St. Lucia, beyond the resorts

Most of the Global Volunteers’ work took place in Anse La Raye, which was about a 20 minute ride from our hotel in Marigot Bay.

Permit me to give you a tour of this sweet little town.  First a history lesson from the town square.  Sorry about the wire–I figured I’d better not mess with anything electrical!

We were in Anse La Raye during Lent, which meant that the fish fry described above was not as festive and exciting as it normally is, so none of us attended.

Here’s what the rest of the square looks like.

The first Sunday of our visit, the  Volunteers were introduced to the congregation.  During the service,  we were asked to stand and the entire congregation applauded for us, making us feel so very welcome.

Seems no matter where you go in the world, you can always find caffeinated, sugary drinks.

Here’s Edith leaving one of the town’s two bakeries.  This one has delicious rolls that you can get early in the morning, before starting work.

Then at noon time, Edgar has some wonderful creations.  I particularly liked his coconut squares.   And yes, that IS a NY Yankees cap that he is wearing!

Although the town lacks billboards, there is no shortage of inspirational messages.

For lack of a better name, we referred to this place as the “Bounty Rum”.  It was a gathering spot where we could get coffee, water, fruit juice and snacks.  We were always working, so we never got around to sampling any of the place’s name sake.

And while we are on the subject of food, this is the local ice cream store, where you can get a cone for $1 EC, or about $0.40 US.

Remember how clean the children are?  That is not something easily accomplished.  As we strolled through town we would often see uniforms hanging out to dry.  Recognize the little red skirt?  That’s the bottom half of the Kid Step uniform.

These ladies are working in the local open air laundry,  right by the ocean.  Talk about putting things into perspective–when I do laundry, I just press buttons!

This woman doesn’t need to go to the gym.  She got those muscles in her arms by scrubbing clothes.   Notice the wonderful smiles on these very gracious ladies. 

Right next to the laundry is the market for souvenirs.

The lady on the right told me if I bought something from her, she’d give me a very BIG smile.  This was not a problem, because I was trying to buy a little something at each stall anyway.

After chatting with them, I learned that they are sisters, and that I had been working with their little girls during my week at Kiddie Homey Day care.

Here are their daughters, Starr and Gladice.

Not every vendor can afford a store or a booth, so they spread their wares on a blanket on the street.

Below is the public shower and toilet for  town residents that don’t have indoor plumbing.  It is right across the street from Kid Step Day Care.  The facility  lacks a bathroom for adults, having only a toilet for the children, so the staff suggested that the volunteers  go next door to use the bathroom at Kiddies Homey Day Care.  The staff, however, used the public toilet. 

The town also had its share of beautifully decorated, well maintained homes.

I’ll end this post with the Primary School’s Motto, which tells you a lot about the spirit of the people with whom we came in contact.