Friday, 24th January
Anse Chastanet
After breakfast, we walked to Anse Mamin. On our way down to the beach, we encountered Peter with another guest. Given the time, around 9:30, I assumed she was on an orientation tour. Peter greeted us by name, and we mentioned our plans to attend the history lecture later that morning. He apologised for not being able to provide the private history lecture he had promised, but we assured him that the public lecture would suffice. I then apologised to the lady for interrupting her tour, only to learn that this was her 26th visit, and she was already familiar with the area! I remarked that I found it unlikely I would still be returning in 25 year's time.
Again we chose to walk to Anse Mamin. We relaxed under a beach sunshade and watched some fishermen cast their nets in front of us. I'm not sure they caught very much, but it was interesting to watch their technique of casting the nets from their boat whilst it encircled the area where they thought there were fish. After an hour or two we walked back to the Beach Bar and the history of St. Lucia lecture by Peter Jean-Paul. The talk began at 11:30 and concluded shortly after 1:00 PM. Peter's storytelling skills made the history of St. Lucia truly captivating.
We returned to Anse Mamin for lunch, where Jo had gazpacho and I enjoyed a beef burger (for the second time this week/life!), accompanied by Prosecco. The beach attendant, Denison, greeted us by name, which was impressive. I had remembered his name as well, which he seemed to appreciate.
After a few hours of relaxation, we returned to the Beach Bar for afternoon tea. I enjoyed scones with jam and cream, while Jo had smoked salmon sandwiches. We opted for English breakfast tea instead of Prosecco on this occasion! While waiting for our food, we were approached by a couple of Americans we had met on the tour to the volcano and botanic gardens the previous day. It seems that once you meet someone, you continue to bump into them. They had both served in the American military and now resided in Galveston, Texas. Both had worked in intelligence; she had trained him, and despite being Puerto Rican, he spoke German. They mentioned having been in Berlin at one point. They had recently retired, he at 65 and she at 63. Very nice people.
After dinner we returned to our room and I thought I saw something move on the floor. It was a tiny frog about 2.54cm long. After chasing it around the room I finally caught in with an upturned glass and card. I despatched it via the balcony, only to return to find a 'bug' on the wall. That too was caught and released into wild. Today wildlife has been a bit to the fore. I spotted a millipede on the shower curtain earlier in the day but decided it posed no threat, so left it there. Jo wasn't of the same opinion when she came to have a pre-dinner shower! It too was rewilded via the balcony...
The frogs make quite a row at night, so I was a little surprised how small the one we found was, but I suppose they are tree-frogs.
I'm not allowed to mention the rain, but it is my suspicion that the various downpours this evening have brought out all the frogs!
