Published on Jan, 2024
Hiking the Pitons - “Unfinished Business”
This review is at the request of Ada McGlone Lester.
We booked a private tour through St. Lu Taxis and Tours. Upon exiting the ship promptly at 9:30am, we made our way to the taxi area where our driver Richard had a sign with our last name. We quickly found his van and off we went. The drive is around 1 hour and 45 minutes. Inasmuch as we watched YouTube videos to be adequately prepared, a time constraint was not one of the pre-excursion factors. Richard, who was born on St. Lucia, but also served in the US Army, was full of information on the island as well as the surrounding islands. Over our three hours in the van round trip, we learned more about St. Lucia than our prior two visits combined. As a side note, we took the ‘eastern’ route there and ‘western’ route back, which you can see on the maps screenshot I took at the beginning of the trail.
We arrived at the base of the Pitons and were assigned a guide that works for the Foundation. It’s $50 a person to hike and that money is used for everything down to guide uniforms. Of the 3,200+ passengers onboard, a grand total of 6 (including us as 2) attempted to make the climb. This should have been a sign, but being a dumb American this was our DESTINY.
Our Guide Abigail showed us the washroom, made sure we had an adequate amount of water and off we went…
The trail is broken down into 4 quarters, each becoming progressively more difficult as you make the trek. Leaving at 11:22am and having to be back to our van no later than 3:00pm we had 3 hours and 38 minutes to climb the mountain. At this point you fully comprehend what 2 hours up and 2 hours down AT A GOOD PACE really means…
At the first 1/4 stopping point we knew. You slowly start working through the five stages of grief as your body gets worn down, you are sweating more than you are drinking water and the usage of your hands on the rocks increases. But between 1/4 and 1/2 you still have HOPE. And while hope is a powerful thing, it can only take you so far in the game of the Pitons.
After a long hour+ grind we made it to the 1/2 way point were ran into 3 out of 4 of our fellow cruisers. The lone 1 was giving their all to making it to the top. At this point Abigail had to break us the news this was it. Mathematics was not our friend and we could go no further. Nooooo! I tried the stage of bargaining to little reception and slowly worked my brain into the final stage, acceptance. This was it, if we continue, make it to the top, hopefully, and miss the ship all aboard time. Nooooo!
After a few pictures with a stunning view, back down we started… Now going down has its own set of challenges, but we made it with one break.
Once we said our goodbye's to our trusted guide, we named this adventure “unfinished business” as we will be returning to complete the task. Richard got us back to our ship and after a second set of goodbye’s and a thank you for his service to our Country we hit a couple shops and back on the ship. Upon arriving to our cabin, our incredible Head Butler AG had a much needed cheese plate waiting. Sometimes it really pays to share your upcoming plans.
This is being written at the Martini Bar before we give Fine Cut on The Beyond a try. Another food review to come later… Cheers from The Beyond where the score is Pitons: 1 Us: 0.
Safe travels…