Our First Visitor
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Miffy Came to stay for a
week.
   It was really great to meet Miffy at the airport, not so good was the hour and a half
drive back to Beez Neez along some very interesting roads. Smooth Tarmac then
suddenly 8 inch deep - tooth edged potholes. Bear of course had fun swerving
round holes and taking the all too frequent speed humps so quickly we feared for
our spleens. Then after a few days lazing on the beach and sipping cool beer we
had a day out on the Brig Unicorn - a 140 foot boat you will know by its screen
name of The Black Pearl in Pirates of the Caribbean (first and second
movies).
    The Brig's
Captain, one of the crew and our very own
skipper at the wheel.
   Wouldn't fancy her maintenance and
upkeep.
    A lovely shot leaving Rodney Bay. The troll line you can see led me to a
lesson in local fishing from one of the crew.
   The Pitons are two volcanic plugs and are in The UNESCO World Heritage Site. Gros Piton is 771 meters in height, and Petit Piton is 743 meters high; they are linked by the Piton Mitan ridge. The Pitons are located near the towns of Soufriere and Choiseul on the south western coast of the island. Situated at the top the Piton Mitan ridge is the Ladera Hotel, offering stunning views over Piton bay. Saint Lucia's local brand of beer is named after these two mountains and of course we sampled a few. Another great view we couldn't resist.
These sulphur springs and hot mud pools in Soufrière Caldera are visible remnants of former volcanic activity in the area. Pity about the smell that can be detected for miles around.
Sulphur Springs is the "world's only drive in volcano". According to scientists, it is supposed to erupt in around 100 years and the impact of it can wipe out 3/4 of St Lucia. The water boils at 212 Fahrenheit but the super heated steam is hotter at 340 degrees. The black colour in the tar is caused by a chemical reaction between the sulphur and iron, believed to be therapeutic for skin blemishes. Colourful mineral deposits decorate the volcano. In these deposits are sulphur, copper, iron oxide, alkaline lead, calcium oxide, and carbon. Sulphur springs, near Soufriere (French for sulphur), got a weak spot in the crust of the enormous collapsed crater creating an upheaval of lava 410,000 years ago.
France's King Louis XVI had bathhouses built for his troops at these natural, mineral-rich falls. An invigorating shower under the cascading waters is still a refreshing break if a little painful.
One of the most photographed bays in the world - Soufriere
After the steaming hillside, mud and waterfalls we returned to the Brig for a very good buffet lunch, plenty more rum punches and made the return voyage to Rodney Bay.
I have put a blog on of photos Miffy took, here are our two favourites of his visit. In the first - Is he alive ??? Yes he moved.
All in all a great week with Miffy, fantastic to catch up and thank you for coming. xx xx |
