Blogs from Saint Lucia, Central America Caribbean - page 5

Another day at the hospital. Today was a bit longer and we finished at 11:30 am. But I saw about twice as many patients. There was another child with sickle cell anaemia, one with asthma, a couple of vomiting babies and a toddler who had taken her parent's anti-psychotic medication. I got to talk to one of the boys with sickle cell about his condition and how it affects him, and I got to listen to a heart murmur on the other boy. I also learnt that every baby in the last 20 years is tested for sickle cell at birth because it is just so common here. It was also super sad because the second boy needed antibiotics, but his parents couldn't afford the good, specific one, so they've had to give him some less ... read more

As soon as I was up and dressed, we went into the garden to pick some mangoes. We then peeled and chopped them and made our own sorbet. Whilst waiting for it to be ready, we grabbed a pineapple and had that for breakfast. It is so cool being able to pick your own pineapples and mangoes. Then Uncle gave us some fresh coconut water from the coconuts in the garden. Apparently the next door neighbours who don't own much land and have a smaller house will often climb over the fence to steal ripe pineapples, so sometimes uncle will have to pick them a bit early to stop them stealing them! I also saw some lizards from the balcony, and enjoyed our view of the ocean. There are lizards everywhere and also a lot of ... read more

Arrived today after an 8 hour 20 min flight. Flight was good, but it started raining as soon as I got off the plane. Luckily that lasted less than a minute and I've had beautiful blue skies since. On the drive to Uncle's house, we stopped off at a roadside bar with an awesome view of the bay and the ocean. The only shame is that the only beer they sell in St Lucia is Guinness. The roads are crazy with no real speed limit and people overtaking on bends and hills constantly, including the buses. On the journey, there was a breeze and it blew the smell of eggs and sulphur from the volcano, which stinks. We drove through the village where Nana was born and grew up. There are a mix of huge houses ... read more

Dienstag, 23.01.2018 Castries (St. Lucia): leicht bewölkt, Min. 24°C Max.27°C Unser gebuchter Ausflug zu einem Strand auf St. Lucia startete heute erst um 12:30 Uhr, so konnten wir den Morgen ruhig angehen, und nach dem Frühstück eine kleine Besichtigungstour durch die Stadt machen. Eigentlich sollten wir hier auf Reede liegen, doch gestern erfuhren wir, dass das Schiff im Hafen anlegen kann, damit entfiel das Tendern. Dass wir in den Tropen sind wurde uns bei der Stadtbesichtung vor Augen geführt, wir wurden von einem, kurzen, aber heftigen Tropenregen überrascht. Leicht angenässt, konnten wir unter ein Vordach flüchten. Der Regenguss war in ein paar wenigen Minuten vorüber und die Sonne lachte uns wieder ins Gesicht. Am Nachmittag ging es dann per Bus an die „Rodney Bay“. Bei der Beschreibung des Ausfluges stand: Entspannu... read more

St Lucia is celebrating it's independence. It became an independent state on this day in 1979, and have been celebrating annually every since. Short History. St Lucia was originally found by the French in the 1550s - then the Dutch visited - and then the English stumbled across it - the French then claimed it - the English attempted to settle and were wiped out by the indigenous Caribs - the French established a settlement that last 9 years - the English claimed it and died - the French resumed control and then there were slaves and sugar until the French revolution when the slaves refused to work and the French governor declared all slaves free - until the British came and re-established slavery until they outlawed slavery a little later - and a little while ... read more