An Island Holiday -- (part 2)-- St. Lucia

Continuing the photo review of our Caribbean "Island holiday"--

            this time we are traveling to the

                                beautiful island of St. Lucia~ 

                                           It's miserable, cold and rainy 

here today as I post these photos ---

 sure makes me wish we were back 

where the sun was shinning 

and the breezes were 

warm~

of all the Caribbean islands

that we have visited~

St. Lucia has one of the most

 picturesque harbor views.

sailing into St.Lucia

is truly beautiful --

it's one of those places

that makes you want to go

snap, snap, snap 

with your camera~

~we almost always have our island day activities

planned in advance,

but a necessary last minute change of plans

found us "seeking new adventures"...

hence...

our amazing day in

Pigeon Island National Park

~

we told our taxi driver-- "take us to a lovely beach,

someplace NOT crowded, someplace where all the other

cruise ship folks WON'T be" ~

Pigeon island is not really an "island"--

located at the tip of St. Lucia

it has the distinction of being unique in that

the rough and turbulent Atlantic ocean is on one side,

while the calm Caribbean ocean is on the other~

~

(click here for more info about 

Pigeon Island)

 

 There is a small entrance fee to the park--

(about $7 US)-- once you are inside you can walk

the grounds, visiting the incredible

ruins, walk along the beach,

snorkel, dive, and--

climb the hill to the fort

for the most amazing views ever!

 Just saying the word "ruins" 

makes my heart beat 

faster!

~

these ruins dating back to the 1700's

are definitely worth

are few hours of your time~

 there were some 

amazing "Kodak" moments

everywhere you looked~

we spent about 2 hours walking around the ruins

and along the coastal road that leads

to the tip of the "island"

lots of history here in this little

place~

just another"Kodak" moment!

sigh~

I was so happy to be here among

this amazing history and stunning scenery ---

sometimes, things just work out for the best.

Our last minute change of plans 

had brought us to a wonderful new place.

doesn't everyone take "silly selfies"?

~

that's the fort in the background --

come on,

we are going UP! 

it's a bit of a climb--

and I'm wearing a sarong and flip flops--

should be interesting!

we'll start our climb here~

the climb gets steeper and steeper

and then---

 yep---

we gotta climb that ladder.

in. my. flip flops.

it's an adventure -- right?

THIS-- is the view from the top!

worth the climb,

don't you think?

~and another beautiful view

just in case you want

to read a little history of

Fort Rodney~

we're smiling because

this has been THE most awesome day!

~

a little lesson in gravity--

"what goes up, must come down"

so, back down the ladder  I go--

in. my. flip flops. 

my reward for being such a good sport--

lunch!!

this quaint little restaurant

is at the very end of the beach

inside the National Park~

~

(just in case you are wondering--

I had the tomato lentil soup AND

the black cherry cream cake:)

and -- I earned every single bite

climbing up that ladder!

 the view from our table~

after lunch--

a little beach time~

the water was crystal clear, and calm and

so warm!

and of course~

the pina colada boat

(2 for $5 -- just in case you want one!)

we were in port from 8 am-5 pm--

plenty of time to walk around the ruins,

climb to the fort, have a nice little lunch,

and finish the day off at the beach~

~

now,--

we are back on the ship

enjoying a beautiful sunset sail away~

  a little glass of wine for the

beautiful sail away~

(don't laugh at our wine glasses--

its the best we could do!!)

my favorite sunset sail away picture~

and so ends our lovely, unplanned,

but totally wonderful,

day in St. Lucia

~~~~

Next up--the final post for the "Island holiday" series --- I'm taking you to beautiful St.Kitts. If you missed the first post in this series -- (Bonaire)-- you can find it here. 

Some updates~

The deadline has passed and all the donations have been given for the "Josephine's" children charity project. Once again -- you have totally given of yourselves and exceeded every estimation that I had for this project.  Here are YOUR totals --- $2011 in cash collected for these needy children.  Almost all of the donations were small amounts --less than $10.  That should give you an idea of how many wonderful generous folks donated to this amazing cause. Your Walmart gift card donations totaled just over $200.  Add that to the already amazing totals!

Your craft donations -- OMG --- they just kept coming and coming and coming!  Our plan was to fill one box -- now we are going to fill 3! My friend Sue is starting to make purchases for supplies and clothing for the children with your donated cash and Walmart gift cards.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have done for these children --- sometime later this year, I will share photos of the children opening their gifts.  Josephine has promised to take photos the minute the gifts and supplies arrive in Uganda.    My heart is so full of gratitude for the generous way that you have responded to the needs of these little ones ---  bless you all for your kindness and generosity.

Love, love,love,

Vicki

PS-- 

 ~~ Don't forget ---- if you want to participate in the BIG party, the deadline to enter your blog is January 15. You can find all the info here.