The past few days have been full of getting to know new places and meeting new people although there has been some time for some fun too. On Thursday we went into town, Castries, to have a look around. The town is nice. I didn’t find it as busy and smoky as the guide book suggests – it’s really quite small. We travelled in on the bus and walked through the market on the way to the main street. Lunch was had at a pirate themed restaurant by the water. In the middle of town is a big dock where the cruise ships come in. I am fascinated by the ships as they are so huge and the fact that the population of the island can increase by 9000 for only 8 hours when a few boats come in. We can watch them come in early in the morning and leave in the evening from our room.
In the afternoon we met Newton Eristhee and Thomas Nelson (the manager of the SMMA and a Fisheries Officer at the Department of Fisheries) at the Department of Fisheries – a bright turquoise building. It was great to get to meet the people we have been e-mailing for what seems like months.
On Friday, after handing in some other uni work online, we walked down the hill to the sandy beach. We had a really nice lunch from one of the huts on the beach – grilled fish, fries and salad with an amazing dressing. It was nice to eat somewhere that the locals do. I found it funny that the beach is also right next to the local airport so there we could watch the little planes come and go whilst we had a dip.
Today, Saturday, we got up early to get the bus into town and then south to Soufriere where we would be based in the long term. The bus ride was really windy and we had to go up and down all the mountains in our way. I was glad to get off but some of the views were stunning. We were visiting to go and see our new apartment – but more about that when we move in. At first the town seemed quite sleepy but we figure it’s the kind of place that reveals itself the longer you are there. On the way home we cheekily got a lift with one of the tourist catamarans that do trips from Castries (we did pay!). They stopped to go snorkelling and we were really sad that we didn’t have our stuff. But being on a boat was great and definitely better than the bus!
Now we have lots of work to do to get ready to have an official meeting at the Fisheries Department and have to give a presentation and answer questions. Lucky some of my work will involve snorkelling :D
Love
Abi
xxx
Sunday, 10 April 2011
Thursday, 7 April 2011
St. Lucia
I’m sat by the sea in a tropical country again. This time it’s for the research part of my Master’s degree in Tropical Coastal Management. After much deliberation (with at one point me seriously considering throwing a dart at a map of the Caribbean) it was decided that St. Lucia was the place to be.
I arrived yesterday after an 8:35hr flight (and a night at Gatwick Travelodge). Currently I’m staying at a quaint little hotel named ‘Casa del Vega’. We (my partner in marine biology crime Josie and I) were picked up by the owner from the airport. During the hour long drive from one end of the other she answered all the questions we could think of about St. Lucian life. We also had a guided tour of all the damage caused by last year’s hurricane Thomas and other local sites such as the prison and mental hospital. We also found out that there was no running water that day on the whole island due to repair work on the damn – just like CCC!!
Our evening was spent sat on the balcony watching the cruise ships go by and the sun go down. The hotel is on a hillside going down to the sea. There’s a rocky cove at the bottom that I can’t wait to snorkel in. The room that we had was great. It was big and had a huge walk in wardrobe. However, we had the opportunity to move to one with a small kitchen so it was out with the space and in with the home cooked meals. The owner even took us to the supermarket this morning to get supplies.
At the moment we are in the capital city, Castries, as we have to sort out research permits and official things like that. In the next few days we’ll be moving to Soufriere; where there is a marine protected area and more tourists that aren’t cruise ship passengers.
More info on what I’m actually doing soon!
Love
Abi
xxx
PS Here's great video of where I am and the owner, Mrs Compton :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOi9Yzq3Kws
I arrived yesterday after an 8:35hr flight (and a night at Gatwick Travelodge). Currently I’m staying at a quaint little hotel named ‘Casa del Vega’. We (my partner in marine biology crime Josie and I) were picked up by the owner from the airport. During the hour long drive from one end of the other she answered all the questions we could think of about St. Lucian life. We also had a guided tour of all the damage caused by last year’s hurricane Thomas and other local sites such as the prison and mental hospital. We also found out that there was no running water that day on the whole island due to repair work on the damn – just like CCC!!
Our evening was spent sat on the balcony watching the cruise ships go by and the sun go down. The hotel is on a hillside going down to the sea. There’s a rocky cove at the bottom that I can’t wait to snorkel in. The room that we had was great. It was big and had a huge walk in wardrobe. However, we had the opportunity to move to one with a small kitchen so it was out with the space and in with the home cooked meals. The owner even took us to the supermarket this morning to get supplies.
At the moment we are in the capital city, Castries, as we have to sort out research permits and official things like that. In the next few days we’ll be moving to Soufriere; where there is a marine protected area and more tourists that aren’t cruise ship passengers.
More info on what I’m actually doing soon!
Love
Abi
xxx
PS Here's great video of where I am and the owner, Mrs Compton :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOi9Yzq3Kws
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