Friday – Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari – Castries, St Lucia

We started out no clear itinerary. One of the island’s natural highlights are The Pitons; two large, distinctively shaped mountains on the coast, South of Castries. It’s a long drive there, and organising an independent taxi can be expensive, unless you club together with 4 or 5 other passengers.

Then we went to change some cash for dollars at Reception, only to find that they didn’t have any – so that put paid to that idea… a gentle walk into town would have to suffice.

As we left the ship, and stepped onto the quayside, we were approached by Glenn, the Shore Excursions Manager, asking if we had any plans for this afternoon. When we explained that we hadn’t, he asked us if we’d like to escort the ‘Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari’… oh yes, we said… that would be fantastic!

So, with our afternoon fully planned, we took our walk into Castries, spent the last few dollars we had on bits and bobs, and was back at the ship for lunch.

It turned out that there had been several mix-ups with tours, due to various shore-side problems relating to double-booking , and two tours had had to be cancelled. Our little boat left the quayside at about 1:30pm, and headed out to sea. The guide explained that we would sail out to sea for about 2-3 miles, then head south, towards deeper water, and an area where dolphins and whales are regularly spotted. Although they warned us that there are never any guarantees, he did say that they enjoyed a roughly 85% success rate with spottings, so it was with great anticipation that we set off.

The guide was very good, and drinks and snacks were served, but as the trip progressed, it soon became clear that our luck was probably not going to be in today….

We didn’t see a single dolphin or whale.

On the plus-side, though; we did sail right up to The Pitons…. and truly impressive they were! We felt kind of sorry for the crew, but hey… no guarantees, right?

It had been a fun, and rewarding ride in a small boat, despite the lack of widlife.

On the return journey, the captain took us into the little harbour of Marigot Bay, where the rich and famous come to chill. He took great delight in pointing out large properties high up on the hillside, owned by the likes of Oprah Winfreyy and Mick Jagger… how the other half live huh?