Although we had a few days to spare before our friends arrived, we decided to head over to St. Lucia a little early to make sure the weather didn’t change. We had heard that some people had been boarded and robbed recently in the country so we were a little nervous and decided to stay at marinas.
First we spent a few days at Marigot bay marina. From there we were able to hire a driver to take us down to see the Pitons and to a chocolate making experience and restaurant. We also spent a day relaxing at the resort there and catching up on sleep.
Next we went to the marina at Rodney bay which would become our home for the next month or so. When we arrived, locals surrounded our boat offering to do fiberglass work, dive work and cleaning. We jumped too quickly at the chance to get things done and probably paid too much, but it is what it is.
Our friends Darren and Alison flew in a few days after we arrived and we spent a week hanging out with them and seeing some of the cool things in St. Lucia. We did a really nice hike with great views of the pitons. Mostly we just hung out on the beach chatting and having a few drinks everyday.
After our friends left, we finalized our plans for getting the boat hauled out and stored for hurricane season. We also spent some time traveling around the island, staying in an eco resort in the south and we did a day sail to the pitons and stayed overnight one night.
Getting the boat ready for storage was hard! We had done it every year in Nova Scotia with our smaller boat, but here we had to worry a lot more about bugs, rats and mildew. We also had never had this boat hauled out before so that added to the anxiety.
It ended up taking way longer than we expected but the haul out and storage was really professional. We also were able to find a local who agreed to check on the boat and send us videos once a month. We didn’t leave St. Lucia until the 20th of May – relieved to get a break from boat life and spread our legs on land for the summer in Nova Scotia!
