Oria/Cuba 2001 - Oria - Soufriere

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See also my Cuba 2000 page

Another day of smooth sailing (actually motoring this time, since the wind was nonexistent) took us from Marigot Bay to Soufrière, a little town at the foot of the two Pitons. These mountains, around 800m high, rise steeply directly from the sea. They are the island's landmarks, depicted on everything from the national flag to the local beer, incidentally named Piton.

Anse Chastanet, where my parents stayed in 1992	The village of Soufrière	Sailing towards the Pitons	To the left is the Petit Piton, right the Gros Piton (it looks smaller because it's further away)
Benny's place is right at the foot of the Petit Piton	Lion Joe intercepted the Oria	He would help us with mooring the boat. For a hefty fee, of course	Anchoring is forbidden due to the coral reef (and to make money from mooring fees, Joe said), so we had to moor to a palm tree
A Swiss boat moored next to the Oria	Steve and Skipper Joe on their way to Benny's	Benny's restaurant and bar in its paradise setting	The parrot is fake, but the splendid view isn't
Benny's Babaorum on Harmony Beach	One of the most beautiful spots I've been to	You can climb the Petit Piton in about 5 hours	The next day, the wind flipped our dinghy, soaking the engine
It took Joe 15 minutes and some disassembly to get it running again	Meanwhile, Lion Joe took us to Soufrière to get rid of the garbage and do some shopping	The poor fishermen's houses were devastated by the flood of 2000	St. Lucia is a very expensive island, but still there seems to be poverty
We were picked up for a night out between the pitons. The night before, Tico, the driver, fell off the boat drunk. Very reassuring!	Colonial-style houses on the café. Unfortunately, the promised steel band stopped just when we arrived	Elephant statue in the bar that belongs to Lord Glenconner, Princess Margaret's closest friend	Monica, myself, Steve, Joe, Gina and Boris on our night out

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Pictures by Thomy and Steve, Text by Thomy - Feedback should be directed at thomas@voirol.com