This morning we woke up while still underway bound for St. Lucia. We spent all morning at sea admiring the skill of our crew as they manned the sails. We felt very privileged to be sailing aboard one of the world's most magnificent ships. Our historian, Tom Heffernan, delighted us with his talk about the origin of Creole languages. The introduction to the languages spoken in the West Indies was very pertinent to what we would experience later today. Lucia is an independent island-nation, and although the official language is English, its inhabitants; mostly from African origin, speak Creole.
As we approached the port of Soufriere, we could see the iconic Pitons; these peaks majestically rise from the blue depths of the Caribbean to scratch the clouds with their summits.
We disembarked to head towards the Soufriere Volcano. As we gained altitude, we could perceive the sulphur smell that escaped from the Earth's entrails. We stopped at the visitor's center, where we saw an educational video that helped us understand the geologic history of this interesting place. We walked down to the volcano to contemplate the boiling water and the sulphuric fumaroles.
Our next stop was the beautiful and well-kept botanical garden of St. Lucia. A wide array of plants, both native and introduced. We got to know the nutmeg and cashew trees, and of course cacao, the tree that gives origin to one of the best things in the world: chocolate!
As we learned about the different plants, we also looked for the different bird species that live in the thick vegetation. Purple-throated Caribs, crested Antillean hummingbirds, Antillean saltators, banana quits, bullfinches, mangrove cuckoos, and even a bare-eyed robin were seen today.
Back to the Sea Cloud, after raising the anchor, we headed into the sunset to enjoy the magnificent view of the Pitons. We enjoyed our shipmates’ company, local beer, and homemade pretzels as we left St. Lucia behind.
