Good Bye St. Lucia!

I guess it is ok to wake up on the day you go back home to rain.  Actually it had rain most of the night, too, as you are fully aware of with the open air layout.  We were able to sneak off to breakfast in between the rain, though.  Late in the morning, it was full out a storm, the first we had witnessed in St. Lucia during the day.  We watched it blow it over the bay, which was cool to see.  I curled up on the sofa to read.  This was when I loved hearing the rain drumming in the background.  It was so relaxing!  I'm pretty sure I dosed off a time or two.  Kevin finished off the last Piton, a native beer of the island.  Then, we headed up for our final Dasheene meal before our driver picked us up for the airport.  We were lucky to still be at the resort during lunchtime hours so we could hear the Shak Shak band which is well known throughout town.  They're great!

Rain or shine, Ladera is a beautiful resort that I would recommend to anyone! 

Perfect place for honeymoons, anniversaries, birthdays or any type of celebration!

 The grounds were well kept and lush.

Love the lily pad ponds throughout.

 Ladera's fine dining and atmosphere makes breakfast, lunch and dinner wonderful!

 Love this guy!  Thanks for 5 wonderful years!  You're the best husband and daddy there is!

 Gorgeous place, special memories, St. Lucia will be missed!

The band has been playing since the resort opened.  They are truly authentic.  We would have missed out if we weren't still here for Sunday lunch!

Jungle Biking and Anse Mamin Beach

My friend had recommended jungle biking to us.  The best part about this outing was that it took place at a more secluded beach, Anse Mamin.  The online reviews for this beach were spectacular so we killed two birds with one stone by doing this activity.  Anse Mamin is less populated than Sugar Beach and the natural, dark sand was a completely different gorgeous sight.  The sand is that color due to the volcano on the island.  Any white sand on the island was imported.  We biked through old ruins, reserviors, waterfalls, all of which displayed their own beauty.  After the guided tour, we were able to explore the rainforest ourselves.  Kevin and I were the last to return the bikes....surprise, surprise!  We had so much fun!  The switchback trails reminded us of our mountain biking days.  It even began raining on us (guess it does that in the rainforest!) but that didn't stop us.  Once our legs had a good burn from peddling so long (and often uphill) we joined our friends Drewy and Russell for Jungle Burgers on the beach.  Without a doubt, these were the best burgers around!  You never would have known they came from a beach hut with a huge grill under it.  It is a hidden treasure anyone traveling to St. Lucia should know about.  We took a dip in the ocean before curling up under the straw umbrellas to rest.  It continued to rain off and on this day but it never phased us.  We were perfectly content napping on the lounge chairs and stayed dry with straw canopy above us.  Late in the afternoon we headed back to Ladera for our last night of dining at Dasheene. 

 Anse Mamin beach

 Jungle Biking

The huts kept us dry and boy did we nap well from the biking adventure!

Our Actual Anniversary!

Best morning so far!  The sun was shining, and we were ready to celebrate our 5th anniversary. We spent the day back down on Sugar Beach.  This time it was the full day.  We caught the first shuttle down in the morning and the last one back late in the afternoon.  We brought books, snorkel gear, and lots of sunscreen! 

 The bright sunshine definitely made the water looks the bluest so far. (Again, pic from our room...love that it's right in front of us each morning when we wake!)

 Although the plunge pool was cool, it felt nice and refreshing this warm, sunny morning.

We enjoyed the view of below, not only the mountains and bay, but the lush plants growing on the hillside.

 The pool was a perfect size with a bench and tables.  You could sit and look straight out to St. Lucia!

The juice was passion fruit this morning.  How perfect for our anniversary celebration!  We brought to-go glasses back to the room after breakfast for the swim and toasted to many more years together.  It was special to relax around the suite and not feel rushed before catching the shuttle for the beach. 

We enjoyed snorkeling at the Marine Reserve area below the Petite Piton.  There were lots of fish of all sizes and colors.  

We took a break from the sun and had lunch at the Sugar Beach Resort.  It was perhaps Kevin's best meal!  Good ol' southerns love their fried fish sandwiches. :)

Our view from the lunch table.

