Day 8-St Lucia

Another morning, another island and another exhilarating adventure. But this time it’s an island we last visited 30 years ago on our honeymoon. How appropriate to come back on our Pearl Anniversary.

But first a quick summary of yesterday evening - yes it was quiet, yes we did have a drink on deck before we ate and yes, it was Peninsular and then a few minutes on our balcony. Steve wanted to order a drink but we fell asleep before we could 😂.

So a good night’s sleep and another early start at 8.30. Breakfast in Horizon, get ready and off we go. Today it was zip lining in the rainforest. This was something that went straight on the list the minute we booked this cruise. We’d done a ton of research and St Lucia seemed the best place to do it. We’d originally wanted to do the aerial tram canopy tour as well - this is like a gondola that runs above the trees of the rainforest - but sadly it was badly damaged in the hurricane last month so that bit had to be cancelled but we were delighted that the zip lining was still running.

Another short minibus journey to the Rainforest Adventure Park and once again we were kitted out and given instructions only this time it took a little longer.

Amazingly there were only 12 of us from the ship. We had all thought it would be really popular and absolutely heaving with huge long queues, so this was a real bonus. We were then split into two groups which made it even smoother with no waiting whatsoever.

Steve and I were numbers 5 and 6 to go, so we watched the other 4 go and then it was my turn. They asked if I was nervous and I said I hadn’t been until about a nanosecond before. It seemed fine being attached to the wire but jumping out into the open air was challenging to put it mildly. However the instant you set off it’s absolutely fine and a real thrill.

There are 9 zip lines in total. The first is only a practice. They each got higher and longer as we went and of course our confidence grew and along with that, the ability to look round and enjoy it. After the practice run I tried to video Steve coming down on the next run but there wasn’t enough time to get unhooked and get the camara out before he had arrived. So on zip line 3 I asked the lady ahead if I could go in front of her, just in order to get the video of Steve. We all kept swapping around so everyone could get videos of their friends or partners. After that we just enjoyed it. The second to last one was the longest and the last was the highest. The guide told Steve it was the highest. He said no worries and she said, well don’t look down - and so he did and really wished he hadn’t. If that had been first he might not have carried on. But there was a professional photographer on the very last run and fortunately Steve was still able to pose and we both absolutely loved it. Another really great experience and we are already ready for the next one - how about Spain to Portugal across the Guadiana, 720 metres?

Once back on the ship we had a coffee on the balcony - we were in withdrawal not having had one for a few days. But it also meant we had time to plan our next steps which was a taxi ride to Vigie Beach, the nearest beach to Castries. This perhaps isn’t the very best beach on the island but it’s close and still very lovely with golden sands and turquoise waves. So we had a swim then dried off on the beach before having lunch at one of the beachside cafes. Once again it was a beer and grilled fish - this time it was mahi-mahi and once again it was delicious.

After lunch we decided to walk back to the ship. As the crow flies it’s really close but in practice there is an airfield runway that you cannot cross. So you have to walk all the way to the end and then all the way back down. All in all it’s less than 3km. The first part is lovely as it’s along the beautiful beach but then you join the road and walk along between a huge cemetery on one side and the runway on the other. Then you head back down the other side of the runway along a very busy road. It’s not the greatest walk but you can see some local life and it was still nicer than a taxi ride.

Now, I’m sure you will remember that I said that we had built in shopping time when we were in St Lucia. Well we sure took advantage of that today and returned to the ship considerably poorer than when we set out. There is a Colombian Emeralds here but the shopping expert on board had recommended Diamonds International so we decided to stop off and have a look. I turned right to the jewellery and Steve turned left to the watches. I still wasn’t really planning on buying and it was really funny - there was a guy following me every step of the way, I felt like I was in some comedy spy film as he stopped every time I did but he never said a word. That is until I stopped for a bit longer to look at a particular necklace. Well I only meant to ask the price!!  The assistant checked the price, the discount and the exchange rate so he could quote me In sterling. By then Steve had re-appeared and had his own personal assistant on his shoulder. This one turned out to be the manager so a bigger discount followed. We then saw the shopping expert from the ship and he stepped in to make sure we had the best discount. It sounds like a heavy sell and it probably was but I did actually like the necklace and the price was amazing so…………here I am, considerably poorer.  HOWEVER Steve got enticed back to the watches and we think we might be really REALLY poor by tomorrow afternoon. He has asked them to put the watch aside for him. It is magnificent, the price is outstanding and it is a big birthday next year, our pearl anniversary this year and he has never bought anything special with his mother’s money so this will be a wonderful reminder. It is a very special watch, it’s a Bremont Martin Baker II and only 400 were ever made.

We are now back on the boat listening to appalling karaoke onshore and chilling before dinner tonight in Sindhu.