Busy day and night

One of the most talked about Saint Lucian activities that comes up in Trip Advisor is the Gros Islet Jump-up, a weekly, Friday night street party featuring music and street vendors selling everything from trinkets to food to homemade spiced rum.  

Last year, I was in Saint Lucia alone so didn't venture far off the beaten path, especially after dark.  It isn't that Saint Lucia isn't safe, because I think it is, it was simply I wasn't familiar with the area and a little self-conscious of being alone and being cautious.  So I didn't get to experience the party.

This year, however, it was on our list of must-do events.  Our housekeeper, Chantal, arranged for a friend to drive us to and from the village as she did not recommend the local bus.  It turned out, the night we went was quieter than normal as the locals were at the cricket match, and we left before the game ended.  From what we heard, it was wall-to-wall people after 11 p.m.  

The part was interesting due in large part to the cast of characters passing by.  Tourists outnumbered the locals and some people....well, let's just say I hope they don't dress that way in their every day life!  The food was good, though the prices were higher than we found later in the week, I guess they realize they have a captive audience.  The music was a disappointment, as I was hoping for a local flavor, but what we got was a American pop. I also avoided the local rum, and stuck to the Piton beer available at the little bars that lined the street.  I'm still glad we went as it was a different side of Saint Lucia, I hadn't seen previously.

On Saturday morning we took the local bus to Castries (capital city of Saint Lucia, population 60,000) for the market.  The market is HUGE, offering fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, and a staggering variety of craft items, clothing, and trinkets.  We wandered the market, then walked over to the duty free shops at Le Place Caranege.  These photos were taken from the outdoor restaurant we visited for lunch.

The ferry was taking people to and from the cruise ship docked in port.  

On Monday we visited Pigeon Island.  

We walked up to the top of the smaller peak to visit Fort Rodney - the view was spectacular!

There were a number of remnants of old buildings scattered about the island.

I had to stand and wonder how they managed to build these structures without the use of modern machinery.











We spent some time on the beach on Pigeon before having our lunch at Jambe de Bois.  Guess what I found there?

Isn't he (or maybe a she) a cutie?

From Pigeon Island we walked back to Rodney Bay...I'm not certain how far away it was, perhaps 3 miles or a little further.  Chantal's reaction when she heard of our trek was "You're stronger than I am!".

Coming tomorrow....our catamaran tour!