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Larry's LogThe next morning we went to the hotel and beached the dinghy again and met Heidi for our planned tour of the Pigeon Island National Park and Fort Rodney. We walked to the park entrance (only 5 minutes walk from the Hyatt) and walked around a bit and then hiked up to Fort Rodney. The trail up was steep in places but not very difficult. However, we decided to try the other peak (Pigeon Island is comprised of two peaks joined by a slight slope) and that was much more difficult, particularly since Diane and I had sandals on. We reached a certain spot where there were some large rocks to climb over and the "girls" said they would stop. I said I would continue and try to go up to the top. It was harder than the previous trail, made worse by loose rock and dirt, but I got to the top and took some really nice pictures. When I went back down to where they were waiting, we all decided to go back down since I said it was a bit harder than the earlier trail. After walking around the park some more and visiting the small museum, we walked back to the Hyatt and just relaxed by the beach for the rest of the day. We took Heidi back to the boat (via dinghy) for drinks and dinner. After having a nice dinner of Penne ala Vodka, we took Heidi back to the marina so she could catch a taxi back to the hotel. The following day, Diane and I went over to the hotel after doing some chores and we all took a taxi into Castries, the capital of St. Lucia to do some shopping. We first went to a place called Bagshaws, where they make very pretty batik clothing and such. We had been there several years before and bought several very nice wall hangings. We thought Heidi might like to see them and this was also where they made the batik, through a process similar to silk screening. We remembered it being a very interesting process and that we could watch it being done. When we got there, we found out that they weren't doing any manufacturing that day and there was only a small demonstration that we could see. The shop itself was full of very pretty items but the prices had literally doubled since we were there last. Oh well. Neither Diane nor Heidi purchased anything. After Bagshaws, we went to Point Seraphine. We had also been there before on our last trip. Unfortunately, the situation was much the same, with inflated prices. Although they were "duty free", there were certainly no bargains to be found. After being somewhat disappointed with shopping, and since it was already a little late, we went back to Rodney Bay to eat. Fortunately, lunch was very good. We ate in a reasonably priced restaurant called the Lime. We then did some more shopping at the stores in Rodney Bay. Oh well. This area was about a 20 minutes walk from the marina itself since there is no bridge from one side of the lagoon to the other. After we finished, we caught one of the buses (really a mini-van) going towards the Hyatt. The buses don't go all the way there, but we figured that we could walk the rest of the way. However, after the bus had discharged all of the rest of the passengers in the village of Gros Islet, Diane asked if the driver would drive us all the way to the Hyatt. These buses are all privately owned so the driver was free to do that if he wanted to. We agreed on an additional fare to go the ¾ mile further to the Hyatt and he started off. Since he had already turned off the main road, he took a "short-cut", first through some side streets of the village and then we wound up on the beach. He had obviously done this many times, and we finally drove up onto a paved road that just started (or stopped, depending on your perspective) on the beach about ½ mile from the hotel. This road leads into the main road to the Hyatt and we were there in 5 minutes. After paying the driver the total fare of 10 EC, which was only 4 EC more than the normal fare would have been, we walked through the main gate and just relaxed the rest of the day. There was a manager's cocktail party that evening at 5pm that we went to with some crudités, cheese and drinks available. We had met a very nice hotel manager, Elena, when Heidi first arrived and we explained that we would be visiting at the hotel and she understood completely. She said we could leave the dinghy at their dock and had generally been very nice. We had a nice conversation with her and we got some background into the hotel and other good information about St. Lucia in general. Elena was from San Diego had been there since before the hotel opened, so she was a very good source. After the party, we went back to the boat, leaving Heidi at the hotel. We had a light dinner and some reading of our new (to us) mail. Thursday morning Diane went into the lagoon to do some shopping and make arrangements for the car we were renting on Friday. There was also some excitement we heard on the radio net we normally listen to. During the broadcast, a Mayday call was heard which immediately galvanized everyone listening. I heard the original call that said that the boat had broken the forestay but had rigged a spinnaker halyard to brace the mast. A professional delivery captain skippered it but I couldn't tell how many other crew were aboard. They were also about 300 miles north of the British Virgin Islands. We listened while the call was "worked" by people who contacted the US Coast Guard and other authorities. It was a very sobering event. We don't know how it ultimately turned out because we eventually lost reception of the vessel in distress and also of the boats speaking to him. Hopefully he got back to port safely. After Diane came back, we made some hors d'eouvres for later and then went over to the hotel to meet Heidi and just relaxed that day. We were to meet Patrick and Teresa from Kajsa and now also Patty and Randy from Passagio for a little party. Passagio had come in that morning from Anse Mitan; we had first met them in St. Martin and we saw them again in Antigua. We thought Passagio and Kajsa would like each other and especially since they were all from South Carolina. Since Kajsa was now at a dock and there was a little patio there, we agreed we would meet there. Diane went back to the boat to drop off our stuff and Heidi and I took a taxi to the small marina. We all met there although Diane was a bit late. When she finally dinghied over, she had on her foul weather pants on. She had gotten very wet going back to the boat (as I warned her she would) and didn't want to get wet again. We had ordered pizza since all the cruisers had a craving. It was just Dominos, but not too bad. Of course, Heidi probably didn't think so, (I KNOW New York Pizza is MUCH better than Dominos) but she said it was good also. The party itself was a great success and with lots of good conversation and camaraderie. Heidi perhaps felt a bit out of some conversation when we started talking about past anchorages or other "boat stuff", but over all we all had great time. |