Today was the day we learned that our Cuba trip scheduled to start in a week had been canceled due to the political situation and lack of jet fuel in Cuba. Rob explored a lot of Plan B’s for that time, but we thought that we would spend the rest of our cruise in planning mode. Instead, we will go home. We also learned that our daily excursion for tomorrow was canceled.
We slept in and ate a leisurely breakfast. We waited about 30 minutes to get our tender. This was the first time that we used tenders to go ashore, and people were very confused.
People coming back on the tenders had to go through metal detectors to reboard the ship. Some would try to go around, others would go side by side.
We didn’t let the cancellations ruin our day and ventured to the Island of the Day: Saint Lucia pronounced as “Saint LOO-shuh”. The name originates from Saint Lucy of Syracuse. Saint Lucia is the only island named after a woman.
Volcanic activity created Saint Lucia. The last eruption was in 1766. Castries, the capital, is named after a French general. English serves as the official language, and they also speak French Creole. In 1979, they gained their independence from Great Britain.
We only had about one hour so a taxi driver agreed to take us around. However, it became obvious that we would be picking up people and dropping them off as we went!!
He kept saying “Do you see the …?” He was driving fast, so the answer was often NO!
Saint Lucia has produced two Nobel Prize laureates, an extraordinary achievement for its small population, celebrated annually on Nobel Laureate Day on January 23, which is the shared birthday of both laureates. (So there must be a lot of pressure and expectation if you are born on January 23 in Saint Lucia.
Sir Arthur Lewis won the Nobel Prize in 1979 for his pioneering work on development economics.
Sir Derek Walcott was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1992 for his poetry and drama, including Omeros, which captured Caribbean identity.
There are many narrow, curvy roads. They say, “Once you drive here, you can drive any where in the world.”
The island isn’t affected much by hurricanes but instead by the rains. Rain totals are from 120 to 167 inches from June to November. The island is prone to mudslides.
Plant Facts
- Bananas are not seasonal. They are available all year round. However, the plant only produces once. After it is chopped off, a new shoot develops at the base.
- Dragon fruit and soursop are cancer preventatives.
- There are five types of bougainvillea.
- Hibiscus helps to control high blood pressure.
- Moringa has 65 types of health benefits. It is nutritionally dense.
- Bamboo is the fastest growing plant and is used as scaffolding in buildings.
- Coconut is known as the tree of life since it can provide every nutrient that one needs.
Most of the Caribbean gets their oil from nearby Venezuela, and Saint Lucia is no exception. There don’t seem to be any shortages or disruption to their service.
Brick buildings were made by the British, and stone buildings were built by the French. Most people have solar heaters today.
Only one athlete from Saint Lucia has won medals in the Olympics. Sprinter Julien Alfred made history at the Paris 2024 Olympics by winning the nation’s first-ever medals, securing a gold in the women’s 100-meter dash and a silver in the women’s 200-meter dash, making St. Lucia’s medal count a total of two.
Unbeknownst to Rob, I signed him up to compete in Minute to Win It. His competitor’s name was Bob!! The audience had fun with that … the twins. He had to see how many straws wrapped in paper he could throw from one hand and catch in the other. Bob won!!
Let’s go to the pool deck where cruisers are learning to dance the Bachata which originated in the Dominican Republic. There was a lot of hip wiggling.
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