Day 17

 My day was DELICIOUS!

My cruise ship pulled into St. Lucia with a bright sun and an excellent view. We arrived at 10am and I just happened to be on the deck of the spa and had an actual bird’s eye view. 

My excursion in St Lucia was a cooking lesson on making chocolate plus an education on the local fruits and vegetables with tastes of their specialty dishes. Our first stop was at the Pink Plantation. We sampled fish cakes,  fried dough and fruits. The grounds were lush and tropical. I won the prize for knowing what most of the fruits were. I wasn’t any smarter than anyone else but I was willing to speak up. 

I could have lived at that place. It was so beautiful. Our next stop was at the Howelton Estate. We took winding roads to a lush location at the top of a hill near the Pitans. 

We learned how cacao grows, sucked on the seeds and witnessed the different phases of chocolate drying and preparing. Our lesson was hard work as our small group ground the cocoa nibs into a paste. We added a small amount of sugar and cocoa oil to finally make our 73% chocolate bars. As we waited for our chocolate bar to solidify we drank rum punch. 

My afternoon coffee in Al Bachio was an artful cappuccino. The waitress brought me a tiny lemon tart to go with my coffee!  At this point in the cruise, the staff begins to know you. I see the same workers at breakfast and dinner. I don’t enjoy drinking wine and they know that. Tonight they brought me a very rare bourbon and I truly enjoyed it with my filet. Tomorrow might be a salad day!!