Southern approach to the Pitons.

After quite a bit of drama, we are towing the dinghy the rest of the way to Rodney Bay. This is the first time in nearly 4 years of being on the boat that we've towed.

Approaching the Pitons.

The Pitons from the north as we head for Rodney Bay.

Giant Christmas tree at Baywalk Mall in Rodney Bay. Baywalk is one of the few American-style malls we've seen in the Caribbean. Kathy and Jen found some Chinese food for lunch, then went grocery shopping at a really large and fantastic market.

We took the local bus to the market in Castries. The busses in St. Lucia cost the same as in Grenada at $2.50 EC - about $1 US.

Jen noticed this sign along the street in front of a calabash tree. Calabash itself is inedible, but the dried shells are used for bowls and crafts.

Gregg inspecting the produce.

Mound of discarded coconuts. The guy with the green shirt has a machete with which he whacks the top of the coconut off - then you drink the water.

John (Oceana) and Steve (Celebration).

We stopped for lunch at this great little local stand in the market. L-R: Gregg, Quinn, Steve and Lynn (Celebration), John and Kathy (Oceana).

This huge plate of food was $12 EC - that's about $4.50 US.

How does she do that?

We took a tour of the island today. Our first stop was a scenic overlook just outside of Dennery.

Dennery

Dennery

Kathy and John

The next stop was Latille Falls on the southeast side of the island. The surrounding gardens were maintained by some Rastafarians.

They had a table set up with some of their local produce, including coffee beans (photo), bananas, mangos, etc... and of course rum punch.

Quinn got to feed the fish pieces of crackers - they swarmed!

Latille Falls

While it was pretty, the short hike down to the falls was packed with cruise ship people. We asked if there was another trail and found that there was a hike down to an old dam with a rope swing over it. There was no one else on the trail. It was beautiful.

Kathy taking a short break.

John considering going for a ride on the relic of a rope swing.

Water over the dam using a fast shutter speed.

We stopped for a hike at Barre d L'Isle Forest Trail. We had stopped at two other trail heads (the first required reservations and $25 US per person and the second was $40 US per person) before we found this one. This was a fairly short and well marked trail and the views were spectacular. Oh, and it was free.

Notice the vines creeping up the tree.

We got to the trail a little late in the day so we didn't have time to do the hike up to Mt. La Combe before dark.

A little muddy this time, but not too bad.

Somebody was worn out.

Time for a haircut. Jen took Quinn to a local lady in the marina complex. She did a really nice job.

Brig Unicorn.

Brig Unicorn.

Jen took Quinn horseback riding at Trim's National Riding Academy.

Find a helmet. Put the helmet on.

Quinn's leader, Zebby, took this photo of us.

We went to the market today with Kathy and John (Oceana) and John and Sunny (Notre Vie). This time, we went to a different stall for lunch.

Local food - it was good, but not as good as the place we went last week.

Baby chicks for sale at the market.

Quinn got to hold one - the lady selling them was getting a little grumpy about it, though.

Booty from the market. These two bunches of basil cost $4 EC, which is about $1.50 US. Jen made pesto to freeze.

The marina is very festive and busy as the World ARC prepares to set sail from Rodney Bay today.

Heading out for another hike. Today, we're going to Fort Rodney.

North shore of St. Lucia.

After about 3 km, we arrived at the fort.

Looking out over Rodney Bay.

When we hiked in the fort 2 years ago, we weren't able to climb this higher peak because the wild fire danger was high due to the severe drought.

John and Kathy, Oceana.

John and Sunny, Notre Vie.

Ron, Molly Bloom.

Kathy.

The trip down is much easier.

A long hike deserves a cold drink and a rest. We stopped at Jambe de Bois for a little while before heading back.

The marina has been busy all week with the World ARC folks waiting for the rally to start. We got to see them take off on their 15-month world cruise today.

Today we used the local busses to get to Marigot. It's a beautiful harbor south of Castries. We could have taken the boat as there was plenty of space in the harbor, but since we're leaving for Martinique tomorrow, we decided to keep the boat in Rodney Bay and not add two hours to our trip north.

Our understanding is that we were walking through the largest mangrove forest on St. Lucia. It was very serene, but it smelled like sulphur.

Apparently, we walked down the wrong road, so we need to take a water taxi to the marina complex.

Quinn and Sunny, Notre Vie.

We were told that St. Lucia's primary export is bananas, which they ship to England. Today and on our taxi tour a few days ago, we noticed banana plantations everywhere.