Aaahh, St Lucia...

Linda and I spent last week in St. Lucia and instantly realized it was the most beautiful Caribbean island we had ever visited. We stayed at a resort called Anse Chastanet, just north of the old fishing village of Soufriere and Les Pitons (twin volcanic peaks designated as a World Heritage Sight). The photo above was taken from a rooftop balcony at Anse Chastanet. This was also the view from our room. We swam, snorkelled, hiked, birdwatched, bathed in a hot springs waterfall, toured the farmers market and ancient French plantation ruins, ate incredible food, and listened to nothing but relaxing nature sounds day and night. I even lost 6 lbs. because we had to climb 168 steps from the beach, up the side of a cliff to get to our room. Try that 5 or 6 times a day and the pounds just fall away. No phone, no TV, no radio, no airconditioning, to internet, a king bed under a huge mosquito canopy (never got a bite). Linda and I have always said we want to keep going to new islands in the Caribbean because there are just so many amazing ones to see. But we agreed that St. Lucia is the first one to which we shall make a second visit. Following are a few other pictures of the trip.

There is a picture of our guide, Meno, and me exploring a 250-year-old ruined sugar mill, some local flora, Linda in a volcano-warmed waterfall, and a dusk view over the Caribbean from one of Anse Chastanet's tree-top bars.