TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums General Caribbean Day 17 Laborie, St. Lucia

Jan. 3, Laborie
I woke up around 7:00 and was dizzy from the spice rum we drank last night; I drank some water and went back to bed, repeating the process again an hour later. By 9:00 I was feeling good enough to grab some breakfast, my first stop was the bakery for a pastry and then I bought a grapefruit and some bananas from the vendors at the square. Boomer and I had agreed to meet between 9:00 & 10:00, so I took my morning walk to the beach, he still wasn’t around when I got back so I packed my stuff and took a seat on the Vieux Fort bus and headed for Laborie.
I had thought about spending a few days there for some time now and I wanted to check it out for future reference. The bus let me off at the junction, where there is a small complex with shops and a café overlooking a small park and the beach. The shops here sell original St. Lucia items, I wouldn’t call them crafts because they are a step or two above what you find at the market and in other souvenir shops.
I had a coffee, freshly brewed, and a slice of carrot cake before taking the steps down to the beach.

Looking at the park from the cafe and craft center

I heard there was good snorkeling here, but the water was stirred up with sand and I didn’t want to chance snorkeling alone with the slight swells breaking on the reef. I noticed that there weren’t many tourist on the beach, but a few local families having picnics at the tables in the park; how I wish I could have sampled some of the dishes that were being passed around, you know when Granny is doing the cooking it’s got to be good. I walked down the beach to the large dock at the far end, I only passed one place that I could see was a bar, a man outside was cleaning some small snappers for the days menu. On my way back to the beginning I stopped under some palm trees to relax and noticed a young man gathering seaweed. I asked him if that was sea moss, he said it was and told me his mother was authorized to process it into the famous island tonic. I walked up the road alongside the soccer field to the small blue house at the top on the left. Around the side door an older woman was grating some coconut so I inquired about the drink. I tried a couple glasses; it tasted just like the sea moss ice cream I had last year, sweet thick almost like eggnog but not has heavy or heavily spiced. After my drink I walked down the road to a blue building that the young man had told me was a restaurant. I wanted to have some fish, being it is a fishing village but they were sold out so I settled for a chicken leg with homemade sauce, a bake just out of the fryer and a glass of passion fruit juice; a very tasty and satisfying lunch for just 8 EC.



The beach looking both directions

I went back down to the beach for some more swimming and sunning before heading back up the stair to the café. I wasn’t very hungry but though I would try the food just to see how it was. My cheeseburger was larger than I expected, served on a fresh roll with lettuce and tomato; the fries that accompanied it were probably frozen but were cooked perfectly, crispy on the outside soft in the middle. It was a good value for just 15 EC. I will definitely come back here again and would encourage anyone who wants to spend a laid back day at the beach and experience local life to visit as well. Everyone I spoke to along the beach and at the restaurant were very friendly and welcoming, it was a nice peaceful experience.
Knowing the trip back might take some time I went by the road and waited for a passing bus, with a spot available. I flagged one down, not looking at the sign in the window, luckily I noticed as we were riving that it did not say Soufriere; I asked the woman in front of me and she said it was the right road, but the wrong bus. I got off at the junction leading to Soufriere and waited again. An empty bus pulled up to give a young lady a ride so I got on, the driver said he wasn’t working today but would give me a lift to a spot where I would have better luck. I offer to pay him for the ride but he wouldn’t accept anything. At the next junction it was only 10 or 15 minutes before a bus came by and I was on my wy back home.
I ran into Boomer and we had a drink at Skippers before heading down to Whistlers, where they do a cook up outside on Fridays. I had some ribs, but was still craving fish, so we went into the bar and ordered blue marlin that was on the menu for tonight. The fish arrived; a large chunk sliced randomly part way through battered and deep fried. I just peeled the pieces off and dipped them in the catsup/hot sauce mix. It was surprisingly mild and flaky, some of the best fish I have had so far. Still feeling a bit tired from last night I had a Guinness for the road and walked back to the hotel to sleep