 Full bellies and a day in the sun, lead to naps in the shade.  Love it!

 Getting dressed for our reservation at Hotel Chocolat across the street from Ladera.

We made special reservations at Boucan.  Everything on their menu uses cocoa in some way.  Who doesn't love chocolate?

Although we missed sunset with our 7:00 reservation, we were able to witness the sky darkening which was pretty in its own way.

 The ambience was fantastic at Boucan.  It is situated higher than Ladera so gives its own unique view.  However, you cannot see the Gros Piton or bay below, just the Petite Piton. 

I had a wonderful dinner!  It was my first non-seafood selection all week.  The cocoa encrusted pork tenderloin was cooked to perfection and the chocolate mashed potatoes were heavenly.  Loved every bite!  (But, don't ask Kev about his dinner this night.  His steak left much to be desired.  Oops!)  Needless to say, we have indifferent feelings about the restaurant but we both had a good time together.  Man, we are getting spoiled having dinner just the two of us!  We are so used to placing orders when we first sit down, entertaining the entire time we are at the restaurant, having children climb on us, and rushing through dinner.  We're going to enjoy this while we can!

Soufriere and Sugar Beach

We slept the best last night.  Thank goodness!  The first night was a wash for me.  The wilderness provides such a variety of noise that usually people can just drift to sleep with their natural sound machine in the open air suites.  Not me.  I'm the world's lightest sleeper and any noise heard, my brain fixates on and I have trouble sleeping.  So, the animals, wind and rain kept me wide awake on night 1.  But, either the ear plugs or tired body from our hike helped me stay sound asleep until the morning light and I was so well rested. We decided to take it easy this morning, then head out to the beach for a bit and explore the nearby town of Soufriere.

It was a beautiful view of our hiking accomplishment (mnt off in the distance.)

Down in the Piton bay, there were a couple boats, and the Petite Piton was, once again, displaying its beauty.

Dasheene, the restaurant at the resort, has a magnificent view.  It was a beautiful place to eat daily, especially breakfast when the bright morning sun was shining.  We enjoyed the organic breakfast each morning.....granola, yogurt, fruit bowl, and an assortment of pastries.  Each morning there was freshly squeezed juices, too!  It was always something different and unique to the island during the season.  Cherry, guava, passion fruit, mango, callaloo were the ones we had......they all were so yummy!  I might not be a coffee fan, but I sure love some juice!

Behind me are the rooms of Ladera on the edge of the mountain. 

Ladera has shuttles down to Sugar Beach, located between the Pitons.  It was a gorgeous white sandy beach.

The Gros Piton looked even bigger from the sea level view.

Yep, we climbed that.  And that's why we are sitting on the beach today.  Haha!

The waters were calm.

That afternoon, we caught a tour from the resort to see some touristy stuff that everyone says to do on the island.  The first stop was the drive in volcano.  St. Lucia has an active volcano.

If it's bubbling that's good!  That means it's release energy and not close to erupting.  Now when it stops, they said run!  :)

 The nearest town to Ladera was Soufriere about 10 minutes away. 

 It was pretty with the different colored roofs along the coast.

 We liked seeing all the boats anchored in the bay.    Then we stopped at the Botanical Gardens.

 We saw Diamond Falls and relaxed in the warm, fresh mineral baths at the Gardens.  We did not factor in the extra hour for the mud bath and had dinner plans so had to skip out on that part.  I think it would have been fun, though.

 Toraille Waterfall was next on the stop.

 This fall is not fed by the volcano so the water is cold. 

 I let Kevin brave it first.  And through his persuasion,

I got in.  Yes, it was freezing, especially since it was late in the afternoon and the sun wasn't really out.

We went in to Soufriere for dinner with our hiking friends at a local joint.  Petite Peaks was right on the bay and a neat experience.  We were the only tourists in the place, very cool.  We both ate red snapper.....they cook the whole fish and give it to ya like that!  I was not a big fan of having to pick around the bones (because I was not good at it at all!)  Definitely an experience but it was good eatin'!