The Sleeping Tourist

Happy Easter everyone! Easter is the beginning of spring, and the delightful tastes it has to offer. Below is a recipe for Jamaican Easter Buns, a delicious island experience. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ozs margarine
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs honey
1/2 cup stout
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tspn baking powder
1 egg
4 Tbs raisins
4 Tbs Currants
1 Tbs mixed peel
2 Tspns mixed spices

Melt margarine, sugar, honey & stout on a low flame, stirring.
Sift flour and baking powder and spices
Add beaten egg, fruit and cooled melted mixture.
Mix well. Pour into a greased and lined 1lb tin and bake at 350c for approx. 45 minutes or until done.

Enjoy!!!

Do you have a delicious island recipe? Please send your recipes to contact@thesleepingtourist.com, we will be happy to not only try them, but showcase them!

Painted in white and bright yellow, the Victorian mansion named Howelton House is now the home of a Batik enterprise which demonstrates this fabric art! Visitors get to see how wax is applied to cotton to prevent coloration of specific areas before the material is dyed. The process is then repeated until the entire design is completed. Batik is a very detailed and painstaking work of art. The colors and details of the art created by Caribelle Batik is fabulous!

Shopping for the high-quality designs is part of the visit. Buy a shirt, a beach wrap, or even a frame worthy Batik “print”. Orchid gardens on the grounds overlook Castries below this mountain called Morne Fortune. The view is as beautiful as the handmade batik artwork. A must for the artist, or art lover to visit! Batik is an unconventional artwork, and an island tradition.

We spent a lovely Sunday on Reduit Beach last Sunday, and recommend this spot as one of the great beaches for relaxing! Take in the rays on the white sand beach and enjoy a rum punch! This beach is narrow, but long enough to take a nice stroll along the waters edge. The water is beautiful and perfect for swimming, or trying out any of the various water sports available. Chairs and umbrellas are available.

A Sleeping Tourist Tip: The beer and drinks are rather expensive at the beach front restaurant and bar. Stroll a few steps down the beach, and find the very small local beach front bar, I don’t know if it even has a name… You can’t miss it! Beer and local Rum Punch are half the price! The locals have lunch there and enjoy the view. You can find beer, punch, snacks, as well as anything else you might be looking for in St. Lucia!

There just isn’t a better way to end the day than a champagne sunset catamaran cruise. Last night we sailed into the sunset on board a beautiful catamaran. We enjoyed the unimaginable beauty of the St. Lucia skyline, sipping champagne and savoring the light hor d’oeuvres as the romance and magnificence of the evening surrounded us. The seas are tranquil, and this is something everyone should do at least once. Many tour companies offer these tours, and the prices are reasonable for the experience! You are typically looking at $40-$60 per person, not bad for such a lasting vacation memory! Whether you are in St. Lucia, or visiting a different Caribbean destination, this is a must!

Yesterday we were lucky enough to start our day with a tour of The National Rain Forest, in St. Lucia. The hike is a nature lover’s dream! Thick ferns, birds of paradise, and exotic plants and birds fill the rainforest. Hiking in the beautiful rainforest is essential to any trip to St. Lucia, as it is one of the islands greatest natural assets! This remote, wild and unbelievably scenic four mile loop trail takes you deep into the Central Rainforest Reserve. Enbas Saut means “below the falls” and the trail ends at two cascading waterfalls with pools at the head of the Troumasse River. We took a cool dip and looped back up the trail to end where we began. The sights an sounds of the rainforest are something you just can’t miss!

The peaks of Piton Canarie, Piton Troumassee and Mount Gimie stands not too far from the trail. You can catch a spectacular view of the Pitons against the lush tropical background as you head towards the entrance to the trail.

It is an offense under the Forest Soil and Water Conservation Ordinance Act to attempt to access trails without the express permission from the Forest and Lands Department.

Arrival, George F. L. Charles Airport, St. Lucia! I am here and ready to celebrate the long weekend. 80º and feeling good!

I will be posting daily about the best things I have found to do while in St. Lucia!

But right now…check in…find a drink…then the beach…

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…..

After arriving home from a Carnival cruise, have you ever wished you were back in your comfortable bed on the ship? Your dreams can come true with the new “Carnival Comfort Bed” sleep system, which is now available for purchase! On my last cruise aboard the Carnival Triumph, I looked forward to getting into that bed each and ever night! And believe me, I am one for nightlife! But the bed, the linens, everything about it is just…magical. Now you can purchase the bed and accessories, and have that pampered vacation feeling all year long! Visit www.carnivalcomfortcollection.com to learn more and buy the luxurious bed that will turn your bedroom into a stateroom!!

Made by Simple Shoes, these are the most comfortable and eco- friendly flip-flops this side of the Caribbean! These shoes use water-based cements, ship in a biodegradable bag, and Simple Shoes uses 100% post consumer paper pulp foot forms. The soles are made from tires that would normally be sent to a landfill. Complete with the Stop Global Warming logo, your friends at Simple donate 5 bucks to StopGlobalWarming.org for each pair of Stop Global Warming Toepeeka flip-flops sold from their website! These are great for city tours, walking tours, and trips to the beach. Perfect for every vacation scenario, these are a must while traveling throughout the Caribbean and abroad!!!

Speaking of St. Lucia, it is hot and sunny there, despite the fact that it is February! Just one more reason to go! We have complied a list of our favorite sunscreens - the best we have come across!

1. The first sunscreen you should try is Coppertone SPF 45 original sun block lotion. Coppertone has been the leader in sunscreen for decades, and this is their best seller. The SPF 45 is perfect if you are going to send long hours in the sun as it also has PARSOL 1789 for extra UVA protection. The Coppertone SPF 45 is waterproof and also has aloe and vitamin E for moisturizing. The Coppertone SPF 45 is definitely for those skin types that are fair or burn easily.

2. If you are a little more active, then you should try Panama Jack Surf N’ Sport sunscreen. It goes on thick and is waterproof, so it won’t run and you won’t have to reapply if you go in the water or get sweaty from being in the sun. The SPF 15 Surf N’ Sport will protect you from UVA and UVB rays, and is preferred by athletes, surfers, and anyone working in the sun for long periods of time.

3. The cheapest sunscreen you can get is the No-Ad SPF 15. Although a 16 fl. Oz. Bottle will run only a few dollars, the product works great and still gets the job done. The No-Ad can be found at places like K-Mart and Wal-Mart so it is cheap and easy to find. Even though it’s cheap, it still is waterproof and sweatproof and provides up to 80 minutes of protection. An added bonus is the aloe, cocoa butter, and vitamin E that are mixed in to keep your skin soft and radiant. Visit their website at www.no-ad.com for purchases and more information.

Did You Know?
The highest SPF you can buy is 80!

Welcome to The Sleeping Tourist Blog! We are pleased to announce our new blog shortly before our trip to St. Lucia! Check back to hear about our travels, The Sleeping Tourist do’ s and don’ts , and of course all of the things you muse experience while traveling to the beautiful Caribbean Island of St.Lucia.