We found Diane Goodwin and her daughter here in St. Lucia after exchanging emails and wandering around Rodney Bay. Diane is on leave from her teaching assignment at Fredericton High School and is teaching at a private school. Liz, her daughter, is in grade 11 and is enjoying the new experience. They treated us to brunch on Sunday morning at their place while I took advantage of their washing machine and dryer. It was the first time we did laundry in a machine since being in Bermuda. We keep smelling our clothes and commenting on how nice they smell!
Here is a picture of where Diane and Liz live. They're up on the second floor of this building to the right. They can see Rodney Bay from their balcony out front on the other side.
After a lovely brunch of ham and cheese omelets, fresh fruit and tea, we took them out to Cat Tales where John Fallon caught up to us. We lifted the anchor and headed out of the bay for a couple of hours of sailing. At first we were going down wind so the trip was easy, relaxed and enjoyable. However, once we turned around, we were slamming into waves and generally giving them a small sample of what really goes on out there. Liz, who is taking sailing lessons, stated that she finally knows why her sailing instructors cancel lessons occasionally. She didn’t realize that “out there” the conditions get a fair bit more hectic than inside the sheltered bay.
All in all, it was a great day, and hopefully, we can get together again before we leave St. Lucia in April.
Liz did confirm something for us worth mentioning. Every time Laurie and I buy fruit and vegetables from ladies at the roadside stands on any of the islands, we have wondered why their prices are higher than in the grocery store. It just didn’t make sense how they could stay in business. Who would buy from them? We’ve paid as much as 5 euros for 3 large carrots (on a French Island) and soon realized that we couldn’t do that again! Laurie and I have had this discussion many times and could only assume that it is a local/foreigner issue. Liz told us that if she is traveling with St. Lucia-born classmates who want to buy something from the market ladies, then she as a white girl has to separate from them and rejoin them later on so they may get the “local” price (which is apparently 3 times lower than the “foreigner” price). She also told us that for her personal safety, she doesn’t travel on buses or walk without a “local” person in the group. Indeed, for reasonable respect, she and the local girls must travel with at least one male companion with the group. And also because she is in school here, she wears a uniform. She gets a bit of respect from wearing the uniform; however, because it is a “private school” uniform, other students from the public system may give her less respect.
John Fallon just called on the radio to inform us that his good friend John Sinclair will be arriving on Sunday. This will be fun!
