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Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Not sure why a local resident is chiming in. Staying at a top-of-the-line resort is a lot different than living there year round.
We went to the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas for DH's business trip a few years ago and stayed at a $500 night hotel. Lovely, but on the drive back to the hotel, you drive just feet from the resort and living conditions are horrendous. Not saying the resident from St. Lucia lives in horrendous conditions but unless you are living at a resort it's not comparable.
1. The OP's FIL expressed concern about dangers to the baby's health. The local resident knows more than any of us about actual conditions on the ground.
2. Illness-carrying mosquitos don't check your passport before biting.
St. Lucia resident here again - Ditto to the points above. Additionally, we live in the tourist haven (Rodney Bay) and have loads of visitors (some of whom have stayed with us and others who stayed in hotels), so I have some level of insight into the conditions in the hotels and regular tourist haunts. I thought the perspective might be helpful.
Anonymous wrote:Holy crap, St. Lucia Mom - you just scared EVERYONE away from your island. I've been to St. Lucia and never got diarrhea or worms or dengue fever. And I drank the unfiltered water and scuba dived and fed stray mangey dogs on the beach and did all kinds of 'risky' things.
I also took my DD to the Carribean when she was not yet two - we camped on St. John in the USVI and traveled to Jost Van Dyke in the BVI - and we got a sitter (a nice local woman I found through a DCUM recommendation, of course!) - where she drank unfiltered water and ate local food and was just fine.
Go buy a guidebook and check out St. Lucia. No offense to the local mom, but I think your health concerns are unfounded.
Unfounded? I have lived here for four years and this is the reality of my experience, so I wouldn't say it is unfounded. You may disagree with it, based on your experience as a tourist in USVI, but again, it is anything but unfounded.
I just want to add, of course the local sitter didn't get sick drinking local water! She grew up drinking the local water so her body is adjusted to it. But a young child drinking a lot of unfiltered water, who is used to different water may end up with a tummy ache. Not the end of the world, but the reality.
Sorry if my e-mail scared anyone. Again, St. Lucia is gorgeous and a great place to visit. Just bring bug spray!
lcmom wrote:Hi. I actually live in St. Lucia (moved from DC four years ago), so I can give a little bit of perspective on the issue of it being dangerous for your child.
There are loads of families from Canada, the UK, and the US who regularly come to St. Lucia and have no problems with health issues. So personally, I think it is fine to bring a 2 yr old.
That being said, in my opinion there are a health concerns that I can highlight:
1) Gastrointestinal - The water quality is not always the best. When my daughter was young, she went through a stage where she wanted to do everything for herself. She kept getting herself water from the tap and we normally drink filtered water. Well surprise, surprise, she got diarrhea. But it was easily addressed. She went back to filtered water. Had some rice. Had some bananas. No more diarrhea. We have also had two bouts of worms, but I think that is more likely when your child is in school / on the playground. I doubt that is an issue for tourists.
2) Mosquito-borne diseases - Recently there has been an upsurge of dengue throughout the region. I speak from experience, as my daughter and I are in the process of recovering from it. But... this is much more common during the rainy season, which runs May - Oct, so it is a lot less likely in April. And with mosquito repellent you can protect against it very well. Note, the mosquito that carry dengue bite during the day, so you need to put on the repellent during the day.
I want to add that I have been extremely impressed with primary medical care in St. Lucia. I wouldn't want to stay here if I had a serious medical condition, but for issues like the ones above, the doctors are very skilled and able to address them if needed.
Finally, in terms of staying at a different hotel, it really depends which Sandals the family will be at. There are three Sandals in St. Lucia, and not all are convenient to other hotels. Also, these are all inclusives, so you won't be able to eat meals with your family, etc. as they will be at the Sandals.
I hope this is helpful.
I forgot to add. If you do decide to come, I have some excellent and trustworthy babysitters to recommend.
Hi. I actually live in St. Lucia (moved from DC four years ago), so I can give a little bit of perspective on the issue of it being dangerous for your child.
There are loads of families from Canada, the UK, and the US who regularly come to St. Lucia and have no problems with health issues. So personally, I think it is fine to bring a 2 yr old.
That being said, in my opinion there are a health concerns that I can highlight:
1) Gastrointestinal - The water quality is not always the best. When my daughter was young, she went through a stage where she wanted to do everything for herself. She kept getting herself water from the tap and we normally drink filtered water. Well surprise, surprise, she got diarrhea. But it was easily addressed. She went back to filtered water. Had some rice. Had some bananas. No more diarrhea. We have also had two bouts of worms, but I think that is more likely when your child is in school / on the playground. I doubt that is an issue for tourists.
2) Mosquito-borne diseases - Recently there has been an upsurge of dengue throughout the region. I speak from experience, as my daughter and I are in the process of recovering from it. But... this is much more common during the rainy season, which runs May - Oct, so it is a lot less likely in April. And with mosquito repellent you can protect against it very well. Note, the mosquito that carry dengue bite during the day, so you need to put on the repellent during the day.
I want to add that I have been extremely impressed with primary medical care in St. Lucia. I wouldn't want to stay here if I had a serious medical condition, but for issues like the ones above, the doctors are very skilled and able to address them if needed.
Finally, in terms of staying at a different hotel, it really depends which Sandals the family will be at. There are three Sandals in St. Lucia, and not all are convenient to other hotels. Also, these are all inclusives, so you won't be able to eat meals with your family, etc. as they will be at the Sandals.
I hope this is helpful.
There are loads of families from Canada, the UK, and the US who regularly come to St. Lucia and have no problems with health issues. So personally, I think it is fine to bring a 2 yr old.
That being said, in my opinion there are a health concerns that I can highlight:
1) Gastrointestinal - The water quality is not always the best. When my daughter was young, she went through a stage where she wanted to do everything for herself. She kept getting herself water from the tap and we normally drink filtered water. Well surprise, surprise, she got diarrhea. But it was easily addressed. She went back to filtered water. Had some rice. Had some bananas. No more diarrhea. We have also had two bouts of worms, but I think that is more likely when your child is in school / on the playground. I doubt that is an issue for tourists.
2) Mosquito-borne diseases - Recently there has been an upsurge of dengue throughout the region. I speak from experience, as my daughter and I are in the process of recovering from it. But... this is much more common during the rainy season, which runs May - Oct, so it is a lot less likely in April. And with mosquito repellent you can protect against it very well. Note, the mosquito that carry dengue bite during the day, so you need to put on the repellent during the day.
I want to add that I have been extremely impressed with primary medical care in St. Lucia. I wouldn't want to stay here if I had a serious medical condition, but for issues like the ones above, the doctors are very skilled and able to address them if needed.
Finally, in terms of staying at a different hotel, it really depends which Sandals the family will be at. There are three Sandals in St. Lucia, and not all are convenient to other hotels. Also, these are all inclusives, so you won't be able to eat meals with your family, etc. as they will be at the Sandals.
I hope this is helpful.
I travel a lot for work and my work laptop is HUGE! I am considering getting a Netbook to use when I travel, but here is my problem. I use outlook for EVERYTHING! Is there an easy way for me to sync the outlook between two computers and not lose my categories, attachments, tasks, e-mails, etc.? And what if the computers use two different versions of outlook? Can I use my blackberry to do this sync, or will I lose some data or categorization in the process? Thoughts? Ideas?
I mean... Thanks in advance!
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