St. Lucia Honeymoon

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Our travel blog finally begins after much delay and hopefully much reader anticipation...

After a simply beautiful and perfect wedding day in Steamboat Springs, Colorado (9-18-2010), we did what most newlyweds do - fly to a gorgeous and exotic island to celebrate our honeymoon, our week dedicated to focusing solely on the beauty of our newly solidified love for one another. We chose St. Lucia in the Windward Islands mainly because we read about jungle biking and about climbing the infamous Pitons. We chose right, and had the most amazing time! Seriously. Anse Chastanet was our secluded eco-resort of choice, located outside of the town of Soufriere, and it was simply euphoric, to say the least.

St. Lucia, an independantly-ruled island, has mountainous peaks that rise to 3,120 feet above sea level. It´s not your typical island with white sand beaches and large resorts scattered around the island, it´s so much better! Volcanic black sand beaches, steep mountains rising straight from the sea, lush rainforests, absolutely insane roads and a multitude of things to do, St. Lucia was the perfect "adventurously relaxing" place to call "honeymoon" for a week. We arrived in a monsoon of sorts - right at the tail end of one of the many tropical depressions that hit the Caribbean this year - and crossed a run-off river in a Mercedes cab, not knowing if we would continue to follow the road or suddenly start to follow the river downstream instead. We made it across the rising river, engine steam and all, to our lovely and tucked-away Anse Chastanet.

Anse Chastanet is one of the most incredible resorts in the world, and it just so happens to be eco-friendly as well! Google it if you don´t believe us, or watch a show on Discovery Channel sometime this month (November 2010) about eco-lodges and you might just see us gazing adoringly into each other´s eyes over a delicious meal... haha, not kidding, but it is funny. Our first bungalow, a "hillside deluxe" was perfect for us and tucked away in the trees overlooking the ocean. The mosquito-netted bed looked like that of a princess. Halfway into our stay, Anse Chastanet upgraded us to their finest room, a "hillside premium" overlooking the picturesque Piton mountains (Petit Piton and Gros Piton), and the room, well, words can´t even begin to describe its magnificence. We´ll have to direct you to our photos instead. The entire resort was beautifully set on a steep hillside overlooking the ocean and all facilities were open-air and incredible. We ate breakfast and lunch, literally, with the not-so-shy birds. The Piti Piton Lounge had live, local and different music every single night, as well as plenty of happy and buzzed guests tearing up the dance floor, obviously including us. The beach was fantastic, as it should be on a honeymoon, where we had some great beers, naps, sunsets and good reads. But the true highlight of our honeymoon was the adventure in my "adventurously relaxing" description of our week together.

As mentioned before, we were initially drawn to the island for its jungle biking and to climb the Pitons. Jungle biking was pretty cool, or should I say "neat", taking into account the amount of heat and humidity a jungle can hold. The singletrack trails were short and somewhat technical, but then there was Tinker´s Trail, designed by pro-biker Tinker Juarez, and we were told he could only ride 30% of the trail himslef... and we believe it! Pretty crazy to design a mountain bike trail that you can barely ride if you ask us. Climbing the Pitons was one crazy hike with Barney, our guide, and Brownie, the little dog that hiked with us and chased rocks down the steep moutain slopes. 2 miles up and a 2,000 foot gain, or the definition of steep if you ask me! The climb was well worth the strenuous hike. Eli went scuba diving for the first time with me, and discovered and new and expensive sport that we both love! The reefs in St. Lucia have brilliant fish and pretty coral, lots of barracudas and even a moray eel. We did not see the sea turtles or octopus other people saw, but those are out there as well. We sailed one afternoon on the "Sea-renity" and sat on front of the boat so that waves could splash us, and subsequently drench us (we really are both still young kids at heart). We snorkeled, we toured an active volcano on St. Lucia, yes, active and expected to blow before the end of the century (so go visit soon if you can)! We did a lot, but we also sat back a lot with our Piton beers or our glasses of wine in hand, enjoying each other´s company.

Our St. Lucian honeymoon was one beautifully amazing week spent with the love of our lives. The island was gorgeous, the hotel and staff was impeccable, friendly and simply wonderful, and our time spent at that special and euphoric place will never be forgotten... especially as we travel on a shoestring throughout other parts of the world!

Don´t worry, be happy...
e squared everywhere (written by Erin)

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