Island Medicine, Part 2

Of course it wasn't all work while we were in St. Lucia. Our group managed to stay at a resort for 2 nights/3 days to relax.

One night, we went to dinner at an old sugarcane plantation called Balenbouche (French for bullet-in-mouth--apparently named for a duel that took place that didn't end well for someone!). The grounds were very pretty, and there was a small, black sand beach on the property.

Old still:

Black sand beach:

Same spot, minutes later:

We stayed at the Almond Smuggler's Cove Resort, which is on the north part of the island. It was three days of eating, which made up for all of the peanut butter and frozen lamb neck at the cafeteria during the weeks before!

The Brig Unicorn (apparently was in "The Pirates of the Caribbean"):

One of many lounging spots:

There are two prominent peaks in St. Lucia. Gros Piton is the taller of the two, but the climb is slightly easier (very steep, but you don't need ropes to pull yourself up). Petit Piton is not quite as high, but is a much more difficult trail.

View of Gros Piton from the bottom:

This hermit crab was found halfway up the mountain trail!

View of Petit Piton:

Strange-looking breadfruit tree:

It was a great two weeks. Unlike my experiences in a rural hospital in Alaska, here I felt like I was able to do more for people because although we had less medications to treat people with, we had access to surgeons. It was more what I think practicing medicine was like 20-30 years ago rather than just being a pit stop hospital, where pretty much everything and anything is flown out for a higher level of care. As for the vacation aspect, I would have liked more time to explore the island and to have gotten in some scuba diving, but it just didn't work out. The island itself is pretty small- something like less than 20 x 20 miles, so I don't know that I'll be returning.

The Long Walk

Well, I finally did it: last weekend I hiked the Grand Canyon! "The Phoenix" and I stayed in a hotel a few miles from the South Rim and then awoke early the next morning to start our hike. We hiked down South Kaibab Trail, crossed the Colorado River, and hiked out along the Bright Angel Trail. We had been talking about doing this for over a year now, and this hike is the reason I had been pushing myself to run further and further.

We went all the way down and back up in one day, which is highly discouraged by the park service. Despite all of our planning and preparation, we still ended up exhausted and overheated. We hiked from 7:30 am until 9 pm, with the last mile up being in the dark. For the next two days, my legs were so sore that I was hobbling about. Fortunately, neither of us ended up seriously injured, but I don't think that I would attempt a one-day hike again.

This is the start of the South Kaibab Trail:




South Kaibab Trail is very steep and without water, but fortunately a good portion of it was in the shade at the start.




Finally, we reached the river:


This is my proof that I went all the way:


This is near Bright Angel Campground, where we stopped to take advantage of the water supply, working toilet (!), and grab a quick lunch:


Desert squirrels are a little more scruffy looking than the beasts back home:


Taken along the Bright Angel Trail on the way up:



A small group of deer crossed our path. I guess we must not have looked very threatening by that point.


Final shots during sunset:


Although I was concerned about hiking in the heat of the day, there wasn't much we could do about it besides taking frequent short breaks. I couldn't really get heat conditioned either as it was simply too cool outside back home. What I didn't account for was hiking though that big of an elevation change. We were so exhausted by the end that breathing was labored, and we had to stop every hundred yards or so to catch our breaths.

It took us 4.5 hours to get to the bottom, where we rested for 30 minutes before our 8.5 hour hike out. The hike down was about 6 miles, with a mile crossing at the river, and a more gradual 9 mile hike out. We definitely underestimated the hike though, as it was way above our fitness level. Believe it or not, on the way up, there were actually a small group of men running up the canyon!

Best of all, "The Phoenix" and I are still friends and on speaking terms after this adventure.