We were all VERY glad that we were in bed before 9:00 last night since we had to be ready to hit the road by 8:30 for a jeep safari through the island's rain forest.  For a while, I didn't think I was going to make it!  During our cruise yesterday, I was either showing off or trying to relive my youth, but I thought it would be fun to do some hand-stands in the water.  Well, I did it, just not too well.  And in the process, I did something to my back.  The flight home didn't help since I was sitting in the co-pilot's chair and had to make sure my 6'5"/235lb body stayed out of the way of the pilot, meaning I had to sit in a somewhat contorted position for 45 minutes.  My back was hurting at dinner, but I went to bed with just a heating pad (and no aspirin).  When I woke up, I could barely stand and was afraid I wouldn't be able to join the girls on the trip.  Fortunately, three Advils seemed to do the trick and make my back good enough to go on the trip.

Turns out, we had the entire truck to ourselve on the trip.  James and Sean (our driver and tour guide) were right on time, picking us up at 8:30.  Unfortunately, we still had to content with Castries' rush hour (yes, they actually have it!).  James drove us off the main road and took us around town to see some of the sites of town.  We finally made it through and headed south of Castries past Marigot Bay. 

Shortly south of that, we headed off road and up into the mountains.  We got to see some of the local side of life, taste some of the REAL St Lucian flavors (you've GOT to try the Banana Ketchup - perfect for basting fish or pork before throwing on the grill!).  Probably the greatest was when we headed east into the hills outside of Anse La Raie to one of the island's many waterfalls.  This waterfall tumbled about twenty feet down some steps cut into the wall into a pool that was about four feet deep - absolutely freezing when you first got in, but sitting on the steps under the waterfall was awesome!  Afterwards, we got to sample another of the island's products - sugarcane.  It's been years since I've had some raw sugarcane!  Absolutely loved it!  So much so that even after Victoria had eaten the last piece, I had to go back and ask the farmer to cut me some more "for the road!"  Then, on the way back down the mountain to the main road, we got to sample another of the island's products, bay leaves!  Sean pulled a branch in for us to smell - yummy!

We made a couple more stops on the way home.  The first was for me.  I had mentioned that I wanted to get some St. Lucian rum, so rather than taking me to a store, he took me right to the source, the Bounty Rum Distillery (Roseau Sugar Factory, West Coast Rd., Roseau, PH: 758/451-4258, www.sludistillers.com).  It was not unlike going to a winery - for US$2 per person, you got to go into their tasting room and sample about fifteen different rums, from traditional styles to ones that had been mixed with different flavors like ginger, orange or coconut.  Mmmm!  I was QUITE happy!  If you ever go to the Caribbean and like rum, definitely make a stop of at a distillery and get some - I bought four bottles for about US$30!! 

Definitely recommend doing a tour like this one to really get to know the island you're visiting.  Just make sure that you bring lots of US$1's or some small EC$ bills/change to leave for tips along the way (for the samples and shows).  Also, know that you'll frequently stop for scenic shots where hordes of souvenir hawkers have set up shop!  If you don't want something, just firmly say "no thanks."  If something catches you eye, you can get some good bargains if you want to do some negotiating (some easy steps include pretending to think about it and walk away only to come back a few minutes later and look at it again or pick a couple of pieces and have them make a price for the lot). 

We got back to the hotel around 2:30, in time for lunch. Afterwards, Kathie and Victoria headed back up to the plunge pool in the room while Kelley and I took a shot at the waterskiing.  Kelley had tried it on Wednesday and, after falling five or six times, really got the hang of it.  I, on the other hand, had not touched a water ski since the summer of 1989!  After five times of COMPLETELY wiping out, I tossed in the towel and let Kelley give it a shot.  She was awesome!  Made it all the way out into the bay and back without wiping out once!  In the meantime a Canadian couple who was waiting to ski helped me analyze my skiing problem and why I did so much more poorly than Kelley - higher center of gravity!  At least that's my story and I'm sticking with it!  Not sure Kelley bought it, though.

Since it was our last night in St. Lucia, we had saved the restaurant that seemed to be the neatest to us - Froggie Jack's.  Run by an English couple, this was a really neat dining experience!  It's located right near Vigie airport, looking out on Castries' harbor.  It was a lovely, peaceful evening with some yummy food.  Put it to you this way, the only thing we didn't care for was dessert, and that was more because we didn't care for the style they were prepared in, rather than the quality of the cooking.  Otherwise, everything was great.  From the extensive drink list to the service to the food.  In fact, I just put my faith in Bradley, our waiter on what fish and style to prepare for me, and his dorado in a creole sauce came through beautifully!  And Victoria had a great time.  While waiting for dinner, she went over and had a seat at the bar where she had a pleasant conversation with the owners!  They were so enthralled with her that the the wife, who had a private line of perfumes that she made and marketed, gave her a small vial of one.  All in all, it was a perfect way to end the week.

We left the next afternoon.  While we were definitely ready to go home (QUITE exhausted!), we are also very much ready to return!