Pigeon Island

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July 22nd 2018

Published: July 23rd 2018

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The ruins

So today we went to Pigeon Island. It was really hot and sunny, and probably the best day weather wise we've had since we've been here.

It's not really an island anymore, because they've built a causeway to it. It's not very big, it just has two peaks, and some beaches at the bottom. It was used in the 18th Century by the British, who built a fort there to spy on French ships. It was also used in WWII by the US as a base. There are still ruins of the fort, some old canons and a few plaques with some information about the island. It's quite interesting, but they haven't played up to the history as much as something similar in the UK would, like an English heritage site. There were only about 5 plaques on the whole island, and they only gave very brief details about what happened there or what the ruins were.

We climbed both peaks. The smaller peak is Fort Rodney. As the name suggests, it had the fort on it. It had great views of Rodney bay, and you could even see the Pitons in the distance. Looking North, you

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could also see Martinique in the distance. It was a really easy hike, only took about 15 - 20 mins including a stop midway at a view point. It was mainly paved, with railings. Definitely easier than Gros Piton. The second peak was higher, and required a bit more scrambling over rocks, but still nothing compared to Gros Piton, because it was only another 15 minutes to the top of that. So it was an easy, fairly quick hike. Although we were still wet with sweat because of how hot it was. Most of the way is just out in the open with no trees, so there's no shade at all. But we climbed both peaks and down again in less than an hour and a half, including spending time at the top taking photos, looking through the ruins and reading the info. We could have done it quicker if it wasn't so hot as well. And my legs don't hurt at all!

After the hike, we spent the afternoon at the beach there. It's very small, but really nice. The sea was lovely, but the sun was so hot. I spent a lot of time in

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the sea and in the shade. We had dinner at a little restaurant there, called Jambe de bois, and even had dessert, which I haven't had since I've been here. We shared a banana crumble and a pina colada cake. They were both really good. Even though there are only 2 restaurants on the island, the meal was still really cheap. We each had a glass of wine, main meal and a dessert for around £12 each. Pretty big portions too. Definitely worth a visit.

Sorry for all the pictures, there were a lot of good views

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