Sunday 7 October - St Lucia

I rose at 6.30am so I could watch us sail into St Lucia. The sea was dead calm and there were tiny splashes of white in the sails of yachts in the distance. We entered the harbour and swung 180 degrees to berth close to the airport. It is currently 80 degrees and forecast to reach 90 degrees later.  Phew! I am booked on the Aerial Tram excursion with optional walk through the rainforest after. 

 

Today I have had one of the most magical moments ever! We’ll start with the first.  The tour up to the Sky Rides was through lush countryside awash with fruit – coconut palms, guava, mango and papaya trees, Golden apple and sour orange. At the base we boarded open gondolas holding 8 people and a naturalist guide.

 

We had been pre-warned to wear closed in shoes and I chose trousers and a short-sleeved top as I had lathered myself in Deet. The forest is home to boa constrictors, tarantulas, many birds including parrots and hummingbirds and lots more. We were told the hummingbird favourite colour is red and orange like the flowers on the hibiscus trees. On the way up – just over a mile in length – the tram ran at mid height so we could look at the forest floor, the creeks and trails. At the top it turned round and came back at tree top height and this was when a hummingbird spotted my top which just happened to be green with red and yellow flowers. It was amazing as it hovered about 2 feet in front of me, obviously trying to decide if I was edible. All I could focus on was this tiny vision of blues and greens. So that was my magic moment of the cruise so far and no – I didn’t get a photo as when I moved my hands it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

Spot the hummingbird - I did manage to photograph one here.

It was very hot and humid and the aircon in the cabin was heaven. I went to the forward observation deck for sailaway. The Captain sounded the whistle as we neared 5.30 – to remind people after yesterday to get back he said. There was a rum and karaoke bar in the duty free complex and lots of people were still there at 5.20! 

 

Still everyone was back just on time (including our lost souls from yesterday who arrived in St Lucia this am) and we sailed on time to a beautiful sunset and warm evening. However, on the port side, over the mountains a tropical storm provided some free fireworks and entertainment in the form of thunder and spectacular lightning so I missed the Pitons as they were shrouded in cloud.