2015-4-22  St. Lucia---8am-3pm: Pigeon Island

 

We'd been to St. Lucia a couple cruises ago.   

 At that time, we took a taxi to Pigeon Island and really enjoyed it, so we decided to do the same this time.  This time the taxi fare was about $25/person rt as I recall, plus there was a $7 entrance fee into the park. 

 Later I hiked the mountain for views of the coastline.  There are also fort ruins, restrooms, and a restaurant in the park. 

A short walk to the left brought us to the beautiful Caribbean side of the park.

 We went to the next cove and parked our stuff by a bench and took off into the water.

Looking back to the beach from the water.  Lots of ship excursion people showed up later, but they didn't get to stay as long as we did.  Here the excursion crew were setting up for an activity where you walk along the bottom of the bay with a big helmet on your head that has air pumped into it.  

 There were tons of fish along the rocky areas.
Here is a cigar wrasse

 a trumpet fish among schools of juvenile fish

 a porcupine puffer

 a squid

 a juvenile butterflyfish

 blue head wrasse

 a type of file fish

 a very large wrasse (looking deceivingly small here because I couldn't get very close to it)

 a large Spotlight Parrotfish

 a large Hogfish

 Hadn't seen one of these guys before but it looks to me to be a type of Emporer Fish

 There were several of these jellyfish there, but they didn't seem to have tentacles.

 near the point that led to the Atlantic Ocean were lots of large barrel corals

 an eel

 In the shallows by the shore were lots of juvenile fish and these funny looking Dr. Seuss-looking plants.

 a Squirrel fish

 blue tangs munching on some sea weed.

 after about 3 hours we decided to get out and change clothes so as not to get the taxi wet.  They had nice restrooms with changing rooms in them.

 We still had time before the taxi was due back, so I hiked up the mountain.  We pretty much snorkeled the 2 bays to the near left and all the way to the lower right of this picture, just before the Caribbean met the Atlantic Ocean.

 Close up of the 2 bays.  The furthest bay is out of the park and connected to a hotel/resort---maybe even the Sandals that we passed on the way there.

 The fort at the top of the hill.

 Back at the port, I couldn't resist admiring the flowers.  When we left St. Louis, everything was still brown and dormant.  It was so nice seeing greenery and flowers again!

 More pretty flowers.

 Even the white ones were pretty.

 These were by far my favorite.

 I don't think we left the port at the scheduled departure time.  We were on the side of the ship facing the dock and watched several groups of people arriving back to the port long after the be back by time.  Some ran, some walked slowly, one guy even drove a car to the circle in front of the shops and just left it there.
Then we continued on our way down to Soufriere  to tender in people who took the ship's excursions there.  No kids in little boats here "diving for dollars" this time.  There were water patrols there instead. 

 A final look towards the Pitons before shoving off.