I’m Leaving Saint Lucia!

It’s time to leave this island! Well, sort of leaving. My sons and I decided to explore two of the surrounding islands in the Eastern Caribbean. We traveled in a large catamaran. And, actually I’m back now and their vacation is over.

The sea was very rough and people are screaming as they would while riding a roller-coaster. Anyone who decides to leave their seat does so at their own risk. People are thrown about like paper in a sudden windstorm. One man sits on a platform outside on the deck during the ride. He is wearing a motorcycle jacket and sunglasses and looking very cool. It was hard to understand why he isn’t bounced from his perch and left screaming in fear in the ocean waters. Instead, while others leave their seats and fight to stay on their feet, he is Mr. Cool, enjoying the ride.

Martinique is owned by France and it has all the characteristics of a little Paris; including the food. The pastries and freshly brewed espressos are amazing. I decide tasting these pastries is worth the price of the fare.

The streets have character and remind me of France. People tell us they don’t want Martinique’s independence from France.

A month ago, the people on the island settled a dispute with the government about the high cost of living. They shut everything down. There was no trash pick up, no restaurants open, no hotels operating, no grocery stores to stock up on food. . . nothing. The boats stopped coming and the island was brought to its knees. As we walk the streets of this French island, everything is normal and I see no evidence of a strike.

It is the next day and time for another island.

I want to keep the identity of this island my personal secret. It is paradise untouched. Jay and Kevin studied the Lonely Planet and find a retreat in the rainforest. Rarely does the Lonely Planet have a “pick”, but they do in this case. Packed and ready to go, we walk the mile or so to catch the catamaran to our next stop.

We step off the boat and bargain for a taxi fare. The roads are steep and cliffs straight down – a nightmare for me. I am glad we contracted with a taxi rather than taking the bus. I don’t know why, but I felt safer.

When we reach the retreat we find we were the only people here. We are shown three rooms and choose a large three room four bed suite for the next two days. There is no glass on the windows, only shutters. We can hear the sounds of the waterfalls just outside the door. A few feet from the door is our personal hot spring and a few feet from that is another hot spring with a cold spring serviced by a waterfall.

Just a short five minute walk from our retreat is Trafalgar Falls.

We walk up a steep hill and onto a viewing deck to see two giant waterfalls. Moving past the sign “climb rocks at your own risk”,

I find enough balance to maneuver over rocks to find pools of hot springs to soak in.

Dinner and breakfast were included for a small price. We were served in an outdoor patio overlooking the rain forest. It reminded us of the hotel where we stayed in Tikal in 2000. We decide that this retreat is in our top three in the parts of the world we have traveled. The other one is in Guatemala in the village of Santiago on Lake Atitlan where we enjoyed bamboo huts and special dinners prepared just for us.

After dinner we soak in the hot spring outside our room and then retreat to our room. There are several geckos climbing the walls – all part of being in a rain forest. We kindly motivate them to move outside and I fall into bed and listen to the sounds of the waterfalls and creatures in the rain forest. Now this is my idea of relaxation! Little did I know that it would not be all relaxation.

On the second day we hiked up the second largest Piton on the island, the Morne Trois Pitons. I either didn’t really listen or didn’t ask enough questions about this little hike. It took six hours to complete and it was, for the most part, straight up. No one actually told me how difficult this little “hike” would be, and truthfully I’m glad they didn’t as I may not have done it.

Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my camera and so I have no pictures to document the summit – but I did do it and Jay and Kevin can testify to it. All the stair climber exercise at the Spectrum Club paid off. Martha (my personal trainer), if you are reading this, I haven’t forgotten our exercise plan.

One review described the hike as “only a journey to be undertaken by very fit hiking enthusiasts or those who want to have a hiking-religious experience. . .The trail is easy to follow except for having to traverse what appears to be a recent rockslide at the entrance to the Valley of Desolation. Some of the steps can be very slippery and it's important to pay attention to footfalls. There are what seem to be tens of thousands of steps. It's an eco-Stairmaster journey. Be warned, but do this if you can.” And I did. Am I awesome or what! Well, maybe that is going a bit too far, but I did feel a sense of accomplishment.

Ok, ok. The name of the island is Dominica; pronounced like Dominoes “Dom-in-ee-ka”.