St. Lucia . . .

St. Lucia was amazing. Let me say that again . . . St. Lucia was AMAZING!! I signed us up for a zip line tour. Hee hee hee. The 9TS was leery. I don't know why???? Off we went with our fearless guide 'G', out of town and high into the mountains to rain forest numero dos.

We got the 9TS and I all geared up:

and off we went:

zip, and no, ladies and gentlemen, it is not your TV set. I screwed up the color. Royally.

zap:

the 9TS loved it. Said it reminded him of his old repelling days. He was such a happy camper. Whew!

and while we were headed home, 'G' showed us this goodie. Recognize it? The Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed here. I'm going to blame the not so perfectness on shooting through a jitney window. Yes, I am!

and the amazing 'G' told us we couldn't leave the island without experiencing the market. Half being crafted items and half being food. And because I always follow the rules, cough, we stopped for lunch:

and ate THE best plate of chicken, red beans and rice EVER! Wanna see where our meal was cooked? I thought you did.

the alley was crammed with little nooks like this. Best, best, best food. Ever.

And then we went back to the boat and had our beer, because you know we had to have one. And, sometimes the color is so bad, you say, "off with its head" and with one fell swoop, no more color:

and then we relaxed on the veranda:

and said, "Good night, St. Lucia."

The end? Nope, I need to share some 'G' stories.

The poverty in St. Lucia is at a critical level and there is no government support. He works as a tour guide three days a week because he has seniority. The other four days are parceled out to other guides so that everyone has at least some income.

A hurricane blew through in October and left 'G's' home under water. There is no insurance.

If you get sick, there is very little in the way of affordable medical help.

So how do people get aid you ask? They help each other. If you have food and someone else doesn't, you share. If you lost all your possessions, your neighbors will help. If you are sick, your friends will supply food, friendship and what little medicine they have. Amazing people in an amazing land.