At Sea & Soufriere, St. Lucia
A beautiful Caribbean morning for a sail, the crew hoisted the sails as guests watched the scurrying figures on the masts. The ship made such speed that it proved impossible to set down Zodiacs for a photo opportunity of Sea Cloud II in full sail.
Sun and smooth sailing made the morning pass tranquilly. Roger Luckenbach gave us a slide talk on “Reef and Fish.” With his sly humor and gorgeous slides, he filled us in on the varieties of coral, fish, and other marine life to be found in the Caribbean and other tropical seas.
The afternoon was a true adventure. We took zodiacs into the beautiful bay at Soufriere, the second city of the independent island state of Saint Lucia (the first is Castries, the capital to the north). Here we were greeted by lively local guides, who were already acquainted with our expedition leader, Tom O’Brien, Roger, and others from the staff.
We traveled up to the still live volcano of Soufriere, and learned of the walk down into the crater, with its bubbling mud pools and sulfurous steam. The guide repeated many times that as long as the smell is strong and the steam rising, the volcano is not about to erupt!
We then drove over to the beautiful botanical gardens with dozens of unique trees, and hundreds of flowers and fruits. The tour included a lecture on the exotic edibles of the island. The garden was a present to the people of St. Lucia from a wealthy family that had been among the first colonists on the island.
Our final stop was at a snack bar high on a hilltop with a spectacular view of the bay and Les Pitons, the twin mountains, dormant volcanoes that are featured on the flag of St. Lucia. There we enjoyed rum punch, barbecued chicken wings, fish cakes, plantain chips, hot sauces, and a local raisin cake.
Back to the ship for the recap: Roger on the history and evolution of the banana and Tom with the plans for tomorrow.
With music at the bar, the ship sailing through the night, and a restful sleep, we will be ready for our next adventure tomorrow.
A beautiful Caribbean morning for a sail, the crew hoisted the sails as guests watched the scurrying figures on the masts. The ship made such speed that it proved impossible to set down Zodiacs for a photo opportunity of Sea Cloud II in full sail.
Sun and smooth sailing made the morning pass tranquilly. Roger Luckenbach gave us a slide talk on “Reef and Fish.” With his sly humor and gorgeous slides, he filled us in on the varieties of coral, fish, and other marine life to be found in the Caribbean and other tropical seas.
The afternoon was a true adventure. We took zodiacs into the beautiful bay at Soufriere, the second city of the independent island state of Saint Lucia (the first is Castries, the capital to the north). Here we were greeted by lively local guides, who were already acquainted with our expedition leader, Tom O’Brien, Roger, and others from the staff.
We traveled up to the still live volcano of Soufriere, and learned of the walk down into the crater, with its bubbling mud pools and sulfurous steam. The guide repeated many times that as long as the smell is strong and the steam rising, the volcano is not about to erupt!
We then drove over to the beautiful botanical gardens with dozens of unique trees, and hundreds of flowers and fruits. The tour included a lecture on the exotic edibles of the island. The garden was a present to the people of St. Lucia from a wealthy family that had been among the first colonists on the island.
Our final stop was at a snack bar high on a hilltop with a spectacular view of the bay and Les Pitons, the twin mountains, dormant volcanoes that are featured on the flag of St. Lucia. There we enjoyed rum punch, barbecued chicken wings, fish cakes, plantain chips, hot sauces, and a local raisin cake.
Back to the ship for the recap: Roger on the history and evolution of the banana and Tom with the plans for tomorrow.
With music at the bar, the ship sailing through the night, and a restful sleep, we will be ready for our next adventure tomorrow.
