Pigeon Adventure

Sorry about the lack of updates! Our last week was hectic so we had to put a hold on blog posts while we caught up on sleep and work. So to recap, two weekends ago we had a very pleasant and active adventure!

During the week we decided that we wanted to go on a hike and explore Pigeon Island, which is located in the northern part of the island in Gros Islet. Pigeon Island is an islet that was joined with the mainland of Saint Lucia in 1972. Today, this historic site is a national landmark that visitors can visit for some exercise and relaxation. There are two famous peaks on the island and numerous forts. The two peaks are forts that were used by the British during the 18th Century to spy on the French on the neighboring island of Martinique.

Before recounting our adventure, we just want to include a bit of St. Lucian history. Saint Lucia was first "discovered" by Europeans in either 1492 or 1502. In 1643, Frances established a permanent settlement followed by a contract with the local Caribs in 1660. However, the British gained control of the island in 1763 after the ending of the Seven Years War between Great Britain and the Spanish and French. But it wasn't until 1814 that British firmly secured the island and it became part of the British Windwards Colony. St. Lucia gained full independence in 1979 and has remained a commonwealth realm, meaning that Queen Elizabeth II is actually the Head of State of the country. The British-Franco influence is quite visible on the island. Locals speak Creole, though the official language is English and the currency, the Eastern Caribbean, has images of Queen Elizabeth II. All right, now back to us.

We began our adventure on Saturday morning between 9-10. We stopped by Rodney Bay to pick up some supplies: water and a bananas. We then hopped on the bus but we realized that though we relatively knew the location of Pigeon Island, we had no idea where to get off the bus exactly. We just had been told that we would have to walk inland a bit to reach the park entrance. After asking some locals for advice we exited the bus and began to walk north as indicated by a sign that said "1.5 miles to Pigeon Island."

And...we walked. We walked, we walked, we walked. We assumed that since there were not anymore signs that straight must be our best bet. We eventually entered Cap Estate, the most expensive and safe area to live on St. Lucia. It was very pretty and we could certainly tell that we had entered a different realm of wealth. However, after walking for some time, sweaty and a little confused, we decided that maybe, just maybe, we were lost. We ended up asking a truck driver who was exiting a resort where Pigeon Island was and how far away we were. He laughed at us. Turns out we should have turned left ages ago. After learning our mistake, we turned around and retraced our steps.

When we got closer to where we began we could see how close Pigeon Island appeared and laughed at our mistake. Though, it was great because we got a great workout! After asking for more directions we finally ended up at the entrance. We even managed to convince the park's employee that we were residents so we paid the local fee which was MUCH cheaper than the tourist fee.

We finally made it!

Upon entering, we were amazed by the beauty. It was serene and peaceful. There was a wedding going on too! We decided that after our long hike that we should probably replenish before attempting to climb up the peaks. We ate a small little restaurant recommended to us by Donna, Maddie's direct boss. It was a little bohemian-esque with an array of mismatched wooden furniture looking on to the water. We both enjoyed a delicious fish filet on a baguette.

Satisfied with our meal, we began our ascent. While heading up to Fort Rodney we encountered a U.S. Military Base! Neither of us had known that during WWII the U.S. had a communication base in St. Lucia. There's also a theory that the U.S. Army's presence facilitated the St. Lucian people's odd enjoyment of country music. We often find that when walking around we hear a lot of St. Lucians strangely listening to old country western music instead of a typical Caribbean beat.

After leaving our bit of U.S. history, we climbed to the top of Fort Rodney. There was an amazing view from the top where a few cannons were also scattered about. Fort Rodney was built by the British Admiral George Rodney in 1778. Visitors can also see the water filtration system used during the time as well.

We descended Fort Rodney and pursued the higher peak, Signal Hill. Admiral Rodney used this point to observe the French naval base on Martinique. This was a slightly more challenging climb as there were many loose rocks and a lack of anything to help stabilize us. When we finally did make it to the top we had an even more incredible view of the Gros Islet area. We were able to see many of the locations we had visited. We spent some time relaxing at the top and recharging ourselves before heading back down.

We ended our visit to Pigeon Island with a walk back to Gros Islet where we caught a bus to do some grocery shopping. We later enjoyed a calm and quiet evening.

The next day, Donna picked us up and took us to the northern tip of the island to two different beaches. As we drove through Cap Estate we recounted our adventure from the previous day and realized really how far we had managed to walk. The first beach we visited was Cas En Bas. This beach borders on the Atlantic Ocean which creates a much more wavier environment. It's also known to be filled with horses and windsurfers on a sunny day. Unfortunately, Sunday was a cloudy and slightly rainy day so it was mostly empty.

After we left Cas En Bas, we visited Smuggler's Cove. To reach the secluded cove we had to climb down many steep stairs, but it was worth it. We were able to have a nice swim and experience the wavy Atlantic Ocean, which was much colder than the usual Caribbean Sea. When we returned home, we spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon napping and lounging about.

This was all followed by an evening of food and company when we cooked chicken curry and invited over our friend Simon who is a British optometrist. Simon has only been here for a few weeks but will actually be living in St. Lucia for one year. Overall, it was a fun-filled but definitely exhausting weekend. We'll follow with a few more posts in the next days! Happy 4th of July everyone!