 |
| Welcome to Castries, but be back by 4:30pm or else |
The port of call for today was Castries, St. Lucia. Located a mere 90 miles from Barbados, St. Lucia is an island of 230 square miles of volcanic and mountainous peaks and lush fertile valleys. The tallest peak is 950 meters high. It is 27 miles long and 14 miles wide. The average temperature is 70 to 90 degrees, and the annual rainfall is 90 inches. That is why it is so green and tropical high in the mountains. The population of 150,000 people speak an English/French based language, but also mixed with West African and Spanish dialects. Castries is the capital, and is ruled by the current prime minister, Kenny Anthony. Although it is within the British Commonwealth, St.Lucia has been an independent state since 1979.
 |
| Offloading recycled materials |
 |
Local greeter, Carnaval style
|
And we have been here twice before, as recently as last year, and also 20 years ago. Since downtown is located so close to the cruise terminal at Seraphine Island, we decided to make a day of walking and touring the local markets and shops. Before we left the ship, we decided to get the computer work out of the way. However, when the gangway is located on deck A below us, our computer often goes blue-screen, or shuts down. This has not happened in every port that we dock port side, but when it does, it sure is frustrating. We did go to the library with our computer instead, but we did not have much luck there either. Wish we could say that their internet is trouble-free. but we cannot say that yet. Hope it improves.
Leaving around 10am, we walked through the cruise terminal building that has dozens of shops and some small restaurants.
 |
| Shops at Seraphine Pier |
 |
St. Lucia
|
They sell all the typical Caribbean souveniers, only more expensive. So we headed out of the terminal and towards town, dodging the many taxi drivers once again. This subject came up at dinner last night with our buddies. We all agreed it would be nice to wear a t-shirt with, "No thanks, I'm walking" written on the front and the back. It would save so much time while navigating through the drivers, who all try to get you to take a special tour.
 |
| Some modern buildings |
 |
| The harbor |
 |
| Perhaps a hotel |
 |
| Tourists kiosk |
 |
| Ship docked |
 |
| Fishing boat |
 |
| St.Lucian parrot |
 |
| Carved coconut bird feeders |
 |
| Hummingbird |
 |
| Hummingbird feeding |
 |
| Inviting flowers |
 |
| Blackbird |
 |
| Small boat harbor |
 |
Dove
|
We are afraid this practice keeps some of the older folks on board, not wishing to go through this hassle. We do understand that our visit here is at the end of the high season, and fewer ships will be coming into port during the hot summer months.
 |
| Amsterdam docked |
 |
| One of many fishing boats |
 |
| The Marketplace |
 |
| A pyramid building |
 |
| House with a view |
 |
| Must be a home |
 |
| Hilltop house or hotel |
 |
| Multi-balconied home |
 |
| The waterfront and marketplace |
 |
| Crab |
 |
| Fisherman |
 |
| Amsterdam still docked |
 |
| The side streets of Castries |
 |
| Kids...the real treasure of St. Lucia |
 |
| Fresh fruit and veggies |
 |
| Food kiosks |
 |
| Street markets |
 |
| A street of cafes |
 |
| Too much traffic |
 |
| Nicer clothes |
 |
| A very nice place |
 |
| One of many fishing boats |
 |
| Good catch |
 |
| Boat yard |
 |
| Great colors |
 |
| Another modern building |
 |
| Typical Caribbean colors |
 |
| Volcanic mountain tops |
 |
| Pointe Seraphine where the ship was docked |
 |
| Very large watch |
 |
| Cool dude |
 |
| Shops at Pointe Seraphine |
 |
| Small, but nice shops |
 |
| Great views |
 |
| Harbor homes |
 |
| Nice hotel on the harbor |
 |
| A catamaran |
Despite the threat of rain, it was very warm and humid outside. Thank goodness there was another strong breeze blowing, or it would have been intolerable. Most of the walk to town is on the waterfront, which is open to the small harbor and constant breezes. The birds sure liked the wind.
 |
| Gull |
 |
Egret checking us out
|
 |
| Two gulls patrolling |
 |
| Black-headed gull |
 |
| A gull and heron |
 |
| Gulls in a row |
 |
| Egret |
 |
| Gull |
 |
| Blue heron |
 |
| Egret |
 |
Egret
|
Terns were gliding, searching, then skimming the water with their talons to catch the small fish on the harbor. Their competitors, herons and egrets, fought over their catches. We even saw some of the egrets in an empty small fishing boat that still had fish parts in the bottom.
 |
| Egret got the fish in the bottom of the boat |
 |
| Fighting over the fish parts |
 |
| His feathers got ruffled |
 |
| Fluffly egret |
 |
Fishing boat of birds
|
These birds are pretty much scavengers. If they don't get the discarded fish parts, the rats do. Disturbing, but quite visible, were large rats running over the big boulders along the waterfront.
 |
Wharf rat.....yuck
|
Some of the smelly scraps were washed up under these rocks, and the vermin were there to get it. Hope they have lots of cats in the marketplace across the street.
