Adios St Lucia

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Hello everyone. This is Delphine for a change. We are the 10th October and I am writing from a hostel {une auberge de jeunesse}in San Jose, Costa Rica. You are not going to believe it but we are actually so relieved we are out of the Carribean. St Lucia was a big disappointment. I know, sea, sun and no work should pretty much be haven {le paradis} but on this occasion it was not enough. We spent 5 days confined in a small holiday resort, which once again, sounds great but actually, it felt like we were held hostage, bound to spend money there and there only.
As soon as we got out of the resort, we were hasseled by beggers and locals asking for money, trying to sell us things or performing petty services in exchange for a few coins. A man offered us local craft, then drugs... Then another one offered to climb up a coconut tree in 3 minutes for us to take a picture! I said no, Matt was so tempted!!!! May I add that he was bearfoot and owner of a small worn off machetta for only tool... The beach was not even something to consider, our possessions would not have been safe. All in all, we were dying to get out.

However, we are leaving with one good experience as Matt got to do something he really wanted to do, that climbing one of the Pitons in the south of the town called Soufriere. It is the stiffest hill you've ever seen and do not count on the government here for signs, steps, ramps, rest stops or any human friendly help. Anyway, as you may guess, I stayed by the pool and Matt started a two hour assent to the top with a Rasta guide and his faithful dog. Supportive pictures below...
Five hours later, a wet, muddy, smelly, worn out, and very proud Matt came back to me as he had made it to the top and back. The top was not even nice! It was cloudy, no visibility and the orange tree had very bitter fruit that you could not even eat! I do not understand the motivation of this man but see the smile on his face, that is what you call a hero.

Well, that was St Lucia. A shame as it is a beautiful island with obvious natural resources that is really poorly exploited as far as we have seen. May I however nuance my judgement by saying that we did not visit the north of the island. As it is the most touristic part, we thought we would miss out on local flocklore. This decision did not turn out to be the best though!!!!! I shall finish this entry now and add pictures to it. Lot's of love to you all and please comment on the entries so that we see you are thinking of us. Bisoussssssssssssssssssssssss Delphine
Just to add my two pennies worth, the saving grace of our time in St Lucia was meeting a really lovely American couple, John and Donna. What great people! They made our stay bearable and we enjoyed many good conversations and not too few piton beers. Apart from them and a few nice employees of the resort and elsewhere, St Lucia left me thinking of it as a mosquito infested dump populated by people who deserved it.

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Photos

Our new occupation}Notre nouveau job
Le proprietaire de ce cafe perdu dans un minuscule village de St Lucie, un homme noir, trapu et peu eloquant s'appelait DELPHINE !!!!
The owner the cafe, a quiet black muscly local man was called Delphine !!!!!

Gros Piton
786 metres of the some of the toughest walking/scrambling/climbing I've ever done.

Petitt Piton seen from the halfway point of Gros Piton
This is where my rasta guide lighted his first reefer. I was tired but not the quivering, sweat soaked, pathetic creature that crawled to the three quarters point.

The fatigue dazed eyes
Wet through, lungs still burning, legs jelly.

The victory realised
This land I name in honour of her Britannic majesty....Del Piton.

The top, my guide and the orange tree
Notice the complete lack of worthwhile view! He's on his third reefer now and isn't even breathing heavily. He's 48 years old. Gratifyingly, he slipped over badly twice on the descent.

Gros and Petit Piton
The camera lens was just not wide enough! Petit Piton, right, the smaller of the two is the harder climb, using mostly ropes. No thanks. Gros Piton is on the left, its peak almost continually in cloud.

Petit Piton from the other side
This photo is taken from the side facing away from Soufiere. To get an idea of scale look to the bottom and find the tennis courts belonging to a very posh resort.

I climbed that
The Gros Piton. My baby and me at the Mango Tree restaurant, about a 10 minute drive from the Hummingbird Beach Resort.

Comments

[Ben]

Salut!
Good effort bud (and buddette)! Hannah and I are loving the photos, looks like you've had a great time in your first month. Hannah's looking forward to seeing some pics of Panama and Costa Rica and says make sure you have gallo pinto for breakfast at least once! xx

[cassinou]

think of you!!
pictures are beautiful...great to share that with you...comme si j'y étais un petit peu!! En espérant que les moustiques sont loin.. je vous embrasse fort et pense bien à vous bacci tanti de la part de mon moustique!

[Shannon Peck]

So- where to next folks?
Hey guys! Wow! What adventures you've been having. I got Del's email to say when you'd be arriving in NZ, so where are you going before that? Everywhere I suspect. I'm already so excited about seeing you! I just hope we can turn on the good weather. Take care and we'll speak soon. Much love. xxxooo