Rain, Rain go away

They say Vancouverites don’t tan because they rust. That’s because of all the rain that falls in Vancouver in the Spring. I hear it’s not any better in Calgary because they forecast rain all this week. Two weeks ago when we were cruising Eastern Canada and New England, we were lucky to escape the rain on several occasions. Rain greeted us when we arrived in Montreal but after sailing away, it was sunny in Quebec City, Halifax, Charlottetown, Bar Harbor and Boston. We got rained on just one day, when we were in Sydney.

If and when you travel to St. Lucia, bring your umbrella. To avoid the rain, you might choose to go there between January to May because June to December is considered to be their wet season. Because of the rainforest, it practically rains everyday at the same time. When we were there, we would tour the island in the morning, do alittle shopping in Castries then by 4pm, it would pour. Around 6:00pm, the sky would clear up and the air gets humid.

The main attractions in St. Lucia include the world’s only drive-in volcano, botanical gardens, twin pitons and the soft sandy beaches. Getting around is easy with most tourists taking a cab between the resort and Castries market or by water taxi if you want to get to the beach. I do not recommend renting a car and driving yourself, unless you are ok with hair pin turns and wild island driving. 

The must-do activity is to take a catamaran down the west coast of St. Lucia. For about $90 per person, you board a catamaran and sail to the Soufriere area where you take in the drive-in volcano, waterfall and botanical gardens. As you sail in, you will see the two Pitons as they rise up from the ocean. People actually hike up and climb the Pitons. On your return sail, the catamaran will stop at Anse Cochon where you can do some swimming and snorkelling before sailing into Marigot Bay. The captain will tell you that pirates used to frequent this bay to hide their treasures. Nowadays, you see luxurious yachts from all the world in Marigot Bay.

If you want to visit St. Lucia for a day, find a Caribbean cruise that stops there. Otherwise, if you want to spend a week relaxing on the sandy beaches, you might want to look into a Sandals Resort.

Braving the Elements

When it comes to Kauai, don’t leave your umbrella at home because they don’t call it the Garden Isle for nothing. Considering the wettest spot on earth is in Kauai, you have to believe it when I tell you to bring all your waterproof gear if you plan to hike Mount Waialeal, take a catamaran tour to the Napali coast or to play golf at one of seven championship courses.

When I went to Kauai last month, I swapped out my windshirt for a good, heavy duty rain jacket with a hood. If I haven’t experienced a downpour in Kauai before, I would have just brought my normal golfing attire that consists of golf shirts, shorts and a light wind shirt. But experience served me well (when we were caught in a downpour last year) so to prevent history from repeating itself, I made sure I had all the waterproof gear stuffed in my golf bag.

On our first round, we played the municipal course in Kauai. It was a nice sunny day with a little breeze off the ocean. There were some clouds in the sky but they were offshore and far away. After we finished playing the first hole, Mike (a local resident) said to me that he thinks we’re going to get rained on. The clouds that were offshore, were now coming right for us. Mike said it will take a few minutes to hit us and he was right. In a couple of minutes, the clouds opened up and it poured on us. I scrambled to get my rain jacket out of my bag and luckily because it had a breathable lining, my upper body stayed dry. My shorts on the other hand, because it was exposed to the elements, was soaked right through. I didn’t bother to take out my storm pants and put it on. I was too concerned on getting my rain jacket on as soon as possible to keep from freezing in the rain. With the rain and wind coming off the ocean, it was actually quite cold. I had also wished I had a golf umbrella to keep my bag and clubs dry but stupid me, I didn’t want to lug a silly umbrella with me to Hawaii.

After five minutes, the rain stopped and we moved on to the next tee box. I took my rain jacket off and wrapped it around my golf bag to let it dry. My shorts were made out of micro fibre and were wet most of the day. The lessons I learned that day were:

1. Bring a good sized umbrella that is capable of taking wind gusts and can cover you and your golf bag.

2. Bring a waterproof storm pants that you can wear on top of your shorts.

3. Bring an extra pair of golf gloves, seal them in a zip lock bag to keep it dry.

4. Wear a golf shirt and shorts that are dri-fit or can easily dry if wet.

5. Don’t wear golf sandals in Kauai or if you do, don’t wear socks underneath.

I hope these tips will help you make your trip to Kauai more enjoyable. I know I will remember to follow them next year when we go again. I’m yet to get a dry round in one day at a place that gets over 460 inches of rain in a year.