Speaking of the market, a huge one is built right in the center of town. The red-roofed Castries Market is actually rated in the top ten markets of the world, according to National Geographic.
 |
| Castries Market |
 |
Castries Central Market
|
We have to agree that the souvenirs are interesting such as the wooden jewelry, St. Lucian arts and crafts, sarongs, shirts, and swimwear. Talk about dazzling colors. Pinks, greens, oranges, yellows, you name it, they have it for sale. The food market offers fresh spices of nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon bark, vanilla, and curries. If we had been here on a weekend like last year, the meat and fish market section would have been crowded. But today, it was quiet. We sure were not complaining, because it gave us a chance to see things even better. We picked up some fresh cinnamon bark and limes for our room drinks.
 |
| Souveniers |
 |
| So much stuff |
 |
Dazzling colors
|
 |
| Veggie market |
 |
| Selling her produce |
 |
| Vanilla and spices |
 |
| Spice shopping |
 |
Bet this is HOT stuff
|
We made our way deeper into town, and found where the locals were shopping. They tend to buy clothing and shoes (mostly sandals) from stands on the side streets, instead of stores. Across the street from the big market, was another building that housed individual stalls, all selling woven baskets, wood carvings, masks, costume jewelry, and the brightest-colored clothing you can imagine. Two charm bracelets found their way to our possession, a token of our visit here.
It was getting close to noon, and we had worked up a good thirst. Beer was sounding like a great idea, but where should we go? Leaving the marketplace, we found a small square called Constitution Park.
We found it odd that the statues in this small park were of Simon Bolivar, the liberator of several South American countries.
 |
A bust of Simon Bolivar, liberator of many South American countries
|
A very respected man in South America, we are not sure what the tie to him in St. Lucia could be? Lining this square were the law courts, registry, and perhaps social security offices. In the center of this iron-fenced park, was a gigantic tree, which had to be hundreds of years old.
 |
| Trees in Constitution Park |
 |
The huge tree in the park
|
Up the street from here, were cafes and restaurants that started looking a bit more civilized for lunch. Now all we needed to do was find a place that offered pizza and beer. Just by luck, we found the La Place Carenage, a real shopping mall.
 |
La Place Carenage
|
 |
| The view from the balcony |
 |
Water side of La Place Carenage
|
 |
| La Place Carenage |
 |
Shopping Mall
|
 |
| Second floor of the shopping mall |
 |
Local art
|
A small 2 story mall, it held some of the highend stores like Diamonds and Tanzanite International. Upstairs on the second level, was a restaurant by the name of Chef Robby's, with a bar and lunch section called Caribbean Pirates.
 |
| Chef Robby's with Caribbean Pirates upstairs |
 |
Hmmm, this looks like a good place
|
 |
| Fellow diners on the balcony |
 |
| Outdoor eating at Caribbean Pirates |
 |
Best place in town....Caribbean Pirates
|
And indeed, there was pizza on the menu, and they had tables on a balcony with a breeze. Perfect. Once seated, we realized that we were right above Castries' second largest cruise dock.
 |
| The second largest dock in Castries |
 |
The other cruise ship terminal
|
 |
New building
|
There was no other ship today, so this place was not crowded yet. We ordered a margherita pizza , and waited for it while sipping the locally-brewed beers....Piton. Perfect.
 |
| Waiting for the ice cold beer |
 |
| Here it is.....Piton lager beer |
 |
| Margherita pizza with onions and chopped tomatoes |
We could have sat there longer, but it was time to get moving. All aboard was 4:30pm, and we needed to cool down first to go back out for sailaway.
 |
| Going back |
 |
Sailing away by 5:30pm
|
Ending up back at the terminal, we did just that. The party at the aft pool was fun, since the same steel drummer entertained us with Caribbean music once again.
 |
| Steel drum entertainer |
 |
Sailaway celebrators
|
 |
Drink of the day.....Pirates Rum Runner - $5.95
|
 |
Sea View Pool drinkers
|
It does not take much more than that to get the folks up and dancing. So much fun to watch.
 |
The conga line
|
As it turned out, no rain ever fell in town today, although the dark clouds kept us from seeing the pitons (mountain peaks) at the sail out of the harbor.
 |
| Lighthouse |
 |
| Way to go |
 |
| Pilot boat |
 |
| Not sure what it is, but we like the colors of this building |
 |
| Nice homes on the hillside |
 |
| Good color also |
 |
| Has to be a hotel or bed and breakfast |
 |
| Leaving Poine Seraphine |
 |
| The waterfront of Castries |
 |
| Volcanic coastline |
 |
| Sandals |
 |
| Getting hazy as we leave the island |
 |
| Sailboat |
 |
A dolphin jumping
|
What was better, was watching the small craft airplanes landing on an airstrip right off of the harbor. This time of day, they landed about every 10 minutes.
 |
| Airstrip |
 |
| The small aircraft landing strip |
 |
Planes landing
|
 |
Chopper
|
Dinnertime came quickly, and we think all of us were tired after a warm, humid day in town or on tours. The food was good. Grandma's chicken noodle soup always makes one of us happy, and so did the entrees of beef ribs with garlicky mashed potatoes and gravy. All comfort food. And to end another great meal, the cappuccino bomb was on the menu. Bet we sleep good tonight. Hope we do, because tomorrow's port will be Roseau, Dominica.
We have an answer to the question regarding the President Club members sailing on this trip. About 22 of them are on board at the moment. Half of those were recognized at the second cocktail party a couple of nights ago. Many passengers got awarded the 100 day bronze medal, but there were too many of them to be awarded individually. However, after the cocktail party ended, they were invited to have their photo taken with the Captain and Hotel Manager. In the past, we used to receive these photos complimentary. Don't know if they still do that, but will try to find out.
