November 17, 2024
My first view of St Lucia! Right there off my balcony!! Gros and Petit Pitons!

And even better - guess who came to visit?? My cousin Cathy and Rod - for 16 days!!

Cathy & Rod got to St Lucia yesterday and stayed at Fig Treetop resort - they had a great view of our SHIP pulling into Soufriere Bay this morning. I tendered over to meet them at Dock, and we went to the secluded Sugar Beach nestled between the Gros and Petit Pitons, a UNESCO World Heritage Site & the Symbol of St Lucia! The Beach is home to the exclusive Viceroy Resort and secured heavily but also open the public and where we also ran into fellow residents Deborah, Melody & John. The six of us enjoyed the beach and had a lovely lunch at the resort followed by a water taxi ride back to the dock. Such a nice day in a gorgeous place!!

We just relaxed on the Island of Koh Chang, Thailand. It's one of the largest Thai Islands in the Gulf of Thailand and it has a dense, steep jungle & National Park covering the interior of the Island, which extends off shore, to coral reefs. The coast line is dotted with beaches and villages. This was a tender port, so we decided to stay on the Island for 3 nights, to be able to experience the nightlife. Turns out, it is low season, so nightlife was pretty sleepy. However, we did find a new favorite night time activity! Any Guesses?!?

Wat Bang Kung Temple was a quick stop along the way to the Train Markets . What makes this unique is the Temple is completely enclosed by roots of four giant trees (a banyan, bodhi and others). From the outside, it looks like nature has swallowed the building. Inside the chapel is a golden Buddha image, that locals still visit to pray. It was quite active during our short visit there. The Temple dates back over 250 years and survived the Burmese invasion.













