At 6:15 we woke up and walked out onto the balcony into the beautiful morning glaze in the sky - it is a sunny day! We quickly dressed and caught the 6:45 shuttle to the Regency. We were the only two passengers at that hour of the morning and the island was still asleep. The road was almost empty and traffic moved at a good clip. We arrived around 7:30. Instead of eating breakfast, we decided to tee off right away. The pro shop staff recognized us and called out to Shervy, who promptly came out with his usual big smile. I have to say most people we met in St Lucia are truly happy. No one could put on a pretense for that long and with that much persistence.
We teed off into the morning sun, when the dewy mist was just lifting from the drowsy rain forest. I was having a bad game but a great day all the same. The air was warm and moist, the sun heating up our backs and Shervy was his usual sweet and attentive self. Kenny won the round that day and beat me by 7 strokes. We took full delight in appreciating the course in bright sunlight. Dew drops were still glistening on the bank of the ravines and leaves made a squishing sound under our feet when pressed into the wet meadow.
We walked back to the main lobby and had a quick coffee while waiting for the 10 am shuttle. The shuttle was very full as many people go to the Grande to use the calm beach. By10:45 we were back at the Grande. We had a proper breakfast at the Bayside and headed to the beach. Our concierge has reserved a cabana for us and we quickly found it, with a sign that said "Mr & Mrs Lauzon" hanging on the side. The cabanas are covered square huts along the beach. They are open on all four sides with white linen drapes that can be let down to keep out the sun. The large wooden platform in the hut are comfortably accommodating, with two lounge seats and plenty of room around all around. One can lay back in the cabana to enjoy the beach scenes without worrying about getting a sunburn. Cabana staff bustled about, taking food and drink orders for the guests. In this hot weather, all I wanted was water. I don't understand how Kenny could knock back glass after glass of fruit punch - one of his favourite Caribbean drinks with various types of fruit juices and an entire banana, made in a blender with ice.
It was a glorious day with blazing sun and the ocean is bluer than ever. I went for a very long swim and again felt extremely reluctant to leave the water. Meanwhile, Kenny dozed off after his morning golf victory and too many fruit punches. The wifi reception on the beach was amazingly good so I was able to check my emails and chat a bit with friends online. The cabana was reserved until 1 pm and we were sad to leave it. Oh well, another day.
I really wanted to try some wafer sports so we walked down to the dive shop and asked for a hobbie cat. A hobbie cat is a small catamaran with a sail. We have never tried it before so we asked for a lesson. Our instructor was an 18-year-old young boy names Jenai. Kenny wasn't too sure he wanted to learn how to sail so I took the initiative. Jenai showed me how to loosen and tighten the sail and how to steer the rudder. Although the hobbie cat was extremely simple to operate, it is however not easy to master. You have to always put your weight on the side where the wind comes from so you balance out the force on the sail. You have to angle your sail in such a way that it catches the wind, otherwise the cat would just stall. In strong winds, a tight sail gives more speed but when the wind is calm, you need to loosen it up if you want to go faster. All turns must be made in the counterclockwise direction with a very tight sail and you need to quickly shift to the opposite side of the cat before the turn is complete. All this while avoiding the boats docked in the bay and other cats and sea kayaks. It required full attention at all times and alertness. When we got to the middle of the bay, the wind started to blow in circles and even Jenai had trouble getting the cat to move in the right direction. I was so thankful that we had a guide as we would have been stuck in the middle of the ocean if we were by ourselves. Jenai told us this week two of the cats tipped over and they had to fetch the guests in a speedboat. It was quite an interesting experience.
Hobbie Cat sailing - not an easy feat
Fully exhausted after our sailing, we dropped in at Barefoot by the Sea and said hi to our kind waitress whom we met the day before, Tricia, and had a bite to eat. The pork ribs were scrumptious and even the potatoes tasted good for our ravenous appetites. Still covered in the saltiness from the sea, we went for the sauna again. The shower afterwards felt simply heavenly as we got ready to experience Kimono's at the Regency.
A light rain has started to fall and soon thickened. The Regency is the largest resort on the island and there are mini-shuttles that transport guests between the main lobby and the many restaurants on the premise. Kimono's is built on the side of the mountain in the true fashion of a Japanese cabin. It features traditional Japanese table cooking. We were sat at a table with 4 other couples and quickly got to know the two beside us - Jeff and Karim, two newly-weds from Chicago. About 70% of the people we met at Sandals were there for their honeymoon. Looking at them made Kenny and I feel somewhat old. Our chef is a local man who has the most wicked sense of humour. All night he was doing tricks, juggling knives and spatulas in the air and tossing all sorts of food and catching them with laser precision. He also played a game with our new-found friend Jeff where Jeff had to catch a piece of egg that he throws at him. He made up a name for Jeff - Eduardo. He nicknamed another guest "Sensei Grasshopper". He was really more entertaining than many comics I have seen. At one point, he brought out a cup of "magic" (suspect it was just zambuka), lit it on fire and started eating it. He then lit up the shrimps and pineapple rings to sear them. He advised us not to try it at home with a very straight face. He said that's how he became black for he used to be Japanese! I laughed so hard I had tears rolling down my face! I cannot remember the last time that I had such a great Japanese meal. By the end of the night, I have picked up his motto "nice" with a very exaggerated "Ni" sound. It was just really "NNNNNICE".
Our comedian chef
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