Sunset cruise

The last couple of days have been great fun, splitting time between being tourists and "locals." We went on a sunset catamaran cruise, something I've never done before. Okay, it's touristy but it was fun!

One part of the cruise was a stop at Jalousie, one of the small bays along the Caribbean coast. We'd heard this was a great snorkel/dive site. Elaine got to snorkel there a couple of weeks ago and absolutely loved it. I admit I was a bit jealous of her going to Jalousie so I jumped at the chance to go. It was every bit as good as promised!

Jalousie Bay nestles between the two Pitons, the iconic volcanic plugs on the southwest coast of St Lucia. The Marine Reserve and snorkeling area is right at the base of Petit Piton, the smaller of the two plugs. The peak of Petit Piton is 743 meters (2,452 feet) above the sea. There is a narrow ledge along the edge of the bay then it plunges a hundred feet or more into the bay. Off the headland the plug drops who-knows-how-far into the depths of the Caribbean.

But along that edge there is so much to see!

Like so many of the bays along the coast of St Lucia, Jalousie is most easily reached by boat. Although all the beaches in St Lucia - including Jalousie - are public, a resort called Sugar Beach controls the land-side access to the beach. So not only do you have to navigate the roads to find it, you have to navigate/negotiate with the resort to get to it.

Much better to take the sunset cruise. You get to snorkel Jalousie and then drink rum punch and Piton beer while you watch the sun set and party your way back to Vigie!