“Hey Greg, Before the ladies arrive let’s check some more of St. Lucia.” I say to my new crew.
“Sounds good to me” answers Greg
The two Greg’s are back together again. We had been roommates together in Denver for about 3 years before wives and other life changes. Greg arrived on Monday and his wife and my sister will arrive on Thursday to complete our crew. Then it will be off to Grenada.

On my bus ride to the airport, I talked with the women sitting next to me about things not to miss on the island. She recommended going to Soufrie. In Soufrie you can walk to waterfalls, soak in hot springs, walk into a volcano, visit botanical gardens, in addition to all the normal beach and restaurant things. It sounded pretty fun to us.
We hop on the early morning bus (well not really very early) and head to Castries where we will change to another bus. This gives Greg a chance to experience and see the market that I was so enamored with before. It was even more fun today. There were no cruse ships in so the market was filled with the people who actually live there. We found new places and were even stopped by the police and asked if we would get closer to the city center. He was a little concerned that we were very out of place in the neighborhood we were walking through. We did not feel unsafe, but the officer was clearly concerned.
Lunch at a very local restaurant was a shrimp roti and stewed chicken. We asked if they get a lot of business from cruise ships. She looked at us like we were from another planet and said ”Cruise ship people here? You have got to be kidding. They are afraid to even get off the boat and if they do they venture this far away from the tourist stalls.”
“Those people do not know what they are missing” I replied. “I stopped here on Monday and it was so good I could not wait to come back.”
It really was not quite that good but she was fun to talk with.
Off we went on the local bus. One speed, pedal to the metal and then slam on the brakes. What a ride it was up and down step roads with hairpin turns at the bottom and top of each hill. We arrive safely on Soufries, and ask the tourist lady where to go. Off we go hiking to a waterfall to swim in. Hot, sweaty, tired we arrived after an hour walk up the road. We pay our $3 and head to the waterfall. It looks very inviting so we change into our swimsuits and walk in. I go in first and float on my back until I am under the waterfall. The cool water is pounding on my back, neck and head. It feels so good. I go to stand up and as I drop my feet down. “What the heck” I say as my feet hit the bottom. Greg is ready to dive in until I stand up in two feet of water.
“I guess I will rethink this diving in idea “ says Greg.
Well it was cool and we walk back down the hill feeling a little ripped off. We could have stood under a garden hose pouring into a kiddie pool and had the same effect.
Back in town we discuss our options. The big thing is to take a taxi and drive into the volcano. Having both been to Yellowstone a few times, we did think it would surpass that experience. After a beer we decided, we are here we had better check it out. We got there and looked at the “volcano” and decided to pass. It was just a steam vent. But we did opt for the volcanic hot spring/mud bath. We both now look at least 10 years younger. They are going to start carding us at the bars.
We pick up the girls the next day and get ready to leave. The next morning and the winds are great as we have a magnificent sail to St. Vincent.