Well shit it's been 2 months since I've posted anything. And I missed Insecure Writer's Support Group the last several months...

Saint Lucia: Beautiful beaches, friendly people, and crazy drivers


Well shit it's been 2 months since I've posted anything. And I missed Insecure Writer's Support Group the last several months as well! Where have I been, you may be asking? Mostly avoiding writing (insecure writer much?), but that's a different topic. For now I'll focus on the fun stuff.

Last week, Brian and I went to Saint Lucia for vacation. Yep, just the two of us again, no kids (thank you so much Grandma Paula, you're the best!). And yes, we just took a vacation last year too. Spoiled much? Oh yeah. But this one was a celebration. This July, we'll hit our 15th wedding anniversary. That's a pretty awesome accomplishment, one we're quite proud of and felt it was something worth celebrating. And our favorite way to do so is to travel. Lucky for us, the in-laws had time-share points that needed to be used and we were happy to help them out. :)

So on the evening of April 19th we headed to the airport. After having missed our first flight last year to Belize because 6am flights simply do NOT work for us, we opted for the red-eye flights instead this time. It's not really any better because sleeping on an airplane in coach has got to be the most uncomfortable thing ever. I think we maybe accumulated an hour or two's worth of sleep the whole way there. That's over 5 hours to JFK and then 4 1/2 hours to Saint Lucia. It was exhausting.

But we made it. We stayed at the St. James Club Morgan Bay resort, which was of course on the opposite side of the island from the airport and shuttles and cabs to take you on the over 1 1/2 hour drive were, as you can imagine, a bit pricey. So we opted to rent a car. They drive on the left side of the road. The steering wheel is on the right side of the car. This was by far the biggest challenge, and subsequently, greatest learning experience, of the trip.

I'm on the wrong side of the car?!
The island is not very big but it is incredibly mountainous. That makes getting around quite the journey. There were no traffic laws, or if there were, no one followed them. The roads were insanely windy and narrow. There were very few posted speed limits and even less street signs. People pass any time they want to, even on a hill with no visibility and another car coming right at them. Emergency breaking to prevent head-on collisions are just a normal part of driving in Saint Lucia. But we made it, safe and sound...well alive anyway. I honestly wouldn't recommend renting a car there for anyone who isn't up for a serious driving challenge.

View from our room
We arrived at the resort in the afternoon, just in time to get settled, take a quick swim in that beautiful ocean, and grab dinner before crashing early out of pure exhaustion. But our room was awesome. Ground floor and only a very short walk to the beach. We mentioned it was our anniversary when we booked it, so maybe that's why they gave us the good room. And a bottle of champagne. The resort was very nice and the staff were always super friendly, helpful, and fun.

Beautiful beach
We spent the first several days doing exactly what we wanted. Laying on the beach with a drink in hand, soaking up that sun. Actually I was heavily sun blocked, under an umbrella, and/or wearing a shirt most of the time because I burn like a redhead and we were close enough to the equator to make the sun all the more intense for this pasty chic. I learned a valuable lesson about the expiration date on sunblock. Turns out it actually does mean something. Weird right? Ah well, what's another dozen freckles when I already have thousands?

View from the spa
I mostly laid on the beach and read. I indulged at the spa one day. Brian went sailing a few times. We both went kayaking but I didn't make it 20 minutes before the waves started to get to me and I had to go back. (Yep I even get motion sickness on a kayak, wtf.) We did lots of swimming in the ocean and some in the pools. We did yoga a couple times. But mostly we just enjoyed some much needed rest and relaxation.

View from the hilltop pool
Every evening we made time to watch the sunset. Something we rarely make time to do in daily life. It's the little things like that about vacation that make it so nice. And the sunsets did not disappoint. 

Awwwww
This doesn't even do it justice
Who needs a selfie stick when you got long-ass arms?

Wednesday nights are beach party night at that resort. There were bonfires and tons of local food and drinks. There were guys walking around and doing stunts on stilts and a bunch of people dressed up in some funky costumes. I never heard what the costumes were about, but the Burners in us felt right at home. The staff were so good at creating a party atmosphere. There was entertainment every night  we were there, with a variety of live music and a couple nights there was even karaoke. Brian of course participated. Go check it out on his Instagram.

Beach party
It's not every day you get your picture with the devil
We had planned on hiking the Pitons while we were there. But after talking to a few people, locals and tourists, who had done the hike we'd intended, we realized we were not in shape, or in the mood, for that strenuous of a hike. Everyone said it took 4 hours round-trip, with the first part being moderate but very hot as it's in the jungle. The higher you get (the peak was 2,500 ft and the hike included 2,300 of it), the more it cooled off, but the more it turned into rock climbing instead of hiking. Even Brian wasn't feeling up for it, and he's the good climber! So I didn't feel bad slacking off. Instead we did the Tet Paul Nature Trail that was near the Pitons. Super easy walk but still great pictures. All the benefit for no work! Well I drove there so I wouldn't have to take Dramamine, so that was still work. Crazy ass drivers and the road there were even windier and narrower than the one from the airport.

Mountain on the far left is Mt. Gimie, 3,117 ft.
Gros Piton, 2,579 ft.
Petite Piton, 2,425 ft.
After the walk we headed back to the nearby town of Soufriere to find some lunch. This town, and the drive there, was educational. It gave a more realistic feel of what life is like for locals. It's not resort living for them. From what we saw, the majority of jobs are working in tourism or on farms. Many people appear to be living in poverty. It was pretty similar to Central America in that regard. Every country we've been to now always leaves me with those guilty feelings. You know the ones. The "man do we have it good and don't truly appreciate it" and "geez I wish I knew how to help"? Yeah those. Two of the many reasons traveling is an important thing to do. Especially for us spoiled Americans.

Anyways, back in our privileged life.... before heading back to the resort, we enjoyed some snorkeling at Anse Chastanet Beach. The water was so clear right off the beach here so I didn't have to get on a boat (win!). And Brian decided to test the waterproof-ness of my phone. Thankfully it held up and he got a few good shots.

Not sure what kind of fish but they were very pretty
Sea snake ahh!
I ended up in the middle of a big school of these guys, so awesome
The skinny one is a pipe fish, there was also a huge school of them not far from us
And then like that, the week was over. More red eye flights and then we were home. Tired but very happy. Saint Lucia was a wonderful vacation. I would highly recommend it if you're looking for a Caribbean destination. Relaxing and spending some real, quality time together was the best way to celebrate our soon-to-be 15 years of marriage.

0 comments: