everything. Michelle and Addison called for the resort shuttle while I walked down with the backpack to settle our bill and checkout. They showed up as I was checking out and were pissed and wet as the bus had never arrived (not unusual, sadly) and on the way down the hill they got soaked by another heavy shower. Having checked out we hopped into a taxi around 11:10a and set out for the airport on the other end of the island.
Addison out on our unit’s sun terrace
View from our unit towards the northwest
The trip took an hour and forty-five minutes but fairly flew by. There was bad traffic in Castries but we soon turned inland and crossed over the mountainous spine of the island where the lush tropical foliage crowded the two lane road. After crossing the center we caught our first glimpse of the Atlantic shimmering bright blue in the noonday sun. The road winded through a few fishing villages and we glimpsed neat rock formations including a sea arch. Unfortunately I didn’t get a shot of that, unlike our Caille Blanc driver James this driver meant business and moved us along to the airport.
Intersection in Castries (with a stop light, no less!)
Crossing the mountainous spine of the island
Looking down into the eastern (Atlantic) side of St. Lucia
As Reggae and other Caribbean music played on the radio we talked about license plates (those starting with M were for buses, TX for taxis, and SLG for the St. Lucia government). As we passed farms he noted that Taiwan was heavily investing in the economy of the island. He lived in Castries and was very fond of the beach near there, Reduit Beach. Most villages and towns, it turns out, have a day each week where they hold an open air party and fish fry.
The drive south along the eastern side of the island
View of a valley and village
Tall palms lined the road
We arrived at the airport (designated UVF) around 1p or so and quickly got our boarding passes, checked our baggage, and went through security — incidentally tougher than RDU! The gates were on the first floor but stairs to the second floor provided access to a small food court with several stands. We noticed one of the stands was heating up food so went to the other one that claimed to actually cook food on the spot. Michelle had a chicken sandwich, Addison chicken tenders and fries, and myself a bacon cheeseburger. We also got a coffee cookie, blueberry scone, and lemon pound cake for the journey. The food wasn’t great but it did its job I suppose.
Small mountain near the runway
We headed back downstairs to the gate and waited for the hour or so before boarding. I mostly slept and surfed the internet. We walked out onto the tarmac and climbed stairs into the tail of the plane about 3:45p. It was blazing hot. The flight was largely uneventful. Food-wise only pretzels and drinks were free so Michelle bought some cheese and grapes to snack on. The Last Jedi was the movie and we got free headphones to listen to it with but unfortunately it was cut off at the end due to all of the landing announcements. Grrr!
Our plane back to Miami
View of the plane’s tail as we boarded
In Miami we had a long walk to passport control. Processing was quick for us though a guy traveling with camera samples was being given a bit of a hassle by the immigration officer. Went to get our luggage but the belt jammed. Luckily our schedule wasn’t too tight and we had time to finally get and re-check them and arrived at the gate right as the plane was boarding. Addison was a bit salty that we didn’t have time to grab dinner, for which I was sorry. It was a tiring two hour flight to Raleigh, we arrived at 11:45p or so. Again only pretzels and drink for snacks. Once we landed we got our luggage and Addison drove us home, stopping by McDonald’s on the way. We finally went to bed at 1:30a.
It was a fun trip, if a little quick. St. Lucia was my first tropical destination and it definitely impressed. The people were friendly, and the sights spectacular. It was a bit expensive but it was the high season as it was before hurricane season. We definitely preferred our stay at Caille Blanc and wish we’d have stayed an additional night there at the expense of the (more expensive) Windjammer Landing. The view was the best I’d ever seen and the snorkeling was fun. Windjammer Landing was nice but lacked the spectacular view. It did, however, serve as a base for doing a few activities like the zip line and the whale watching (which was a bit of a bust, sadly). Still, a great vacation!
Route for Friday, April 6th, 2018