Day 8 - Rodney Bay Mall, Beach & Pigeon Island

Day 8 (December 8, 2013) Best night’s sleep yet! I was exhausted from the previous night. I woke up well rested and ready for the beach! Ursula and Dr. Hansen went to Catholic Mass at 10:30, and Emily and I went to Rodney Bay Mall, while Lekei and Amelia stayed to work on homework. Emily is a resident from Indianapolis we met in Vieux Fort; she is working at St. Jude’s hospital during her three week stay. She had the weekend off so she decided to stay with us in Castries. She was with us last night when we went to Marigot Bay and Dennery as well – forgot to mention in my last post – I’m always tired when I write these posts. Emily & I went to Piranha Joe’s and bought more souvenirs. The store was playing Lady Antebellum's cd - we were both signing along! I have definitely missed country music! We went into a wine and spirits store where we bought local spiced rum – $8 a bottle! Super cheap. We sat and chatted outside for a while until our ride came and took us back to the house. We then got ready and headed to the beach! Lekei stayed back to work on a paper – today is the last day of fall semester at DMU. Thankfully, I finished all my homework before coming to Saint Lucia. We went to the beach by Pigeon Island. We got beach chairs and umbrellas. Amelia and I, along with Rianna and Kijahna (host’s children), headed for the water! It was so warm and refreshing. We swam and jumped waves. Janna (host/owner of the house we are staying) made us lunch – salad with cucumbers, avocado, green banana & salt fish. After lunch, we buried Rianna and made her a mermaid tail from the sand. We then went back to the water! I love the ocean. Around 4, we went on a hike at Pigeon Island; we climbed the smaller hill as the bigger is tougher and we didn’t have much time. The view from the top was amazing. You could see both the Atlantic and Caribbean sides of the island. On top of the hill, there are remnants of cannons used by the French and British, as well as a retaining wall and a shelter. We climbed down into the shelter which was used to spy; there were windows that were used to view the water to look for incoming ships. I took lots and lots of pictures. The climb wasn’t too bad, but a little steep. We couldn’t stay long as the park was closing. We enjoyed our day at the beach and enjoying the history of the island. After the beach, we had icicles (Mr. Freezie's) with Rianna; she specifically asked for them. I can’t believe we’ve already been here 8 days. Peace, love, Saint Lucia. Things to know about Saint Lucia: • The island was owned by the British and the French, seven times each – ownership just went back and forth between the two countries • The French built with black stones, while the British built with brick – some buildings have black stone foundations and brick walls as they were started by the French and finished by the British