St. Lucia

Rich with pirate stories and colonial history, St. Lucia welcomed us with a beautiful day. Once again the Kernteam had a plan. We knew we wanted to head over to Pigeon Island and we were quickly connected with a fabulous taxi driver, George. St. Lucia follows English customs, so the kids were fascinated to drive on the wrong side of the street. George was full of knowledge and gave us a St. Lucia education. The island was in drought. Much of what we saw, which to these Californians didn't look all that dry, he said was very dry and lacking in color. Trees were to always be colorful in St. Lucia and hillsides never brown. We did see a dusting of what one might call dry, but to them it was in a critical stage of drought. It's amazing to think they are surrounded by water, but none of it drinkable or helpful to their land. Once we arrived at our destination, we were greeted by the Atlantic Ocean. St. Lucia is unique because half of the island is on the Atlantic and the other half the Caribbean Ocean. The Atlantic had great strong waves.....and separated by only a small strip of land, the Caribbean was calm. Here's a pic from the top of the Pigeon Island that shows you both sides.Once a spot where pirates called home, now Pigeon Island National Landmark is a 40 acre protected park. Beautiful in landscape, I'm sure even more lovely when there isn't a drought, and all about the Island are what remains of an 18th century English Fort. The English used the fort to spy on the French on nearby islands and the boys were able to take a long hike to the top. St. Lucia was six times french and six times English with the English last in power.



Our day in St. Lucia was a little rough on sweet Karly. Badly sun burned from her time in St. Martin, I swear we kept lathering her up but her porcelain skin needed SPF 50+ clearly. Before we even got off the boat she was in tears with burning skin. So Mom and Karly spent the day in partial shade, but there was no keeping this kid out of the water and sun. She wore one of Mama's cover-ups and a hat -well clothed in the water too. You can see here, as she sucks on a lollipop, her sunkissed cheeks. We did all we could to try to let her have some fun but stay safe from more sun exposure. While we sat at the beach, some ladies on "holiday" from Britain told us all about the Russian Oil Tycoon who owned this amazing yacht.
The night prior to our St. Lucia arrival brought with it a storm, so much of the water was left murky and more unsettled for our day in port. No matter, the snorkeling may have been out, but the kids were happy to ride the waves for hours. With water so warm, one can just sit and enjoy it!