St. Lucia

I have always wanted to go to St. Lucia and I was not disappointed after spending a day there!  We took an independent island tour and it was fantastic!  We got to see a lot of things on the island, eat good food, and spend time at the beach and snorkeling between the two Pitons.

When we woke up it was overcast and rainy, but the rain stopped quickly and we were treated to a beautiful rainbow!

[caption id="attachment_1392" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="I wonder if the rainbow ended at the casino?"][/caption]

Our first stop was at a banana plantation.  Bananas are St. Lucia's only export.  We learned about how they grow them and then we were each given our own banana to eat.  I wish I had remembered this part of the tour at breakfast earlier when I had eaten a banana!

[caption id="attachment_1393" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Bananas in Bags (to protect them from the weather and insects)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1394" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The BEST Banana Ever!"][/caption]

Then we got back in the van and went on our way to the next stop.  On the way we saw some interesting things:

[caption id="attachment_1395" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Another Rainbow!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1396" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Creepy Snake Guy"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1397" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Things that grow on St. Lucia"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1398" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Overlook"][/caption]

Then it was time to eat.  They put out a huge spread of traditional island food and we pigged out!  Some of our favorites were the piton fish, piton chicken, coconut cake, and rolls that were very similar to the ozzie rolls at The Great American Restaurants!  Yum!

[caption id="attachment_1399" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The Spread"][/caption]

After eating, we stopped for a great view of the Pitons:

[caption id="attachment_1400" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The Pitons"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1401" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Not the greatest picture, but oh well..."][/caption]

Our next stop was the "drive-in volcano" and sulfur springs.  The sulfur made the whole area stink, but apparently that is a good thing.  If the smell goes away, then that means an eruption is about to happen.

[caption id="attachment_1402" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The Crater"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1403" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="300+ Degrees"][/caption]

We then headed to Soufriere, where we stopped at an area that had a waterfall and botanical garden.  This was a very pretty area and the flowers smelled amazing!

[caption id="attachment_1404" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The Top of the Waterfall"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1405" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The Bottom of the Waterfall...and Jeff!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1406" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="A View of One Piton"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1407" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pretty Flower"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1408" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Another Pretty Flower"][/caption]

After this stop, it was finally time to go and see the Pitons up close!  We headed to a beach and got on a small boat that took us past one of the Pitons to another beach that was in between both Pitons.  We were given an hour to spend there.  Jeff and I took turns snorkeling and we saw some cool stuff!

[caption id="attachment_1409" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Time to get in the boat!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1410" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Almost There!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1411" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The Beach between the Pitons"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1412" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="A Fish"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1413" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="A School of Squid (They freaked me out and kept swimming around me!)"][/caption]