Hi folks,

Hope you have all had a nice Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year.

Sorry that we’ve been off the air for so long, this is due to family visiting over Christmas. We had my sister (John’s mother), her husband George and young Callum (14) visiting. They have rented an apartment overlooking our bay and we have spent the past five days showing them the island and doing the various ‘touristy’ things. We have arrived back at the boat each night shattered and ready for an early night due to all the swimming we are doing and all the other high jinks. This is not merely restricted to the adults of the party. Callum was in his bed at 8pm the other night.

Christmas day we drove down to the airport at the south end of the island in our hired 4 x 4 - it was the only vehicle available that would seat six people.

Firstly we visited the Saultie Falls which are reputed to be the most beautiful falls in St. Lucia. Our intention was to swim there but the lack of rain these last few weeks had reduced them to a mere dribble and not very impressive. The pool at the base didn’t look too inviting so we carried on to the beach at Vieux Fort Bay close to the airport. We had a super time there in the warm turquoise water with substantial waves coming in from the Atlantic.

Boxing day we went to Marigot bay or as it is sometimes called Dr. Doolittle Bay where the sixties film Dr. Doolittle was filmed. This is a beautiful bay bordered by mangrove swamps and a small inaccessible beach (except by boat) at the entrance. To get to the raised walkway around the swamp one has to walk a short distance on a boardwalk. After some freshly squeezed grapefruit juice we carried on for our second visit to the freshwater falls and pool at Anse La Raye.

Next in pursuit of my little piece of paradise (Chocolate Factory) day we travelled up to Soufriere Bay where we swam in the lovely bay before going to the cocoa Plantation at Fond du Estate. There we learned how humble cocoa beans are dried and roasted until the matter they contain is a highly concentrated dark chocolate. Almost the entire production of this estate goes to America to be made into ‘Hershey bars’ but a little is kept back to be made into chocolate sticks which the locals grate into milk to make a chocolate tea. I was most disappointed to learn that there was no chocolate fountain or chocolate river as promised in the film ’Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory’ as I had fully intended a headlong dive into the chocolate as soon as we got through the gate. We hope to buy a couple of these today at the Saturday market at Castries. Later that afternoon we visited the volcano at Soufriere which is billed as a ‘Drive in Volcano’. In fact you do drive into the crater, park up and walk down to the boiling springs which erupt to 100 feet, (none of your meter nonsense here). We then rounded off the day with a Creole meal at a local restaurant.

I’d better go now as we’re off to Castries for the market.

Duggie

Soufrier beach and the Pitons.

The team at the cocoa plantation.

Volcano at Soufriere