Saturday, 18th January
Gatwick to Anse Chastanet
Having spent a large part of the night semi-awake waiting for the alarm to go off, I was deep asleep when it eventually went off! But I did hear it.
Flight to St Lucia left on time, but, oh, what a lot of waiting around. We had checked in online the day before and had gone to the bother of downloading the BA app and then, after a bit more pain, the boarding cards. This meant we only had to go to ‘baggage drop’. Despite the huge queue this wasn’t too bad, Jo commenting that people left to their own devises were as fast as the professional check-in staff. Breakfast of Pret porridge took some of the pain out of waiting around.
The flight left the gate almost bang on time, but it was another twenty minutes before we were in the air. I had chosen a window seat for me and the adjacent seat for Jo – this meant we were hemmed in by the person in the aisle seat. Luckily this turned out to be a friendly, but not over-friendly lady from Northern Ireland who was travelling on to Grenada. From what I understood her parents were also on the flight (in Premium Economy) as well as another ‘friend’ who was seated elsewhere (possibly a brother or brother-in-law). Her parents owned a house in Grenada and she was going out there to help them sell it. (She didn’t recommend buying a house in Grenada!) We also gleaned that she was a costume designer for film and television, but she said it was very precarious career with lots of time between jobs.
The flight took ages – and then I thought how much longer it must take sailing.
We were greeted like gods by the Anse Chastanet representative at the airport who had a taxi waiting for us. The journey, as anyone who has been to St Lucia will know, was tortuous; the last mile or two on rocky roads that would have defeated most cars – we were in a Toyota Land Cruiser. The second welcome at the hotel was no less effusive than the airport welcome. A cold drink called a ‘Bentley’ was served as we were checked in by Lauren. After check-in (St Lucia style, so it took about half an hour), Lauren showed us to our room. What a room! The brochure and website do not do the hotel justice. The room has a seating area, with a fridge, coffee and rum cocktail making facilities, a big bed enclosed by a mosquito net, a build in wardrobe and huge bathroom. One whole side of the room is effectively open with just slatted walls (with mosquito netting). It doesn’t have air-conditioning but the ceiling fans do an excellent job. In fact, I think air-conditioning would spoil the whole ambiance. Most of the floor, the slatted wall, ceiling and furniture are dark wood, (mahogany?) which makes the room seem quite dark, but it isn’t oppressive and makes it quite characterful, if not particularly photogenic. Beyond the slatted wall is a balcony, with a couple of chairs and a table, overlooking forest and with the sea in the distance.
After recovering from the flight we left our room for dinner in the Treetops restaurant. I had oysters for my first course and red snapper for the main course, Jo, raw lionfish (pickled?) for starter and prawns, squid and scallops for main course. We both had Prosecco to accompany the meal. Puddings weren’t required!
Back to our room to collapse into bed.
