Ha, your guess is as good as mine in terms of how my brain works 🤪. I’m guessing it’s maybe from a Jewish baseball coach I had growing up. He had lots of cool sayings.
Mmmmmmmmmm every land has its story 😮💨 I went to St. Lucia with my family a few years back, and was struck by how much forrest there was. Loved the history lesson as well!
St Lucia looks awesome! Didn’t know that about China / Taiwan competing over some of these Caribbean sovereign nations. Interesting.
It’s funny, I grew up on the East coast of the US and now living on the West coast. I look at St Lucia on a map now and it’s like Fiji was when I was growing up. Not as far ofc, just weird how the map bends based on where you stand.
Most definitely! It’s funny you mention Fiji. There is a resort there that was the inspiration for our trip to St Lucia. We picked St Lucia because of proximity.
You’re welcome Moorea 👍🏼. Nope, I was a PE and health person. My love of history has really coincided with my love of reading…and both of those things didn’t really take root until I was well into adulthood.
As a former travel agent and someone with serious wanderlust, I totally vote for vacation travels for future pieces!
I’m wondering if you liked St. Lucia? When I went with my mom and sister in 2019, we rented an AirBnB. I’ve traveled to a fair amount of Caribbean islands because I’m addicted to snorkeling, but St. Lucia is probably my least favorite island I’ve visited.
Also, I don’t love the China control of the internet. Wondering…do you know what the other islands are who are connected to Taiwan/China.
Oh good, glad you are a fellow lover of traveling! We loved it, but in all honesty did not do much. Our hike that I described was pretty much our only time off property.
I love to snorkel! Not sure if it translates, but we met a couple that have come back numerous times to scuba dive there.
Regarding China & Taiwan, it is kind of a long story but Taiwan is its own country. And they are a legitimate democracy…so in terms of who to root for they are definitely the choice over China. And in reading about St Lucia, the Taiwanese have been more good faith in their efforts than the Chinese were.
I snorkeled a little bit at one spot in St Lucia, but it’s not that great. Bonaire, Turks & Caicos, Curaçao, St. John, Cayman, and Barbados all had decent if not amazing snorkeling.
It’s probably tied between Bonaire and T&C. There are no real beaches with sand to speak of on Bonaire, but the reef surrounds the island on the west coast…so you can pretty much jump in and snorkel from many places from shore. But Grace Bay on Provo is the best beach I’ve ever been on!!! Such soft sand… ever had to wonder what I was telling on while swimming in the ocean. And it has the 3rd largest barrier reef in the world!
Ok that seals it, we need to go to Bonaire. Aruba is the only one of the abc islands we’ve been to, and it was awesome, but best beach you’ve ever been on is high praise!!
I enjoyed the history lesson - short, sweet, great photos to add a sense of place.
Thanks so much Cindy!
Loved learning about St. Lucia. How do you know the word, fakakta?
Ha, your guess is as good as mine in terms of how my brain works 🤪. I’m guessing it’s maybe from a Jewish baseball coach I had growing up. He had lots of cool sayings.
There are some Yiddish words that are perfect in a some situations.
No doubt. I know I’ve got a few more buried in me somewhere, compliments of Mr. Balk 😊
Another fun one! Looking forward to your take on quantum computing.
Ha! Thanks Paul, I’ve got some researching to do if that one wins 😉
I went to St. Lucia about 8 years ago
& thought the history of the island being a pinball between England & France for so many years was fascinating. I had no idea before visiting.
Yeah me neither. I love finding out stuff like that when you get somewhere and aren’t expecting it.
Mmmmmmmmmm every land has its story 😮💨 I went to St. Lucia with my family a few years back, and was struck by how much forrest there was. Loved the history lesson as well!
Thanks Taylor! Yeah we were surprised by that as well. Hopefully we get to go back someday and check that part of the island out.
You learned more about the local island history than I typically have - I enjoyed the piece.
Thanks Bill!
This was a delightful read, Henny. I hope you'll do more of these travel journals.
And that photo is Goonie vibes for real! You should frame it!!
So glad you read it and liked it! Got another one planned for next month 👍🏼
St Lucia looks awesome! Didn’t know that about China / Taiwan competing over some of these Caribbean sovereign nations. Interesting.
It’s funny, I grew up on the East coast of the US and now living on the West coast. I look at St Lucia on a map now and it’s like Fiji was when I was growing up. Not as far ofc, just weird how the map bends based on where you stand.
Most definitely! It’s funny you mention Fiji. There is a resort there that was the inspiration for our trip to St Lucia. We picked St Lucia because of proximity.
I had one of the best vacations of my life in St Lucia. We didn’t stay on the beach, but at a cacao plantation in the forest. Paradise.
Wow that sounds amazing. We actually wondered if there were places to stay in the forest. We did that in Costa Rica a while back and it was very cool.
Thanks for the tip about footnotes -- I didn't know that! Also, was history the subject you taught when you were a teacher?
You’re welcome Moorea 👍🏼. Nope, I was a PE and health person. My love of history has really coincided with my love of reading…and both of those things didn’t really take root until I was well into adulthood.
That pic does have serious Goonies vibe
Right?!
As a former travel agent and someone with serious wanderlust, I totally vote for vacation travels for future pieces!
I’m wondering if you liked St. Lucia? When I went with my mom and sister in 2019, we rented an AirBnB. I’ve traveled to a fair amount of Caribbean islands because I’m addicted to snorkeling, but St. Lucia is probably my least favorite island I’ve visited.
Also, I don’t love the China control of the internet. Wondering…do you know what the other islands are who are connected to Taiwan/China.
Oh good, glad you are a fellow lover of traveling! We loved it, but in all honesty did not do much. Our hike that I described was pretty much our only time off property.
I love to snorkel! Not sure if it translates, but we met a couple that have come back numerous times to scuba dive there.
Regarding China & Taiwan, it is kind of a long story but Taiwan is its own country. And they are a legitimate democracy…so in terms of who to root for they are definitely the choice over China. And in reading about St Lucia, the Taiwanese have been more good faith in their efforts than the Chinese were.
I snorkeled a little bit at one spot in St Lucia, but it’s not that great. Bonaire, Turks & Caicos, Curaçao, St. John, Cayman, and Barbados all had decent if not amazing snorkeling.
Oh man now I’m jealous 🤣. I’ve been to Turks but none of the others! We are going to grand cayman at the end of the month. What’s been your favorite?
It’s probably tied between Bonaire and T&C. There are no real beaches with sand to speak of on Bonaire, but the reef surrounds the island on the west coast…so you can pretty much jump in and snorkel from many places from shore. But Grace Bay on Provo is the best beach I’ve ever been on!!! Such soft sand… ever had to wonder what I was telling on while swimming in the ocean. And it has the 3rd largest barrier reef in the world!
Ok that seals it, we need to go to Bonaire. Aruba is the only one of the abc islands we’ve been to, and it was awesome, but best beach you’ve ever been on is high praise!!
To be clear, Grace Bay is in T&C, not Bonaire. No good beaches on Bonaire. Bonaire is really for snorkelers and divers.