Day 9-St Lucia

This was a two day stop in St Lucia so it meant people stayed ashore for the evening which also meant the karaoke lasted well into the evening.

We went to Sindhu for another magical meal. We fell in love with the restaurant on our cruise last year so were looking forward to revisiting it on this trip and it didn’t disappoint. We had been ashore in the early evening for a cocktail event at Diamonds International, just to confirm our intention to return tomorrow to buy the watch. We had a glass of bubbly and a chat before we left, but it meant we were a little early for our reservation at Sindhu. That wasn’t an issue but it also meant we finished a little earlier than expected. Still too late for the main show, but just in time to see Pulse, the resident band, in the Live Lounge. They were fine, slightly reminiscent of a Sunday at Clube Nau, but not as good 😂. The band was fine but the singer left a little to be desired. He wasn’t bad, he just wasn’t great. Anyway, they finished at 9.30. I was too tired to go anywhere else but it was still too early for bed. So Steve took a glass of wine back to the cabin and we sat on the balcony, hence listening to the appalling karaoke onshore. Actually it’s just gone 10pm and thank goodness, I think they’ve stopped. So now just the remainder of a pleasant evening. Er no they haven’t!  It was just break 😫. It kept on going until we were fast asleep.

Today we had had our original kayak and snorkel trip cancelled due to insufficient numbers so we were going on a jeep safari and catamaran tour instead. We were disappointed not to be able to do our first choice and were worried this might be a bit of a second best. But once again we needn’t have worried.

It was a slightly later start today at 9.30. We picked up the jeep at the exit to the port and set off.  We drove off through Castries which seemed a little more sane traffic wise as it’s a bigger island and a bigger city and of course it’s Sunday. However that didn’t last long and we were soon winding our way upwards on the narrow twisting roads. It might have been 30 years since we were here but it felt very familiar. It was good to see some of the interior of the island. We passed plenty of people celebrating the Sabbath and also preparing for Christmas. There were plenty of recently slaughtered animals being prepared or barbecued. Fortunately we didn’t see any being actually killed.  There was also plenty of rum being drunk and ganja being smoked. There was a huge downpour for a short while and were each given very attractive rain capes.

We stopped at a small local village en route with plenty of “tat” for sale. I bought a little bag and a necklace (slightly different price from last night 😂).  I just thought it was good to spend a bit locally, but they were pretty. We then headed on to the catamaran.

Once again there were a limited number of people. There should have been 40 on the trip but 3 didn’t turn up. But even so, 40 was a very small number for that cat, so we had plenty of space.

It was yet another lovely sail with plenty of soft drinks on the way to our swim stop. It was emphasised that it was a swim stop and not an official snorkel stop but that you could snorkel and would last 40 minutes. We had our snorkel gear with us so climbed off the boat and set off for the nearby rocks. We ended up seeing more than we had in our previous two snorkels but hadn’t bothered taking a camera this time. Duh!  We started swimming back to the boat well within the allotted time but suddenly we heard a whistle blowing so sped up our return to the boat. I have to say that getting back on board was a challenge. There was a ladder but it was quite high in the water with nothing to pull us up. Fortunately all the Pilates and yoga meant I had the strength to reach up and grab the rope attaching the steps and pull myself up without making a fool of myself. Once aboard they set sail immediately after announcing that now the last two passengers were aboard they couldn’t off. Honestly we were back in less than 40 minutes I swear.

We had snacks on board and now alcoholic drinks as well, including rum punch.

From the bay we headed towards the Pitons which really are quite spectacular. There had been an option to walk (climb) the highest one but even I had baulked at that thinking it might be more than we could manage. When we saw the Pitons we both thought it would be mad to even try. But one of the crew had done it 3 or 4 times and said it was easy. So maybe next time. 🤣

We then had a lovely cruise back to port.  Overall, another really enjoyable day.

We got back to the ship for a really quick change and then the real work began. It was 3pm and we didn’t have to be on board until 5.30 so we had plenty of time.  We were off to buy Steve’s watch!  My biggest fear was that the card would be blocked. You know how good the banks are at preventing fraud and they block your card for unexpected spend or spend in other countries, particularly the USA. Steve and I have both recently had our cards blocked. Mine was actually for some pre-cruise P&O spend but Steve’s was for attempted use for zero dollars in both the USA and Canada. So I thought that a very large amount in the Caribbean wouldn’t get through at all. So after all this big deal about buying the watch I was really worried our payment would be refused which would have been so embarrassing. Steve had also managed to negotiate a deal on some earrings matching the pendant I bought yesterday - so, by our standards, a huge amount. There was so much paperwork to complete as it is of course duty free, that my knees had given way. Anyway I stood by the machine and then fed in the card and the pin - would it work or would it go “uh uh! Computer says no!”  I waited as the little circle spun round and joy of joys, the word “approved” came up. We were delighted. We don’t care now if they block the card as it’s only any extra expenditure on P&O that needs to be covered and they’ve already had plenty. 😂😂

After dumping our beautiful purchase rather unceremoniously on the bed we’ve headed of for a beer on deck to celebrate. The view from here is really beautiful and for once we will watch as we leave port.

Dinner tonight is once again up in the air and we will decide later.