St. Lucians are passionate about their politics. But it’s not just St. Lucian politics that interest them. They were intrigued, as many people around the world were, by the U.S. Presidental election.
The fact that an African American had a shot at the job made them very proud. Many people sported Obama T-shirts and buttons. There were celebrations the night he was elected and the newspapers for days afterwards were filled with stories about Obama and the impact his being elected will have on St. Lucia. It was noted that Obama likes to read poetry by St. Lucia’s literary pride and joy, Derek Walcott, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992. And one commentator wondered if Walcott would be invited to the inauguration. No one was happier than Claudia at the market. Obama’s picture is still proudly displayed at her stall. The morning after the election, she grabbed my hand and said “The world is going to change. Black and White people will work together. The world will be a better place.”
The fact that an African American had a shot at the job made them very proud. Many people sported Obama T-shirts and buttons. There were celebrations the night he was elected and the newspapers for days afterwards were filled with stories about Obama and the impact his being elected will have on St. Lucia. It was noted that Obama likes to read poetry by St. Lucia’s literary pride and joy, Derek Walcott, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992. And one commentator wondered if Walcott would be invited to the inauguration. No one was happier than Claudia at the market. Obama’s picture is still proudly displayed at her stall. The morning after the election, she grabbed my hand and said “The world is going to change. Black and White people will work together. The world will be a better place.” 
Down the road from the market, there’s a pretty little hotel near Castries called Auberge Seraphine. Business travellers often stay there because it’s quite close to the airport in the north end of the Island. The restaurant, which a view of Seraphine Harbor, is supposed to be quite good. What the hotel is most famous for however, are the egrets that nest in trees nearby.
If you stay in room 303, you can look off your balcony and see hundreds of birds nesting. They’re fluffy and white and resemble big snow balls. We’ve seen them on several occasions and there are often baby birds in the nests. Another place to spot the egrets is next to cows in fields along the side of the road. They feed off the insects on the cows and there’s usually one egret for each cow. 
And in the “Isn’t that weird category…” we took our friends to lunch at “The Still” an old sugar plantaion in Soufriere. It was taking awhile for our food to come so we explored the property a little bit to keep Tomas, the two year old, occupied. We found some turtles that the restaurant keeps as pets…at least we hope they’re pets. You have to wonder if they built the walkway to match this turtle…or if the turtles coloring changed to match his environment. In either case…it’s a perfect match.
