Tete Paul Nature
Trail … Monday 12th February 2018
Today we were masterful (super lucky) in avoiding the rain showers.
We jumped on a mini bus in Soufriere and for the princely sum of EC$ 2.95 (~ US$
1) we got a ride about 5 miles south to the “Fond Doux” hotel. From there we
walked steeply up a narrow road through old cocoa plantations to the Tete Paul
Nature trail. Once there, a picturesque path took us past a variety of
spectacular view-points of the Pitons and the ocean below, starting with
“Paradise” and ending with “Heaven”. We were greatly amused to find the
“stairway to Heaven” was under repair!
I think it was the thought of John Milton’s Paradise Lost,
that I was forced to read in school, that got us into a discussion about
literary classics. Gloria floated the question “why is that schools always seem
to choose a book from a selected author that the rest of the world recognizes
is not his or her finest work”? Is this a fair criticism? It certainly seems
that the Nobel prize for literature is actually quite political. I really
enjoyed many of Solzenitzen books, but The Gulag Archipelago, for which he won
the Nobel Prize, is a turgid litany of crimes by the state and almost
unreadable. This got us talking about classics we actually do like (e.g. Gloria
– Salinger: The catcher in the rye, Mike – Tolstoy: War and Peace, Simon –
Hardy: Far from the madding crowd). Anyway, we digress…
On our way down the Tete Paul footpath it started to rain
just as we approached a shelter. Once that shower passed we carried on down to
the “Fond Doux” hotel and were just seated for lunch at the Bamboo restaurant
when a torrential downpour hit. After lunch, which was OK but not brilliant, we
were wandered along the road waiting for a bus to pass. A taxi stopped and
picked us up just before another squall came through. So all in all we got
lucky to stay dry.
As beautiful as the anchorage is, it also has a fair amount
of swell, so it ended up being a trying night, with the boat rolling and
creaking from one side to another. This morning we decided to head around to
the next bay between the Pitons and check out the snorkeling. As conditions
seem similar (lots of roll) we will likely head out down the coast this
afternoon for the fishing village of Laborie
Gros Piton from Tete Paul Nature Trail
Petit Piton from tete Paul Nature Trail
Stairway to Heaven
bamboo Restaurant - Fond Doux
Bullfinches seem to love hanging around the cafes
Salinger! Lol!
ReplyDeleteaha! Well spotted! Will correct in "edit" mode. Thanks
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