Saint Lucia The Petit Piton
Snorkelling fun, an adventurous ascent and a cheeky little liar
We're stopping off in St Lucia for the second time, this time with a very specific goal: we want to climb the Petit Piton. Unfortunately, this wasn't possible last time as I like to pierce my hand on metal bars now and then (you may remember my experience at the hospital in Bequia...). Well then, may the mission succeed this time!!!
New day - new luck!
The crossing from Martinique is super smooth, we are fast upwind and we soon reach Rodney Bay. It is already late afternoon and we decide to stay here for the night. The next day, we set off for the two Pitons, two volcanoes that are no longer active and whose base flows directly into the sea. The whole thing is pretty spectacular. But first we make a stop at a sunken cargo ship, which we want to snorkel 🤿 As it lies at a depth of 20 metres, we have to make quite an effort to see anything of it. However, the reef next door is also super beautiful and so we spend a few pleasant hours in the water here.
Check out the Vibez
Even before we reach the Pitons, we are intercepted by various guys on speedboats. The boat boys. It's so common here, they offer to help you tie up to the buoy and then demand money for it. Getting rid of them and remaining friendly is often not easy. Despite our thankful refusal, one of the boys helps us and offers us his services as a tour guide. To climb the Petit Piton, you have to take a guide, otherwise you are not allowed up. So we agree to have a chat with him. However, the price he offers us is ridiculous, he wants a whopping 150 USD per person. We have to laugh and so does he. We make it clear to him that we are not rich charter sailors but would like to go on the hike. We openly and honestly tell him the amount we are willing to spend and if he can't accept it, we won't go on the hike. After a long back and forth, he agrees to take us for a total of 250 ECD, i.e. around 15 USD per person. A factor of 10 friends. That's how the prices are set here, and the charter tourists go along with it. Well, we're looking forward to the hike!
We are picked up at 7 in the morning and the little brother of the guy from yesterday is supposed to be our guide. I've unfortunately forgotten his name, but let's call him "RudeBoy" - because he's not much more than that. He's not very talkative and visibly unmotivated to traipse up there with us. We don't really care, of course, because we're so up for it 😉
The path is narrow and steep and leads over rocks and roots. After about 1.5 hours, RudeBoy leads us to a viewpoint. "That's it" he says, "we're at the top". We take a look, eat our sandwich and then think it's odd. We tell him we'd like to walk all the way to the top. Thierry shows him pictures of our friends on the summit. There's no way, RudeBoy claims, he's never got any further than this. And he's afraid of heights. "Then you're in the wrong business bro," is David's comment. We offer for him to wait here while we continue on our own. He doesn't want to do that either, but lets Thierry go ahead as he "doesn't know the way"...
Next level hiking
The path changes and in places we have to scramble up 3-4 metre rock faces on a rope. Very interesting 😂 Once we reach the top, we have a spectacular view of the island, the sea and the Grand Piton. We linger for a moment and enjoy the successful ascent. Now we just have to get the descent over with 😅 The rocky passages take a bit of courage in places, but our team spirit is fantastic and we all make it down safe and sound. Back at the water's edge, we wait under a mango tree for RudeBoy's brother to take us back to Cervino. Meanwhile, RudeBoy himself is sitting in the middle of the mango tree picking mangoes. What was that again about being afraid of heights....?!
After a while we are picked up, and when it comes to paying, Thierry says challengingly: "I'll pay you 50ECD less than agreed, after all I had to guide the second half of the tour myself. Your brother has never been up there." - "Never been to the top? What a load of bollocks! He's been up there a hundred times!" is the reply and RudeBoy suddenly looks a bit old. Thierry makes it quite clear to him that he doesn't like it when people lie to his face. The boy is defiant and looks away, his brother apologises for him. There could be some nasty repercussions at home...
The second chance is also missed
Even on our first visit to this island, we didn't feel very comfortable. We missed the relaxed, friendly vibe. We don't feel welcome, but rather like walking cash machines. Any price that is quoted for anything is too high. And not just a little bit. And this experience only confirmed our first impression. Too bad St Lucia, you may be beautiful, but we don't like your vibes. I don't think we'll be stopping here a third time.
Now it's time to get out of here. St Vincent and the Grenadines are calling 🤩 We've been looking forward to returning here for a long time.
Will we dance hard at the village party, which mysterious charter crew will we meet and whether flying fish can kitesurf?
Think about it...