Paintball in Paradise

A tropical island isn't the typical backdrop for a heavily equipped game of paintball but St. Lucia provides an unexpected Caribbean activity with an 11,000 square foot paintball field. Nestled among coconut palms and izora blossoms on the Coconut Bay Resort in Vieux Fort, a retro industrial-inspired war zone beckons. I'm not a huge fun of paintball or any activity that requires three layers of protection, especially in camouflage. But I can't pass up any travel adventure that promises a one of a kind experience.

Guides strap a chest guard around your torso and then pull on a heavy tan camouflage jumpsuit. After an overview of rules and safety, players are equipped with mask, helmet and a 3-4 pound paintball marker, ready for battle. The poof sound of paintballs whizzing fills the air. If you're playing against seasoned paintballers, you're likely to be covered in crayon yellow paint splotches very quickly. A white canopy shelters eliminated players and onlookers. Running around in the tropical sun weighed down in about 6 pounds of equipment isn't my idea of fun but it was indeed a one of a kind experience. I was eliminated after about 10 minutes and I have to admit, taking off the mask and throwing down that paint gun felt good.

Afterwards, I headed straight to the resort's bar where Crazy Charlie mixes a refreshingly sweet and deceptive concoction called the Dirty Banana. As I've said before, I'm a light weight and Crazy Charlie took one look at me and threw out most of the drink's rum. I sipped my watered down cocktail gazing at the St. Lucian sunset, impressed that I had made it through my first (and last) paintball game.