St. Lucia to USA, November, 2020

The weather was pleasant, not particularly hot. It rained several times a day, very much like in Barbados. I divided my time between swims in the bay, work on the computer, walks on the hotel grounds, and chats with the other guests.

I cannot say I was bored but all days were the same and I decided to do kayaking.

My instructor, Vanessa, looked concerned when I said that it was going to be my first time. She suggested going in a tandem kayak rather than in 2 separate kayaks. She would do all rowing and I “will sit back like a queen, relax, and take photos”. I agreed to go in a tandem but did not want “to sit back” and asked Vanessa to show me how to row.

We left the hotel early in the morning and rowed through the clear waters of the bay into the sea. There was no strong current and rowing was easy. The island of Martinique was well visible on the right. I noted that it was so close that I could escape to it from the quarantine in St. Lucia. Vanessa took my joke seriously and looked scared.

“No, police will be on our backs before we get halfway to Martinique!”

We kept rowing along the coastline until we came to a beach. There was a small house there with a few locals who helped to drag the kayak from the sea to the river.

Rowing upstream was a little harder. Coconut and sugarcane plantations were on both sides of the river and people were working on them.

We rowed up to a certain point, then turned back. The river carried our kayak back to the beach. We only needed to steer a little in the right direction.

I must admit I was a bit scared before going kayaking the first time in my life and it was a great experience. My shoulders were sore on the following day after the rowing but that was no big deal.

After a few days in St. Lucia, I began thinking of my next move. I did not mind to see one more Caribbean island but all islands nearby required a negative PCR test result. I asked at the reception where in St. Lucia I could do a COVID-19 test.

My inquiry caused panic among the hotel management. They gathered around and peppered me with questions: why I wanted to have the test, what symptoms I was having and so on.  I explained that it was a requirement to travel to my next destination. They did not seem to believe me and checked my temperature which was below normal. I came in right after swimming and water was dripping from me on the reception floor.

The receptionist called me later to say that she found a hospital that did these tests. The cost was $100 plus a taxi ride to the hospital and back. This sounded too much and I bought a ticket to fly home leaving in 3 days.

It was a pity that that I could not see more of St. Lucia because of the long quarantine. The island did look like a paradise to me and I’d love to hike the Pitons, two beautiful peaks of volcanic origin.  Well, maybe I’ll return to it when the pandemic is over.

Perhaps, it was for better that I decided not to continue my trip. My clothes were worn; my 4-year old cell phone barely worked and could die any day; my eyes were due to the next scheduled “repair”. All in all, four months away from home was enough. All trips come to an end; there will be more to follow, hopefully.