From a beautiful island to another

The boat trip to St. Lucia was amazing! It took a while to get there but it was totally worth it, and I saw lots of dolphins! The boat was pretty big and had this delicious food that was typically Caribbean, it tasted amazing. But I must admit that I was a little scared of the pirates and all the stories I’d heard about them.

Piracy in the Caribbean began in the 16^th and died out around the beginning of the 18^th. After the nations of Western Europe and North America came with colonies to the Caribbean and began combating pirates. The reason for Piracy in the Caribbean was because of the existence of relatively lawless British seaports such as Port Royal in Jamaica and the French settlement at Tortuga. There are still some pirates in the Caribbean and it’s often cases involving illegal drugs, but nowadays modern communication technology has made it easier to find safer places to travel and trade.

I didn’t hear about this before I’d already been on the boat for like one hour or so, so it was too late to do something about it. I’ve heard many stories about ships that have been taken over and stolen from. I was really hoping to not bump into some pirates, if not one of them where Johnny Depp, because I would be totally okay with that.

When I arrived in Castries it was just as hot as it had been in Barbados. I was more rested now than I’d been when I arrived in Barbados so I went straight to the beach to get a little tan at least. The beach was as amazing as all the other things here and the water was turquoise and not real cold but not warm either, it was perfect. What I noticed at the very moment I got there was that there where many people selling stuff and different foods at the beach, both good and annoying. They were friendly so it didn't matter that much. When I saw them I remembered that I'd forgotten my sunglasses at the boat and bought a new pair.

I’d never been in a rain forest before and since there is one in St. Lucia I decided to go. It was really exciting and I saw a lot of animals. There are all types of spices at St. Lucia from parrots to sea turtles and it’s a nature-lover’s paradise. In the rainforest I saw lots of different birds and one iguana. The iguana was really big and it was kind of scary, I’m glad I didn’t meet it alone if you know what I mean. There were also a lot of snakes so I was always watching my steps. I went with this guide and six other people, it wasn’t so long to walk and it was really interesting, it was definitely worth the money.

When we’d been walking for like an hour or so the group leader told us to stand still and not make a sound. I was really worried a huge animal was going to attack us or something but it was a snake. Oh god how I hate snakes. There was this huge snake in the middle of the road and when I say huge I mean huge. It was about 2 meters long and really fat if I can call it that. Luckily the snake was more afraid of us than we were of it, so when the leader did something to scare it away it went into the forest again. I was really scared when I went past the place it had gone into because the thought of it jumping up from the bushes and on to me was not a good one.

I also tried zip lining which was so funny, I wanted to do it one more time but it was one time only and if I was going to do it twice but I had to walk like for ages to get to the top, but if I get the change again I’ll do it. It was like flying through the forest and it went really fast. I felt like I was going to crash into the trees all the time but I didn’t and that I’m happy for.

The next day I went to Sulphur Springs, which is a volcano or a black hole in the ground where smoke is bursting out from . I’d never seen a volcano before so it was exciting for me, but someone in the group that I went with had seen one before and wasn’t so impressed about it. So I guess it isn’t something to recommend if you’ve seen a volcano before, but it was fun for me at least, and that’s the important part right?

After two days with going in the forests I wanted to chill completely for a day or so. I was just hanging around at the pool and the beach. I was talking to these nice people who were going to Gros Islet Street Party the same evening and they asked me to join them. I was kind of skeptical to be on a party in the street but it turned out great. There was this BBQ and we danced and had a lot of fun. The locals were so nice as well and I stayed there until 6 am, so the next day was spent mostly sleeping in the shadow.

Now I’m on my way to meet up with Edda in Jamaica and I’m so excited! We haven’t seen each other for a year or so, it’s going to be so much fun. I’m going there by plain and when I arrive we’re going to drive through some of the cities in Jamaica before we end up in Kingston, the capital. I’ve had a lovely time here in St- Lucia and I’ll definitely be back here as soon as I have the money, this is a beautiful island. I totally recommend going here to relax or explore!

- maren