It’s Saturday here in St. Lucia and now no rain is forecasted for today which was great because we have our city tour with Edmund Tours. Although they offered pick-up they couldn’t get to our Airbnb and recommended a nearby hotel instead (Bay Leaf Resort). Thankfully after looking it up, we saw that it’s located beside Rodney Bay Mall which isn’t far. We made sure we were at the hotel by 8am as that’s the time the tour started.

We waited only about 15-20 minutes before the bus came as it was late picking up other people. When we got on it looked halfway full and I didn’t realize we were picking up more people (I also didn’t realize what seemed like an armrest on the seat was actually another seat because we would end up needing itwith us having about 18 people). Our bus ended up being very full and by 9am we had finally picked up everyone. I thought by the itinerary online we were going to Castries Market first but we went to a viewpoint where we could see the Pitons (we didn’t go to the market at all). Next up would be the boat ride to Sugar Beach where we’d be for about an hour.

Our tour guide’s name was Smalley and he gave us some interesting facts along the way. Here are some of the things I learned:
•Castries was named after a French minister
•St. Lucia was one of the main ports to get fuel in (and they get it from Venezuela)
•Castries has been burnt down 4 times
•There are 30 different types of rum (one is a 160 proof nicknamed Rocket Fuel)
•The main religion is Catholic
•The official language is English but Patois is spoken as well
•On February 22, 1979 St. Lucia became independent
•There are 185,000 people on the island
•The ratio of females to males is 3:1
•Mount Jimmy is more than 3,000 ft above sea level and is the biggest mountain
•Agriculture and tourism are the biggest industries
•Bananas are the biggest export and there are 1600 acres
•The blue represents the sea, the yellow represents the sun and the black and white represent the people (St. Lucia flag)
•June-November is the hurricane season
•St. Lucia is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean

Because our group was so large we had to take two trips so we waited and went over to Sugar Beach on the second trip in the speedboat. It was a bumpy but quick ride and the breeze helped cool us off. The beach itself is public and free to access but a resort is on the property so some of the amenities were specifically for it. There were areas of chairs we were able to use and we had the option to swim or snorkel (but I didn’t see how they cleaned the snorkeling equipment and I can’t swim). My mom and I were fine just lounging in the chairs and walking alongside the shore in the water.

My mom was going to sit on a rock in the water until she saw small crabs crawling all over it (and they blended in so well with it). Aside from the resort and the beach, it didn’t seem like that area had much else to offer but the views and tranquility was nice to take in. We had a rum punch thanks to Smalley and we also had the options of water, Sprite, Coke or a beer (Piton-St. Lucia brand). When our time was up we got back on the speedboat and went back over to the other side. It was now time to eat so we dined at Whispers in Soufriere and many agreed that lunch was very tasty. It’s a good thing The Sulphur Springs was close by or we would’ve been napping on the bus.

We arrived at the Sulphur Springs and are instructed as to how it works. First, you go take a dip in one of the 3 hot pools for no more than 4 minutes because it is really hot (on average 102° Farenheight). Then you get out and put the white mud all over your body and let that sit for a few minutes. As it starts to harden you then go dip back in to rinse off and your skin is left feeling smooth and buttery. Afterwards you will look very ashy so you’ll have to do a shower rinse as well (and even after that, you’ll still be ashy-showering will do the trick though).

Next we board the bus still in our swimwear and arrive shortly at the Piton Waterfalls where you can now get in the really cold water and stand under the waterfall. I got in but not under the waterfall (I’m not really a water activity girl aside from parasailing and jet-sking). It’s so cold that you really have to ease into it but once you’re in for a few minutes you’re fine. The waterfall was smacking people in the face though (no thanks). When we were done we put our clothes back on and boarded the bus as this was the last stop. On the way to drop people off most of us dozed off on the bus and we got back to our starting point (which was the Bay Gardens Resort) it was about 5pm.

We decided to get dinner from the restaurant there (it wasn’t that great) and take it to go. While waiting there was a cute cat that I named Ginger that roamed around. Back at the Airbnb after just relaxing for a bit my mom realized her phone wasn’t coming on. She had just had it on the charger for about an hour and it was not responding. We tried troubleshooting different ways (volume down and power button and even removing and replacing the SIM but nothing. We’re hoping after a few attempts that with it charging overnight maybe that will somehow help. She was frustrated since she has pictures from today on there and she’s used to posting on a daily basis now.

She got frustrated so she decided to go ahead and go to bed early. I’m up fighting the mosquitos (I don’t know how they keep popping up more and more after about four have been killed). Our host Dian is very thoughful though as there are nets around the bed and a lamp repellent (they seem to still be present). Today was a full day but tommorow will be short and sweet. We’re only here a few more days. Time is passing by quickly.