In a (coco)nut shell

Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th January Days 29 and 30

It has occurred to me that this necklace of islands, although full of jewels with their own particular shine, are somewhat the same, so I won’t tell you what our next two excursions to St Lucia and Barbados entailed. 
Save as to say, that they both had the same things to offer in respect of scenery, golden beaches and forts that changed hands when somebody spotted a flag flying that wasn’t theirs from either the French or British navy, right up until the Treaty of Paris in 1763, or sometime later in 1828 when all the Grenadines were ceded to Britain.
I was unable to get access to the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown Barbados, so perhaps some other time. 
We did get to visit and walk around Sunbury Plantation House though.
At around 300 hundred years old this big Georgian house was fully furnished and gave a vivid impression of life, for the owners at least, on a sugar estate in the 18th and 19th centuries.

These islands have certainly sold themselves over the years shouting far louder than their size.. 
They are mere specs in the ocean which without the trade in spices, sugar and bananas, over the centuries would just be small islands created out of volcanic activity, and in one case Barbados, pure coral. 
In fact I would go as far as to say that without these islands and their seeds, the Indian sub continent could well be somewhat poorer than it is today.
There are only eight inhabited islands of the 32 islands and cays, which I now understand is effectively any piece of rock that shows above the sea surface! 
All suffer 25-30% unemployment and in many, tourism is the mainstay of the economy. 
St Lucia  and Barbados being the most popular and if I fancied a lazy break would be return destinations.

As I write this, we are in a force six/seven with grey clouds overhead, we have now travelled around 8000 nautical miles and are at sea until Wednesday afternoon 10th February when we arrive in Horta in the Azores, where we shall stay one day and move onto Ponta Delagarda for another day before the homeward cruise over five more days at sea.
Arriving at Tilbury on the 16th at 7am.