Saturday, January 12, 2013

Tree Huggers Beware of Sand Boxes


 
Rise and shine at 5:00am! Today was an adventure day of exploring this beauty-filled island.  By 6:00am we were on our way up the east coast to the Capitol of Castries. We spent an hour or so shopping the market and admiring the beautiful fruits and vegetables. There were rows and rows of brightly colored fruits contrasted by huge leafy greens.  We added even more contrast to the heavy bustle of local foot traffic.  We then headed next door to the crafters market to stock up on souvenirs for loved ones.  It was perfect timing as we finished just as the guests from the two cruise ships in port got off the boats. We then drove up to lighthouse number two, it was a beautiful view! We then continued on with an extensive tour of the north part of the island......aka we got lost! But we got un-lost and found Pigeon island. It used to be a military post and remains of some of the buildings still remain and made for some great picture taking.  It was a rather diverse stop on the way as it included beautiful views of the water, exploration of broken down military buildings, and a steep hike up to an old fort with a gorgeous 360 view of much of the island plus a couple others in the far distance.  We even had a few botanical lessons along the way.  Note to selves…sand box trees are extremely sharp!  Tree huggers beware of sand boxes!



 














































We then decided to take it easy and lay on the beach for which was supposed to be for just an hour, but as relaxation grew deeper, it quickly turned into 3 hours. Becca and Steph went snorkeling, which was Becca's 1st time...other than a few times in her bathtub. When they went to inquire about the cost they hadn’t quite brought enough change with them.  Upon overhearing our conversation about not having enough money on us, we were pleasantly surprised by a random act of kindness from a woman behind us.  She said “I’ve had an amazing vacation and you should enjoy yours.  This is one of my 26 acts of kindness in honor of the Sandy Hook Elementary School victims.  You guys are about number 20.”  She was referring to a challenge that NBC’s news anchor Ann Curry gave this past December.   While snorkeling they saw hundreds of beautiful fish, a few eels, a tire, beautiful coral, and some black spiky plants they tried very hard not to step on. 
 
We then attempted to go down the shore a bit to see the sunset in another town, but the clouds and mountains blocked our view so we just kept driving. We then attempted to go to a few restaurants as all the driving peaked our tummy hunger, however all that were recommended to us were either closed or having a wedding reception…which we may or may not have almost crashed ;-)  We ended up getting Domino's pizza for dinner. A great day of cross country travelling, we ended up traversing the islands entire border….and then some.  A good night of sleep will be needed to prepare for our big hike up the Gros Piton tomorrow!!

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