Exploring St Lucia[Part 2]

Mary and I sailed south from Rodney Bay to Harmony Bay a couple of miles from Soufriere the former capital of St Lucia. Here Mary was able to try out her own new snorkeling gear. There isn't much interesting coral but there is enough fish life to make it worth the effort.

A few years ago Hotel Chocolate bought the Rabot Estate with the aim of rebuilding cocoa farming on the island which went into decline as banana growing increased. They want to produce their own estate grown chocolate and are investing in new trees and processing facilities at the same time selling trees at cost to the local farmers. The trees produce beans suited to make the finest dark chocolate. To verify the the quality of the trees they raise, Reading University analyses samples using DNA technology. Mary and I had the incredible luck to be able to tack on to the last but one guided tour of the estate booked a long time ago.

At one stage of the tour we were shown how grafting is done to maintain the quality of the trees. Mary produced one which will be planted with her name on it!

We walked the 2 miles down hill to the anchorage stopping at the famous Ladera Hotel for a fruit cocktail which has the most spectacular view of the Pitons.