We sailed from the Iles des Saintes to the beautiful island of St. Lucia. This small island of approximately 200 square miles and population of 180,000 is the birthplace of two Nobel Laureates, Arthur Lewis in Economics and Derek Walcott in literature—a real testimony to the quality of the educational system. They both attended the same island schools! During the night of our sail from Iles des Saintes to Saint Lucia there was a following swell, which provided just enough of a gentle rocking to make sleeping a pleasure. Breakfast this morning at 7:30 was sparsely attended—the four-hour Super Bowl of last night may have had something to do with it. Thankfully the ship also provided a late breakfast.
At 9:30 Tom Heffernan gave a lecture on the “Creole Languages of the Caribbean.” As we came abeam of the capital of Castries, we were making a full 9.5 knots under sail. We then anchored in Soufriere Bay just to the north and east of the great Pitons. There is deep trench in the bay, which makes anchoring difficult and one can easily loose an anchor if not dropped precisely. The physical setting is very dramatic as Soufriere is actually situated at the west end of an ancient caldera, where the volcano blew the western ridge of the mountain chain away about 39,000 years ago. It is picture-book perfect.
After lunch we boarded Zodiacs and came into Soufriere for the first time on Zodiacs. There we boarded mini-vans for the short ride to the interior of the caldera where the hot gasses, molten mud and water, and rock bubble. Here we were able to see and smell—for the sulfuric gases (hydrogen-sulfide) leave a strong smell in the air—for the very first time the seismic activity that created these Lesser Antilles. All of the islands, which we will visit, are the product—with the single exception of Barbados—of volcanic activity. Simon was our very knowledgeable guide at the caldera. He was well versed in the geology and took us to an overlook where we could look into the face of the bubbling and sulphurus mud as it hissed and exploded.
Our next stop was the Diamond Botanical Gardens. This is one of the unsung gems of the Caribbean. Plants of every sort abound in profusion and our guide Paddia was able to point out all the most interesting varieties. I was especially taken by the bamboo, which is the national plant of St. Lucia—a plant that can grow eight inches a day and reach 50 feet tall and six inches in diameter. We were in these wonderful gardens for about one hour and after our visit we returned to our vans for the very short drive to the center of Soufriere. Tom Heffernan provided an overview of Soufriere’s public square—presently undergoing reconstruction—the Roman Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the presence here in the middle 1790s of the reach of the French Revolution and their use of the guillotine to rid the islands of the planter aristocracy.
We returned to Sea Cloud by 5 p.m. The captain took Sea Cloud beneath the Pitons where, due to the moisture in the air, we had the most vivid of these basaltic plugs I have ever seen. Simon, our redoubtable Hotel Manager, provide us with cold Piton Beer and freshly baked savory pastries on the spanker deck while we watched this most extraordinary rainbow.
Tonight we had a special treat as had a local dance group (Les Danceurs Traditionelle St. Lisi) accompanied by a wonderful traditional band of musicians (Mamay La Kay Folk Band) on board who performed for us. The dances in their elegant costumes reflected the formal quadrilles of 18th century France and England. For the last dance of the evening, however, the performers asked us to join them. Many of us joined in and danced for a full ten minutes. But our great chef and wait staff did not desert us and after the excitement and gaiety of the music we had by scrumptious barbecue buffet on the starboard side.
And now off to bed.
