Saint LOO-sha

Arrived in St. Lucia to glorious hot sunshine after a very comfortable 9 hr flight from Gatwick and a further road transfer of just under 2 hours.  Got caught in the Castries traffic, apparently caused by the guests returning to their cruise boats.  Three boats were in so that means 1000s of people in taxis returning to their boats at the same time!!!!!

At Windjammer Landings we were greeted with cool towels, warm welcomes and island-inspired cocktails.  Walking into our room - an Hibiscus Suite (room 331A) - the everyday hustle and bustle of travelling just melted away as we took in the breathtaking view of the turquoise waters outside our room (which, by the way, also featured a private hot tub on the terrace).  I can't say enough good things about our room.  Perfect view.  Comfy, huge bed.  Easy-to-control and quiet air conditioning.  Two televisions (though we never even turned one on) more than enough wardrobe space (and hangars).  Huge bathroom.  Bathrobes and complimentary toiletries (the good stuff!).  Kitchen (ha ha) I didn't cook but it was nice to make a cuppa in the morning.  Utility room with washing machine and tumble dryer.  Just amazing.  I am a very lucky lady, Phil spoils me.

Cases unpacked it was time to head to Jammers for drinks and dinner.  The hot spot for music and cocktails.

The delicious buffet at Dragonfly was our first port of call in the morning before bagging our sunbeds.

There are five on-property restaurants - each offering a different menu.  Dragonfly, Embers, Jammers, Papa Dons and Upper Deck.

For lunch most days we had the delicious Mahi-Mahi fish sandwich with salad at Embers on the beach with the sand in our toes.

But the multi level seafood and steak restaurant, the Upper Deck, was the pick of the bunch.  With calm waters lapping against the shore and palm trees silhouetted against the night sky, we enjoyed filet mignon washed down with South American Malbec (well Phil did, I had Savi B).  Thank you Rene the chef.  Excellent fish dishes too.

Our other favourite eatery at night was Papa Don's nestled in the hillside, an open-air venue serving rustic, Italian dishes. 

Oh, and there was also Toppers Ice Cream Shack, located right on the beach, featuring locally-made ice cream and sorbets.  A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

Pull up a beach bed, relax and enjoy the view.  Spent 11 days doing NOTHING other than reading, eating, drinking and sunbathing.

Although Phil did go diving one day and took the Hobie Cat out every day.  I also did Aqua Aerobics with Wacky Jackie.

Tuesday night is the Manager's Cocktail "Caribbean" party featuring exciting entertainment (great music) and a "fire eating" performance (OMG!) and limbo dancing.  Unfortunately, this is when the rain began.  It rained all night, and all day, and all night again.  This was not mild, polite British rain, but a rumbustious, glutinous, violent downpour.  But we sat with our cocktails, which were plentiful and included in the package.

14 x 61 is a local white rum and coconut drink named after the resort's location of 14 degrees North latitude and 61 degrees West longitude.

We loved the fruit-seller who visited the beach by sea every day in his mad tattered punt, flying flags and blowing through a conch shell, selling lemons, oranges, bananas and coconuts. He opened the big green coconuts using a machete.  Awesome.  The coconuts are filled with the most refreshing, sweet-tasting water but many guests rushed to the bar after purchasing them to top up with a little rum!

and then "chillax" in a water hammock.

And so, as the sun came out again we thought why come to St. Lucia.  Well for the scenery as much as to flop on the beach.  Much of St. Lucia is mountainous and covered in a blanket of thick rainforest.  St. Lucia gets more rain than other less mountainous Caribbean islands such as Barbados or Antigua.

St. Lucia was fought over by the French and the British and is more than 200 square miles:  it is north of Barbados and south of Martinique.  There's some farming, mainly banana crops.  Bright blue bags speckle even the smallest banana fields.  The bags protect the fruit from bugs, bright sun and other dangers.  Each bunch of bananas grows for only six months before the plant is cut to begin again.  There is just one shot to get a healthy bunch of bananas at harvest so the bags are crucial.  But the island really lives off sunshine and tourists like us.  But this island so lush and green needs rain and after a sunny weekend the rain started again at, you guessed it, the Manager's weekly cocktail party!!

Altogether we had 3 days of heavy rain and the beach was eroded due to the rain but the Management quickly imported some new white sand and

the sun sets after another blissful day at Labrelotte Bay.