Fire on Pigeon Island

The day started like many others. We had a light shower that gave us a beautiful rainbow over Rodney Bay, St. Lucia.

Yes, I know we've shown you lots of rainbows but who gets tired of this wonder of nature?

Not us.

At about 4:00 in the afternoon Jim spotted smoke across the bay on Pigeon Island. Pigeon Island is a national park with hiking trails and the remains of the fort where Admiral Rodney kept an eye on the French. There was a fire burning along the ridge and the wind was carrying it down the far slope toward the sea.

There was the occasional burst of flame as the trees caught fire.
We could even see hikers standing along the ridge watching the fire burn below them. We couldn't help but wonder how it started. There are no campfires and there was no lightening.

A cigarette perhaps?

Two days later we hiked to the fort to see the damage. Luckily there are no ruins in this part of the park, just trees and shrubs. The fire swept down to the ocean and burned itself out.

The air had that charred, smokey smell as we walked the ridge above where the fire was and there were dust devils of ash blowing in the wind. I guess it's up to Mother Nature to make it beautiful again.

It looks like the seas are moderating so we'll be heading north on Wednesday. It's a short weather window so we'll have to keep moving past Martinique, Dominica and Guadeloupe stopping only to sleep. We should be in Falmouth Harbour, Antigua on Saturday in plenty of time to celebrate Christmas.