Flare Fixation

Ready for a day on the beach!

Day Three, St. Lucia
January 24, 2012

Woke up to beauty surrounding us once again. We ate breakfast and suited up for a day on the beach. While we ate breakfast we had asked Roger to set up a beach cabana for us. When we'd finished breakfast and were slathered in sunscreen Roger arrived to escort us down to the beach. He'd set up two lovely chairs, a cooler filled with beer, juice and ice cold water, we had towels and a pristine view. We laid down to enjoy a day at the beach. The flag was yellow so we planned on floating about in the water once the day warmed a bit more. As we waited we dipped our toes in the surf. Well dipped is a relative term. As we stood there the surf engulfed our feet and tore the sand out from beneath it. I didn't fall as I stood there but slowly sunk. Mom came back from a brief jaunt along the beach to find herself 4" taller than I - normally she's 3" shorter! We had a good laugh and laid down to enjoy the shade our cabana provided us and the warm breeze blowing.

Failed sandcastle

We played with the sand beside our chairs, raking our fingers through the soft grain. It was very zen and relaxing. Sure enough I drifted off for a brief nap. A gentleman of the resort came by and offered us drinks, we happily accepted them and continued to enjoy our bliss.

No more feet!

Then it was time to enjoy the surf for real. Mom ventured out first, laughing it up the whole time. It looked like so much fun I just had to join in. Sure enough, it was! The waves were gentle enough and the salt water buoyant. Just lift your feet and enjoy the ride. The tide wasn't very heavy that day so we didn't get moved very much in or out from shore but stayed in the same place just relaxing. It was really a lot of fun! Then when the surf got a little chilly, I exited leaving Mom giggling away to enjoy some more of the sunshine. Man did that sun shine! It was warm and soothing and I kept having to tell myself that this was January! August warmth and it's the middle of winter!

 We decided to enjoy the buffet for lunch, this day's theme was Chinese. *laugh* "Chinese." Caribbean folk should stick to their own cuisine, after all it's so tasty! The buffet wasn't half bad actually, the shrimp crisps on it were really addictive! Over indulged, of course, I mean an open dessert table and a sundae bar?! They were really trying to kill my waistline! I forgot! Last night we attended the beach party and sampled some local fare. We only tasted as most of the buffet for that really wasn't what we enjoy. But that was our first taste of the choux-paste swans, lemon meringue tarts and festivals. So of course on the lunch buffet we had to have more!

After lunch, it was a late lunch - just before they shut it down at 3 actually, we decided to take it easy and relax in our pool. Around 5 we went back up to our room to enjoy our balcony for a while. We returned to the room to find a wonderful cheese plate! We snacked and drank champagne. At 6:30 we went to meet our butler for our escort to the Piton restaurant. It is the Caribbean fare restaurant at this resort. Our butler sat us at a table adorned with flower petals.

Our drinks arrived. I had asked for something with banana. It was devine! Smooth, creamy... oh so perfect. We later learned that this was called "The BBC" standing for Bananas, Baileys and Coconut. It's made by pureeing 1 banana with a shot of baileys, a little ice and coconut cream. I'm excited to get some coconut milk and start making them at home!

Enjoying Mom's Champagne

Oh BBC how I love thee.

 We ordered our meal. I started with the ackee (the national fruit of Jamaica: a mix between a squash and a melon, very very lovely!) and chicken puff pastry. It. Was. Amazing. Such a great mix of sweet and savory. We shared a bowl of the pea and bacon soup. I learned in Jamaica that peas in the Caribbean are actually what we call beans. They're like a mix between red kidney beans and black beans, I love them. I ordered jerk chicken for my main, mom had pulled pork. This jerk chicken is the way it should have tasted in Jamaica. It was spicy and savory. Oh the flavour indescribable! I ordered the trio of desserts: a fruit cake, coconut ball (pictured, I don't like dried coconut so I left it), and a piece of spice bread pudding. All very good. So far that had been far superior to our meal the previous night at Armando's. Although the risotto was perfectly cooked it needed some flare. Overall this day was perfect: relaxing, calming, zenful and fulfilling. It was off to another night of sweet dreams. ♥

Soooooo full!