The Macon Moon – Part III

Tuesday, July 11th – Breakfast on the Pavilion before our 6 hour tour. Yeah I had the steak and eggs again. It was just that good!

Joe Know’s Tour – If you want to have a good time then this is one of the best things you can do during your time hear. We kept hearing nothing but good stuff about it and the staff said it was their most popular excursion. We could not wait to do this. First we met in the lobby so they could escort everyone to their shuttles. They dropped us off in the Castries area so everyone could split into groups as we were assigned a speed boat. I’ve  been on one before but we were never air born! We definitely had the best crew on the island. The music was wonderful! These guys really knew how to entertain and have a good time. The guy in the picture right below goes by the name “Lion”… has the best laugh. Me and Brandon both agreed…one of the most contagious we had heard in quite some time. The guy below him was known as Chocolate Thunder…the ultimate party guy!!! Well that’s what he told everyone to call him. Most importantly our captain….can’t remember his name but he was official. On the way to our first top we passed a Pirate ship.

Our first stop was to the town of Soufriere to paint ourselves with muds from the volcano. This luxury back home costs a pretty penny. It’s been said that it’s variety of muds are filled with healing powers and can make you look 10 years younger…so we are now both 24 years young. Our instructors came around with buckets of mud and instructed us to paint each other. Next, they follow up with some tribal markings. We then stepped into a 100 degree temperature hot spring bath to rinse the mud off our bodies. There were a few who couldn’t take the heat so they didn’t get in. We were instructed to only wash our bodies and not our faces until we got to Piton Falls.

Piton Falls – This was some kind of refreshing after being in the hot spring though it felt really good after stepping out of it even though it was 88 degrees outside that day. The falls were a nice temperature and was a great way to end this part of the tour.

Creole Lunch – One of the items we had the honor of tasting was the bread fruit grown on the island. Tastes just like potatoes. We really enjoyed the homemade meal!

After lunch we got back on the boat and headed to the area for snorkeling. Nope, I’ve never done it before either nor have I swam this far out into the middle of nowhere. So they passed out the life jackets after instructing us on how to put them on and into the water we went. Before we could really get out there a few locals on canoes passed by literally trying to sell us stuff in the water.  We didn’t understand how real the hustle was on that island until that very moment. We were instructed to be sure we didn’t purchase any conch shells since they would no longer be cleared through customs after 9/11. They were now considered weapons. I was saddened as I’ve always wanted one from an island but I decided it wasn’t worth getting stuck there over a shell. When we finally began to head out to the deeper waters, I definitely had some anxiety about the mask once I realized it sealed off your air supply from breathing through your nose. So it took me a few times before I got it, but I finally did and it was one of the best things I’ve ever done. We loved seeing all the sea life swimming by. I thought being up close and person with sea life would bother me  but it didn’t…not one bit. I was too in awe of the beauty. After snorkeling, they gave everyone jungle juice, or rump punch. It was good, but dangerous since it’s taste resembled juice so we didn’t drink too much.

Back on the boat to head back to shore, but before we do…

Our final shabang was our candlelight dinner on the beach. The pictures don’t do it any justice. There was a rose waiting on the table for Brandon to present to me. Our server took pictures as this was going on. There were personalized menus of our choice for our 4 course meal. Both of our dinners were delightful and that mango and white cheesecake topped everything off!!! After dinner we were given a bottle wine to take back to the room with us. This was a beautiful ending to such a magical time.

Wednesday, July 12th – A Day of sorrow, we packed our bags and made sure they were at the door for the 9am pick up and decided to hit the beach one last time. We happened to see Ernest again and was able to say our good-byes. It amazed us how generous, high spirited, and nice the people were here despite their situations. Most people don’t go on vacation to step out into the local areas and talk to the people and really learn the area and the culture, but we try to make it a point to. It really showed us how ungrateful and selfish we are back home. This trip gave us another level of appreciation to take back with us that we will never forget. I can still feel our trip like we just left. I hope to hold onto these memories for as long as possible.

Our last meal on the island. It rained that day and didn’t stop like it normally did after 5-10 minutes or so. We figured the island was sad we were leaving. We will see you again Saint Lucia!

Today, Sunday, July 30th is our 30 day mark. Time is really flying! Can’t wait to see what God  has in store for us next. Yay!

Some things we learned:

Weather – It was about 88 degrees during our stay with 75% humidity which we were told was normal for the summer months and 70’s in the winter.

Road conditions: Drive on the left side, steering wheel is on the right of course

Language spoken: French, Creole, English

Sayings: Respect, Good Vibes, No Problems, Bump me up (dap)

Some Island foods that grow on trees: Mango’s, Bananas trees, Coconuts, Almond trees, Bread fruit (tastes like mashed potatoes), Calabash fruit (used for medicinal purposes, to make bowls, etc.)

 

The Macon Moon – Part I, Part II

 

 

 

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