2026-05-23 Touring St. Lucia, and then on to Bequia

Monday we went with Jason and Monica on Breathe seeing sights in St. Lucia.  Had rented a car, and drove a couple of hours south to the Tet Paul Nature Trail.  Short trail but very nice views of The Pitons, which are two volcanic spires on the coast of St. Lucia.

Enjoying the view

Kitty could care less about the view

We followed the short hike, with lunch at a traditional St. Lucia food restaurant, with views of the Pitons.

View from the restaurant "The Beacons"

Next door to the restaurant we walked through the Maranatha Gardens, which is a "prayer sanctuary".  Did not feel the need to pray, but enjoyed the beautiful gardens.  Liked them almost better than the botanical gardens.  We were the only ones there, so it was quiet, and very nicely landscaped while still feeling a bit wild.

In the garden

Dean enjoying the garden

Lots of these guys in the garden

Nice view of the Pitons from the garden

The last stop was to a place where you could see the St. Lucia Amazon - which is a parrot found only on St. Lucia.  Jason and Monica enjoy birding, so we spent an hour or so looking for parrots at an overlook owned by a local fellow.   We enjoyed talking to him, as he had some strong views on life in general.   Dean finally spotted the parrots flying over, and he took a photo with his phone.  Compare that to the photo Jason took with his birding camera - quite the difference.

Those little black specks in the sky are the parrots

And when you have a super telephoto lens, this is the same parrot

Next day we headed out again to the Millet Bird Sanctuary.  We found out when we got there that closed toe shoes are required due to snakes.    It didn't make sense that they needed close toe shoes if shorts were OK, but they explained it was government rules since there were snakes in the area, notably the St. Lucia pit viper, which was poisonous.    We were quite happy not to walk the trail knowing that.  So we instead hung out at the visitor center, and spotted a couple birds that Monica had on her list to see, so not a wasted trip.    Rounded out the day with groceries and lunch.

Hanging out on the deck of the Millet Bird Sanctuary

Snakes, mud, cliffs all dangers on the trail

Kris's favorite bird of the Sanctuary - it did not move fast, and was fun to watch

Wednesday we went and hiked Pigeon Island Park, and had a nice hike. Only when we got done the park ranger said it was still closed.    We were told the previous week it was open, so a bit of confusion, but no worries, she was nice, we paid are park fee and all was good.

View of the St. Lucia anchorage from Fort Rodney on Pigeon Island

Pigeon Island

Fort Rodney on Pigeon Island

Thursday was boat day, but went in and checked out, got final groceries, and then later went back in to have dinner with Breathe, and Alex and Lisa on Hahalua who also own a Manta catamaran.

Nice dinner out

Friday we left early, and did the 70-mile sail from St.  Lucia to Bequia.  Made good time, and were in before dark.   Saturday we went in with Jason and Monica, and checked in, and went for a short walk-up to Fort Hamilton.  Really just an overlook on a short hill with some cannons.

Nice rainbow on the sail south

Dinghy dock entrance in Bequia.  They are very supportive of the cruisers here

There were a ton of these caterpillars on a frangipani tree we saw on the walk.

Relaxed on board the rest of the day.

Will be here in Bequia a couple more days before heading further south, as we need to be in Grenada by June 1 for insurance.