Parents!

I'm in the middle (past the middle now I guess... sigh) of my parents visit and it's wonderful. My parents are extremly.... let's say "mobile" people. They aren't really into "hanging out" or "relaxing" as most people do it. Instead, they focus on getting as much out of an experience and/or opportunity as possible. I'm the same way when I travel, so it hasn't been an idealogical conflict, but boy has it been tiring!

I've been on vacation on the island with my parents for 6 days now, and I think we've hit almost all the major tourist activities that you can do here. So far we've:

1. Hiked the British fort ruins on Pigeon Island
2. Gone to the sulfur mud bathes
3. Hiked the Tet Paul nature trail
4. Snorkeled in Anse Conche
5. Traveled to the French island, Martinique
6. Sampled most of the popular local eateries
7. Ziplined in Dennery
8. Checked out fabric shops (this one was more for my mom)
9. Shopped at the craft market's in Castries

I'm not sure what's left to do!

I have a car!

So a bunch of stuff has happened.

The weird thing about working in a foreign country, as opposed to just traveling, is that most days are like the days before them. Five days out of seven I go to work, go home, make dinner and go to sleep, repeat. It's a lot like being at home, but warmer. The result is that I rarely feel the need to blog about my adventures because, well, I don't have that many!

I'm also getting sick of the bums on the main tourist drag (that I have to walk down to get to the grocery store) asking me for money. Why don't you remember that I NEVER give you anything? I've been here for a month and a half! You must have seen me before. I'm pretty sure that I'm the only person on this island that looks kind of Mexican.

So anyway, about those things.

I went to Marigot Bay and Soufriere the previous couple of weekends. Both beautiful spots.

Marigot Bay is a little upscale for my tastes, but that's okay sometimes. It's almost exclusively yachters and people who can afford to stay in the upscale Marigot Bay Hotel (starts at $600 a night, but it looks nice). So very high end in all. But a nice spot, and there IS a little, weird guesthouse I got a tour of (without any prompting on my side, by the way) that has tourist and resident rates. Since I technically live here, I get the resident rate, so if you want to stay in Marigot let me know, and I'll hook you up.

Another little detail of St. Lucia life is the tourist and resident rates for many services. Every where you travel you know there's the "tourist" price and the "local" price (there's also the "Isreali" price, which they negotiate to be lower than the local price, and is annoying). But I never knew that it was actually an enshrined thing. In St. Lucia it seems to be an official thing, and they will tell you outright what the resident and tourist prices are.

Which came up the following weekend, when we went to Soufriere. Soufriere is a little town nestled in a valley just before the Pitons. The Pitons are two dormant volcanoes that are the two primary natural landmarks in St. Lucia. I went with my boss, his wife and the wife's folks. I'm getting tired of writing, so I'll just say it was great, we went snorkeling and hung out on the beach.

Oh, and the reason for the title of this post! My boss dropped off the company car, so for the first time in St. Lucia I can go where ever I want, when ever I want! I'm going to go to Mega J's. It's like Costco.

I also got a new place! More on that later...