#81 unapologetic OR having fun despite the rain

I went back to work today with a spring in my step and a smile on my face. The funniest question I was asked was, "How was your vacation?" I spent 2 weeks in the Caribbean. How could it be anything but great?! We really enjoy going on holiday. And I realize that it is a holiday, a fantasy. I can't live at the resort or on the cruise ship. It's a break from the ordinary and I realize that I have to come home and go back to work, and I'm ok with that. But a day in the islands, even if it is raining really hard, beats a day at the office in cold snowy Utah.

We were in St. Lucia (pronounced loo-sha) on Friday, and it was raining a lot. We visited St. Lucia on our first cruise and were anxious to get back there because the island is just incredibly beautiful. In fact, the advertising slogan for the island is "St. Lucia: Simply Beautiful". It is lush and green and has beautiful mountains and flowers and the coastal villages are quaint and charming. St. Lucia's most famous landmarks are the Pitons: peaks that rise straight up out of the sea. When we were there in 2006 we sailed on a catamaran to the Pitons, stopping at the village of Soufriere. This time we booked an excursion that would take us to the Pitons, allowing us to see them both more closely.

Our ship had to anchor offshore because there were other smaller ships in the harbor that day. That meant that we had to tender in to the port. It was a new experience. The tenders were the lifeboats. They hold 120 people at a time. The ride in to the port at Castries was bumpy and motion-sickness inspiring, although none of us were bothered by it thankfully! At the port we waited for about an hour under a balcony to be out of the rain until our sailboat got there.

Normally when people board the catamaran sailboats everyone finds a nice bit of deck to sit on. Some lounge in the shade under the canopy; some soak up the sun on the trampoline at the front of the boat; others sit on the benches at the end of the boat. Since it was raining, all the people were huddled under the canopy, and there were a lot of people onboard, maybe 40 or so. It did stop raining really hard and T & I found a bench that we dried off and sat on.

We first stopped at a little beach, I want to say it's called Anse Cochon but I could be wrong, for a little swim. Not everyone took a dip, but it stopped raining enough that it was pleasant. The moment the sailboat stopped, it was surrounded by Rastafarian shell and bead sellers. They were selling those shells that you can blow into and it makes a cool noise.

After the swim we headed to the Pitons. MT and I sat at the front of the boat with our feet on the trampoline which was frayed and a little scary. I'm sure it would hold us but it looked in need of repair. There was a light rain and I held my camera under my coverup. When the Pitons first came into view it was almost primeval with the rain and clouds surrounding them. Do I wish it was warm and sunny? Heck yeah! Am I glad I had the chance to see these beautiful peaks in the rain and gloom? I really am. It's really an incredible experience.
Right about that time it really started to rain and the boat started to rock and we went back under the canopy as quickly as we could. That's not very quickly for me because I mostly wanted to crawl because I was a little nervous about walking! Oh, and I was drenched, but I was happy! For those of you wondering about my son, he was huddled on a bench under the canopy wearing his dad's rain jacket, fast asleep.

The crew served complimentary juice and soft drinks, rum was extra (unusual) and played calypso and reggae music. I was enjoying it, but I don't think that many of my fellow passengers were having a good time. MT said they let the weather ruin their fun. I say there is nothing you can do about the weather so you may as well find something to enjoy because you are out there anyway. What is the point of complaining?

On Saturday evening at the pool bar on the ship we met up with a couple from Atlanta who had been on the St. Lucia excursion with us. They recognized us and asked how our son was doing. I remember offering the lady some Dramamine because she looked like she really didn't feel well. They never moved from their seat. They complained about how crappy the excursion was and how the crew didn't do anything to make the sail more enjoyable. I'm really not sure what they could have done except offer the rum for free. They couldn't really move around and talk to people because the small area under the canopy was packed. We told them that it would have been better if it had been sunny, but what can you do about the weather? And you get cool pictures when the sky is gray - no shadows!

What I learned about myself and my husband is that we are shamelessly happy to go on vacation and experience new stuff. I do not like to be uncomfortable, but when I'm on vacation, I'm willing to put up with some discomfort I suppose. I love the fact that I am there and try to make the best of it when things aren't great because I know that 98.9% of the time, things are pretty great.

So that's my story about St. Lucia. I guess I'm just going to skip around as I feel like it because it's fun for me that way.

Notes about the pics: The first photo was taken from under the balcony while we waited for our sailboat. I don't know if you can see how much it is raining. The blue thing is you see is the ballast from a huge ship that was docked there, the Atlantica. The second picture shows a couple of the tenders near the Legend of the Seas. Take a look at the tender on the right, away from the ship. Can you see how the rear part of the boat is really low in the water? It was really rough! The third picture is one of the Rastafarian shell vendors and MT swimming next to the Rasta kayak. The fourth and fifth pics are the Pitons in their primeval splendor! The last picture was taken from the Legend looking back into the Castries port. There are 3 cruise ships in there including the Empress of the Seas, the ship we sailed on in 2006. MT thinks he took the tender and the Piton photos, but I think it was me. By the way, you can double click on the pictures to enlarge them to see the details.