My first goal today was to get gas for my scooter so I would not have to worry about running out on the less populated side id the island. I wasn't sure if I would go all the way around, but I did intend to go to two former plantations, where I might have stayed and of course, the botanical garden.
I didn't know before I left that Princess Diana had stayed at Montpelier right after she separated from Charles in 1993, for those of you royal followers. All I knew was it looked lovely but seemed a bit over th top on pricing. I figured I should go see what I missed.
The first road that I found to it was incredibly steep uphill and I didn't feel confident taking my scooter up, so I back tracked to another way and found a slightly less steep approach. Yikes. It was lovely and clearly they have restored some of the original buildings. The sugar mill tower was still standing, too. The views while pretty did not rival mine and they had a shuttle to take people to the beach it was so far.
Next up was the Botanical Gardens that have fallen on some hard times since Covid but nothing like the one I toured in India. I was starving and unfortunately, their restaurant was one of their casualties. I tried to stay in the shade to avoid having a heat and hunger stroke. The owners clearly had some connection to India because they had statues of all the major Hindu gods with whom it was fun to get reaquainted.
They had some lovely orchids and bromeliads of all sizes and colors as well as more than 100 varieties of palm trees. On the property there is a replica of plantation home, but the owners real home is actually underground. The flat area above is rented out for social occasions.
They also had an Amazon rain forest greenhouse complete with two saucy African orang tailed parrots. They are allowed free roam of the facility after hours which made me feel a lot better for them. One had lost its mate and will to live until the other came to live with it after "graduating" from a local university.
By now I'm really hungry and supposedly Golden Rocks plantation is only six minutes away. Yikes some more steep hills and sketchy roads, but I made it. I asked the first server I saw if I could get lunch. She kinda gave me a look, and I said, I know I'm a bit scruffy looking.
I was seated in the shade thankfully by three tiering infinity pools with skinny koi. A green heron remained perched on the edge most of the time I was there. I think he did grab one fish.
My next and last stop was New River plantation. It had survived the end of slavery and operated until 1953 using a steam engine for some of the work that had previously been done by animals. The only animals around now are some sassy wild goats. It also has the most remains of any of the plantations. Surprisingly the owners home was not far from the work area. It was a stone columned bungalow facing the ocean. I thought about the slaves in this beautiful place only knowing toil and death.
The economy now seems dependent on white tourists. Long gone are the days when the Amerindian tribes lived and thrived here.
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