The following day we dropped anchor in beautiful St. Lucia! We were going to walk about a bit and check out some of the sights. I was excited to see the Piton Water Falls and the Sulphur Springs at Soufrière. I pulled on a tank and sarong over my swimsuit then I realized that I hadn’t packed any walking shoes! I had actually taken them out while I was packing for the trip then I’d decided not to bring them.
This was one occasion when traveling lightly wasn’t well thought out. Luckily Eddie had some weird shoes – a cross between sandals and sneakers with wide velcro straps. I was thankful for them although I had to strap them tightly to my feet because they were a size too big !
After a brisk dinghy ride to shore, we set off with Claudia and her friend Jean leading the way up the steep mountainside to get to the waterfall. The climb is not for the faint of heart! If you’re not used to hiking or any type of strenuous physical activity, I would suggest that you book a tour company to get you there. The view from the top is spectacular and well worth the climb!
Photographs cannot adequately capture the beauty of the bay far below. The sea and sky is amazingly blue and the fresh breeze carries the scent of some type of fragrant wild flower I have yet to identify. We entered the park which is a part of the Soufriere Regional Development Foundation and began our descent to the waterfall.
There were tall coconut palms, banana and even soursop trees laden with fruit amid the lush green foliage that bordered the path. The stairs appeared to have been hewn from the rock face and fortified with concrete, there were handrails made of sturdy rope on either side. I could smell the forest, I love the smell of the forest because it reminds me so much of the farm I grew up on in Guyana.
As we got closer I could hear the waterfall and almost taste the clean, fresh essence of the water that wafted up from below. Eventually we arrived at the bottom, there were actually several little falls and 3 pools; two of them natural and one man-made. Claudia and Jean got into the water immediately. I wanted to stand in the waterfall but the rock was so slippery that I had to sort of drape myself rather precariously under the cascading waterfall. It felt as exhilarating as I thought it would!
