Mangoes in Paradise . . .

Today was fantastic! We are in St. Lucia. I went with Brooks, Kristina, Kevin and Chelsea to Pigeon Island, a National Park off the Northern end of St. Lucia. After an incredibly emotional night last night (more of the same, anxiety over people leaving and generally feeling vulnerable and unsettled), I was determined to enjoy the day and enjoy the island.

I’m so happy we went to Pigeon Island. I feel like I finally got to see some of St. Lucia - I hadn’t taken enough advantage of this beautiful port yet. It is such a beautiful island, filled with rolling hills covered with lush trees and plants. It’s truly beautiful.

Pigeon Island was fortified by the British during the 1700s and used to keep watch on Martinique where the French were. The island is now connected to the main island by a man-made causeway. All of Pigeon Island is a National Park with pathways leading around to the ruins of Fort Rodney. We walked all around to the different ruins, taking tons of pictures of the site, the views and each other.

We walked up one of the two big hills - the one where the main fort had been built on. The views of St. Lucia from the top were incredible. Again, a ton of photos. Being up there, in such a beautiful place with wonderful people, it just reminds you of how lucky we are. We are so blessed to have this experience, these opportunities. It was good to just feel happiness and gratitude, free from this looming sadness that’s been on the ship lately.

There was a small restaurant overlooking the water and across to St. Lucia where we had lunch. It was really a small thatched roof hut, all open air . . . the sort of place tiki bars/restaurants back home try to emmulate. Except this was the real thing. Service was slow and food just okay, but you can’t help but just feel at ease sitting out in the sunshine sipping a drink and admiring the gorgeous surroundings.

Our last hour and a bit we spent down on the small beach, mostly out in the water. We again had my new waterproof camera out with us, taking photos and making videos. Two little girls from France (Gabrielle and Emma) who are on vacation in St. Lucia played with us.

We looked for the coolest piece of coral we could find. A man on a boat filled with fresh fruit sailed up and we bought the sweetest juiciest fresh mangoes from him! We stood in the ocean and sucked all of the succulent juice from the mango pits. And all of this against the most picturesque backdrop. When it was time to head in, I treaded water, just looked around and felt to grateful.

I’m still having passing thoughts about beyond now, about going home, about moving on, having other people who I have come to care about moving on . . . there is still a sense of sadness, of vulnerability. But today wasn’t about that. It was about enjoying what I have now. Because my goodness do I have a lot. And while the next few days will be sad, there are also lots of fun and exciting things happening - a day in St. Kitts, an evening at Supper Club, a crew party, a night in the disco and all of the wonderful spontaneous things that just happen around here.

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