The second half of our St. Lucia family vacation started with a lazy morning and breakfast at the Mango Tree Restaurant. Breakfast was included with our stay and was very hearty (pancakes or french toast, assorted breads/muffins, fruit, fresh juice, etc). It was a nice way to start each morning.
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| Can't beat these morning views! |
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There were lots of fruit trees at the resort, here's a banana.
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| A cat that hung around the restaurant. |
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| Breakfast time! |
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| Great morning views. |
For later that morning, we had booked an 11:30am chocolate making class at the nearby Hotel Chocolate/Project Chocolate. St Lucia has a few large cocoa farms and there were also tours that took you back into the jungle on an hour hike to look through the plantation... we opted to just make the chocolate bars. 😉 The class was fun and pretty short. We learned how to grind the cocoa beans, add the cocoa butter and sweeten to taste. Afterwards, we put them in a mold and our instructor took the bars off to chill for a while so we could easily take them on our way.
After the class, we wandered around the Project Chocolate grounds overlooking the farms. They had a pretty newly renovated "food hall" of a few quick service vendors selling lunch foods, drinks and deserts as well as a bar. Many of these featured cocoa or chocolate in some way or another.
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| Paul and Betsy emulsifying their chocolate. |
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| Views from the chocolate tent. |
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| David grinding the nibs. |
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| Everybody hard at work. |
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| Family chocolate time! |
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Paul is shocked by the variety and quality of lunch at the Chocolate Project.
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Back at the hotel, we opted to just hang out at the resort for the rest of the day while Paul's family went on an ATV tour of the south part of the island. We took advantage of some pool time and took a little stroll around the grounds, and also to the nearby UNESCO viewpoint and back to the Soufriere viewpoint. It was a nice relaxing afternoon.
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| Afternoon pool break. |
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| The view of Petit Piton from the viewpoint just up the road from our hotel. |
Later that evening, the resort had a "Caribbean buffet" planned for dinner, so we made our way down to the restaurant to check that out. The cost was a bit of a surprise at $50/person, but it was a good experience and it was nice to try lots of different small dishes.
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| Which is it, resort pool? No Diving or Dive at your Own Risk?! |
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| Sunset vibes from the Mango Tree Restaurant. |
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| Not a bad way to end the day. |
For our last full day in St Lucia, we again grabbed breakfast from the resort restaurant and then opted for a trip down to the nearby beach (Malgretoute Beach, AKA Paradise Beach). The little spit of sand was just about a quarter mile from our resort, but on a very steep road with no sidewalks, so we had to have a car take us. The beach itself was nice, if a little rocky. The water was warm and very clear. We probably should have brought or borrowed some snorkeling gear, but maybe another time.
After hanging out by the water for a bit, we wandered over to the beachside bar for a drink and lunch. Apparently, our resort has a deal with the bar and they were able to just charge everything to our hotel up the hill. It was here that Chad discovered how literal some St Lucians can be when he asked for a "cheeseburger with just lettuce, mustard and tomato" and received no meat. It was easy enough to sort out, but was a funny experience.
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| Morning dew with the Piton in the background. |
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| Malgretoute Beach on a nice sunny day. |
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| David chilling in the Caribbean. |
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| We saw a number of shells on the rocky beach. |
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| Tropical vibes. |
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| Daquiri #[insert large number] |
After the beach be went back to our villa, and of course the pool again. Later that afternoon we made our way back to the Mango Tree Restaurant for snacks and a drink before heading back to the villa for the evening. All-in-all a couple of chill/relaxing days.
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| Beer and views. |
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| Beer from the Chocolate Hotel on our patio. |
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| Fine, we'll have another drink. |
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| David is too cool. |
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| Sunset time. |
The following morning we got up, grabbed our last breakfast and started packing/prepping for our return to Atlanta. Our transfer to the airport was planned at noon. On the drive we were able to see the nearby St Vincent (the next major island in the Caribbean chain to the south) about 90 miles away, which was pretty cool.
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| Little hand to help up the hill. |
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| The resorts little shop. |
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| Flowers for days around here. |
St Lucia is a pretty solid vacation destination. You don't have to go the resort route, either. We ran into a family (from Michigan no less) that had rented a car and was staying at an Airbnb, so that's definitely a possibility here. If we had rented a car, we likely would have driven around and seen more of the island, including a trip up to the capital city of Castries... but that would have been logistically difficult with five people. We'd recommend if you're looking for a lounge-around trip that the area of St Lucia we stayed at (near Soufriere) is a good option. It's just about 45 minutes from the airport and easy to access. There were lots of other resorts/hotels either on the coast or up in the mountains and a variety of tours/excursions to keep you busy in-between relaxation time. At only a few hours from Atlanta by air, we've probably been slouching on the Caribbean, so maybe we'll be back to visit some of the other islands in the coming years!
