Last Weekend in St Lucia

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So close to the end now! This weekend was my last weekend in St Lucia.



On Saturday the girls and I just spent a day at Reduit beach. I spent a lot of time in the sea, and a lot of time napping in the sun. I'm definitely going to miss the beach when I'm home. Unfortunately, I managed to sun burn just my ankles. I went into the sea first, and when I came out to the sun lounger, my feet and ankles were covered in sand. I put suncream everywhere, except where the sand was stuck. I thought I'd wait for it to dry and then brush it off, then put suncream on. But then I fell asleep, and when I woke up half an hour later, the sand had fallen off and my ankles were bright red. Luckily it's fading now and I don't have weird tan lines.



On Sunday, Monica took me down to Vieux Fort, where Marcia lives. We spent the day at her house. She made some really good food, and showed me how to make it. The best was the plantain wrapped in bacon. It was like big, sweet pigs in blankets. It was really good. Then we had ice cream with paupaus jam. That was good, and it's only the second time I've had ice cream since I've been here!

Marcia and Monica also told me some of the scary stories and Caribbean folklore they'd been told as children. Things about devils, black magic and witches. I've written down the basics of what they've told me. Some people here still believe in these stories, and believe that black magic and these creatures are real. They are very superstitious about lots of things. For example, the other girls and I have been told off on multiple occasions for putting our bags on the floor at restaurants, in the hospital and at people's houses. No one would tell us why it was bad, they just immediately jumped and sort of shouted at us to pick them up and put them on a chair or table. They just said you should never put your bag on the floor. No one knew why until Monica told me that there's an old superstition that if you put your bag on the floor, you will always be poor. No one really remembers that anymore, but they've all just been brought up not to put bags on the floor. It's so odd. Some people believe that witches can transform into dogs, frogs and cats. And the only way to 'dewitch' them, is to through salt or soil at them. And these people do throw salt on every frog that they see. Poor frogs.

Marcia has a dog who had puppies in January. Monica got one of those dogs and is taking it home now. She's named the dog after me. Jesse, because it's a boy. She asked if it was ok, because she doesn't have children, and her dogs are like her kids, so she hoped it was ok to name it after me. He is such a cute puppy. I saw both of his parents and they are so cute too. They're mongrels, but they look like Jack Russells crossed with corgis or dachshunds or something similar. And some other breeds thrown in. They all look different, but all really cute. You don't see many pets in St Lucia, because most dogs are just guard dogs that are tied up to a post all day. So it was nice to be able to stroke a dog here.



Just one more week at the hospital left! And apparently Wednesday is a bank holiday too, so it'll only be four days. And then I'm coming home!

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Photos

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Another photo of Pigeon point, as a reminder that I climbed both of those peaks

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Marcia's garden with a view of the sea

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Jesse

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Jesse in a box going to his new house