Emerald Princess Cruise Day 4 – St Lucia

It was another great day. I know it's getting boring to hear that every day but what can I say? Every day has been great in it's own way. St Lucia is a relatively young Island so it is very mountainous. In fact one of the main attractions at St Lucia are the Pitons. These are two lave domes – which dont look like domes at all as they rise almost straight up to a point like perfect cones. The Pitons are a Unesco World ?Heritage Site. Politically St Lucia changed hands between Great Britain and France 14 times over 150 years. Brtian won last so it was a British colony until it gained its independence in 1979.

We docked in the Capital City near the north of the island boarded a bus (Sue, Dave and I managed to get on the same bus this time) and went twisty turny through the mountains up and down over rivers and saw some great scenery. After about 3 hours – including a couple of stops for pictures – we got to Soulfre at the south of the island where we could see the Pitons. We then went to an old chocolate plantation and saw how they made chocolate in the olden days and had a yummy Caribbean lunch. Then off to sulfur springs. We actually drove into a volcanic caldera. When we got out of the bus I almost lost my lunch. They dont call it Sulfur Springs for nothing! The smell of hydrogen sulfide was overwhelming. I do not recommend climbing steep stairs and ramps with a full stomach while enveloped in the smell of rotten eggs. We were able to get pretty close and could see the bubbling boiling mud – thats 380 degrees. Evidently the mud flows from the crater and cools and people take sulfur mud baths. It's supposed to be very good for the skin.



After the drive in volcano we went back down to Soufre and boarded a Catamaran for the trip back to the port. Te trip too about half the time as the drive down. About halfway back we stopped in a bay and had a swim in the Caribbean. Very refreshing but very salty. Then all the rum punch you could drink – Not quite as strong as the punch at Nelsons Dockyard in Antigua – as we rode back to the ship. It was a lot of fun – Sunny, breezy and beautiful. I laid on the bow of the boat and looked at clouds most of the way back.



WE got back with just about enough time to shower and change for dinner. Tonight's dinner was pretty good - A mushroom tartlet, oyster, spinach, cream of potato soup, Asian spiced duck breast and a Grand Marnier Souffle with vanilla sauce. I'm getting used to this four course dinner thing. After dinner was a production show. I usually like the production shows. They're usually corny and thats totally my thing. This one, however, was more surreal than corny – Including an operatic version os “Rock Me, Amudeus”. I just ended with my jaw on my chest. I sort of got the feeling that the poor performers knew the show was sort of weird. Nothing they did just sort of a vibe I got from how they looked on the stage.




It has been a long day in the sun so after a drink with Sue and Dave I came up here to make this note and then turn in. I need my rest for Barbados tomorrow.