In our fourth and final article on St. Lucia, we explore Reduit Beach and the lovely Harmony Marina Suites.

Reduit Beach

Reduit Beach is situated on the northern end of St. Lucia, on the shores of Rodney Bay.

Life is a beach.

Life is a beach.

As with most beaches we explore in St. Lucia, it is relatively empty, especially when compared to the beaches of Southern California.

A beach umbrella.

A beach umbrella.

Someone has thoughtfully constructed an umbrella made of palm fronds. Nice.

Taking a stroll.

Taking a stroll.

The friendly folks under the tent are preparing to provide massages to massage-needing folks. They offer one to me, but I decline, as I have no money with me. Because I have no where to keep it.

Would you look at that!

Would you look at that!

This is one of those hotels we talked about in our last article. It is abandoned, yet is valuable beach-front property.

Paradise lost.

Paradise lost.

This place was probably once the pride of Rodney Bay.

Another abandoned hotel.

Another abandoned hotel.

I continue my stroll down the almost-empty beach.

Another paradise lost.

Another paradise lost.

I am hopeful that, in a few years, this location will again be filled with happy people.

It's a bit windy here.

It’s a bit windy here.

Chairs with umbrellas have been set out, yet remain empty. Maybe this is the off-season…

Another view of the beach and the ocean.

Another view of the beach and the ocean.

Think of all the people packed like sardines on beaches around the world. They could be in St. Lucia instead.

Finally, some people!

Finally, some people!

There are hotels at this end of the beach, so there are a few more people out here enjoying the wonderful weather.

There is something strange here...

There is something strange here…

That fellow is reading a book, old-school style, by purchasing a physical, made-of-paper item wherein the pages must be turned rather than swiped. Weird, right?

More umbrellas.

More umbrellas.

Even though it’s fun to be in the sun, St. Lucia is only 15 degrees north of the equator, and the sun burns skin quickly.

The catch of the day.

The catch of the day.

We told our friend we would highlight Marie’s Fish Shack and Cool Drinks Bar, but it is closed, so I want to take a photograph of the sign, but first I have to move this chair out of the way.

There we go!

There we go!

Now you can easily see that this is where you can get the catch of the day. Yum!

Harmony Marina Suites

Harmony Marina Suites is a family owned hotel in Saint Lucia that specializes in making patrons feel warm and welcome. Harmony is a boutique hotel and is perfect for couples on their honeymoons.”

To be fair, the rooms are small by American standards. But, they are okay by European and island standards. Everything else in that sentence is true.

Welcome!

Welcome!

This is where we are staying for the next week, so let’s take a look around, shall we?

Come on in.

Come on in.

This hallway is always open. They just close the doors on the left and right sides at night.

On the hotel's grounds.

On the hotel’s grounds.

Once inside, there are plants everywhere — just like you’d expect on a tropical island.

What's this?

What’s this?

I see a small snail crawling on the bricks, and notice the snail trail. Finding hidden treasures is fun!

A garden of earthly delights.

A garden of earthly delights.

Being here makes me happy!

Everything is green.

Everything is green.

I follow the path, wondering where it will lead.

A community area, with no community.

A community area, with no community.

The hotel has thoughtfully provided a space for people to sit together on soft cushions.

Leaf me alone.

Leaf me alone.

I see there is a bit of cleaning that needs to be done. Well, in the tropics, that’s always the case.

Paying attention to detail.

Paying attention to detail.

There are many small leaves and such on these cushions, and I diligently remove them. I don’t want to get anything up where it shouldn’t be, if you catch my drift.

Taking extra precautions.

Taking extra precautions.

I brush off the final bits with my towel until it is spotless.

Ready to go!

Ready to go!

As a courtesy, I lay my towel down on the cushion. Snail trail, and all that….

Ready!

Ready!

Finally, I can relax in the warm island air.

Relaxin'.

Relaxin’.

There is nothing quite like a warn, tropical day.

Hmmmmmm....

Hmmmmmm….

You know, now that I sit here for a while, I think the sun might be too much for my delicate skin. Perhaps I should find a shadier spot.

Try, try again.

Try, try again.

I should have thought of this in the first place. I need a bit of shade here in the tropics.

Keepin' cool.

Keepin’ cool.

Fortunately, I have with me a cooling towel. I hate it when I get dripping wet.

They don't make this easy.

They don’t make this easy.

It is surprisingly difficult to get on one of these chairs.

Relaxin', again.

Relaxin’, again.

Now I can lay here and enjoy the day for a while.  Zzzzzzzzzzzz.

It's a jungle out there!

It’s a jungle out there!

After a while, I continue my exploration of the ground. You never know what you might find.

Pretty.

Pretty.

These flowers have colors that include ultraviolet and so seem a bit smudged in the photograph. But, in real life, they are not smudged.

Another path leading somewhere.

Another path leading somewhere.

This hotel is not very large, but there are many sidewalks and pathways.

A little hideaway by the bay.

A little hideaway by the bay.

I follow the sidewalk and it leads me to a small sitting area near the water.

Smiling in the sun.

Smiling in the sun.

It’s a bit too sunny and warm here, too. But I must admit that I enjoy sitting on hard things sometimes…it kinda feels good down there….

At ease, sailor.

At ease, sailor.

This is the dock associated with the hotel. The hotel hosts a scuba boat that takes divers out every morning and, with luck, brings them back every afternoon.

Wearing my Docks.

Wearing my Docks.

The breeze on the bay cools me off. The material of my dress is a bit thin, so it feels like I’m wearing almost nothing.

Up to our room.

Up to our room.

These stairs lead to our room. My husband, always the gentleman, insists I go up the stairs ahead of him.

Our balcony.

Our balcony.

This is the balcony of our room. You know it’s ours because you can see the pretty petals.

Enjoying the view.

Enjoying the view.

The view up here is very nice. This is why we prefer higher rooms when we stay at hotels.

Smile!

Smile!

I hope you enjoyed our tour of the grounds at Harmony Marina Suites!

Homeward Bound

Sadly, it’s time to end our vacation and return home. We will miss this little island.

Everyone's favorite adult store.

Everyone’s favorite adult store.

We will miss Lick’d, where we bought a sex toy and our weed.

You go, girl.

You go, girl.

We will miss all the posters of Julien Alfred, the fastest woman on earth.

Yummy.

Yummy.

We will miss the pretty island girls.

A babe by the bay.

A babe by the bay.

We will miss the bay and all the warm, sunny days.

Hat's off to St. Lucia.

Hat’s off to St. Lucia.

So we drive back to the airport on the wrong side of the car and the wrong side of the road. We check our bags and get through security.

Lounging.

Lounging.

Then we go to the lounge and wait. Yes, they charge too much for lounge access, but, what the heck. We are still on vacation, so we don’t worry about it.

Waiting...for what?

Waiting…for what?

Right on schedule, we show the ticket person our boarding pass and head out the door…to wait in line for about twenty minutes. We don’t know why we are waiting, but the weather is nicer here than where we are going, so we don’t complain.

One last look.

One last look.

It’s always peaceful when you get this high up.

The eye of the storm.

The eye of the storm.

There is some kind of weather pattern happening down there. So we are happy to be up here. Also, those guys are right! The earth really is flat!

Airplane food.

Airplane food.

Not quite island food, is it? Back to reality.

It takes too long—it always fees that way—until we finally climb out of the Uber and are home.

The end.

The end.

Our house-sitters have left us a small gift. And this is why we love our house-sitters.

awa Travels Tip: With these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes, nothing remains quite the same.—Jimmy Buffett