Wednesday, March 2, 2016

A WALK IN THE MOUNTAINS


A WALK IN THE MOUNTAINS

A good number of our guests really enjoy activities like climbing Petit Piton or Gros Piton, or exploring some of the other natural wonders and attractions that this area of St. Lucia has to offer.  In actuality, we are no different than our guests.  For example, one day we were sitting around and Julian decided we should go explore an area that he remembers from his childhood.  So, we got a great person, our neighbor, Kendall, to help us navigate to the area we wanted to visit.

Our adventure started off in our vehicle.  We drove around to the other side of the valley we face and drove up behind a bank of mountains.  The road was kind of rough, but we have a vehicle equipped to hand it, shifting into a lower gear, we pressed on.  And we wound our way up the mountains on the other side of our valley.  While we went along, Julian would point out various houses and other landmarks that he remembered from his childhood.  Then we finally got to a place where he decided we should proceed by foot.  There is a lot of farming that happens in these mountains.  You can see some of the fields from our vantage point at Calabash Mountain Villa, but that is only a small part of what is really in this area.  The picture below is of a Christophene arbor.  This plant is one of the staples of great meals around here.  It is a food that compliments any main dish.

It was quite fascinating to listen to Julian's remembrances of his childhood growing up in this area.  He would recall specific incidents, like they had happened a few days ago.  Many of his recollections were humorous ones, so we enjoyed great chuckles as we walked along.  When we got to a certain area, he identified it as an area they had lived in for a while.  He even was able to show us a specific house they lived in, and he was surprised that it was still in halfway decent condition.  As he told us about locations, there were also stories about some of the happenings that went on in those places.  Many of the stories were humorous and others were filled with his remembrances of what was a childhood full of interesting capers and experiences.  It is always fascinating to hear all about childhood experiences that someone can recall like they happened yesterday.  The housing in this area is pretty rustic, and the memories were rich.

Before long we had reached an area that had some very spectacular views of the town of Soufriere.  We were on the mountains that are opposite the side of town that is the waterfront.  Awesome views!  And yes, we were glad we had the camera to get some of these views.  However, as is usually the case, the pictures are great but don’t really capture the magnitude and beauty of the area.  (Of course, part of the reason is that we are not professional photographers.)


As we kept walking, we got to a spot where we could look down and see Calabash Villa from the mountains across from us.  When we are standing on our balcony looking across the valley at the mountains, it looks like one continuous mountain landscape.  However, it is rows of mountains, with roads and houses between the mountains.  It is these roads that enable you to get up to the upper reaches of the mountains without having to actually climb the mountains.  It is absolutely fascinating what all is on the mountains that cannot be seen from a distance, because the roads and buildings are hidden by rows of trees on both sides of the roads.  But once you go up there, you can better understand where a lot of the traffic you see driving around comes from and where they are going.

The other fascinating realization is that there are lots and lots of mountains that you would never see unless you climbed high enough to see over the lower mountains.  You can see in some of our pictures the rows and rows of mountains that exist on this part of the Island.  These are awesome views!  In the above picture of Calabash Mountain Villa, taken from the mountains across from us, you get a sense of the landscape around us.  When you are driving here, you see the trees around the roads, but do not get a full sense of the entire area.  Being able to get high enough up to look down on us really gives you a better perspective of this area.  

If you get a chance to visit St. Lucia, or if you are on St. Lucia, make it a point to go and see these views for yourself.  Aside from being gorgeous views, it also gives you another perspective about this Island.  There are communities that evolve from the natural landscape of this Island.  The terrain helps form small communities that share an area.  People in these communities have bonds that last a lifetime.  Of course, that is not to say that people do not get around to other communities, but there is a special bond between people who attend the same schools together, play in the same areas together, and who have dealt with natural conditions and calamities together.

Written by, Sandra Emmanuel
March 2, 2016
www.calabashvilla.com

No comments:

Post a Comment