Basseterre, St. Kitts - January 14

Our last port!  This was a port intensive cruise, with six ports in the same amount of days, and I'll admit I was getting tired and ready for the following sea days.  Silly, I know, because that's one of the reasons I cruise; I unpack once and wake up somewhere different every day.  

I was awake again at 5:30 that morning well before we arrived in port.  There was no going back to sleep, so I decided to start my packing.  All the dirty clothes were folded and put into a bag I have just for that purpose, and filled up one side of the suitcase.  Whoohoo I thought, I finally didn't over pack for a cruise.  Then I realized there were still as many clothes still hanging up and in the drawers. One of these days I'll get it right.

St. Kitts and its sister island were created by volcanoes, 
though neither are active.  The islands lie between the Atlantic ocean and the Caribbean sea.  

I'd been to the island once before, and had taken a tour on the scenic train car. It was an interesting way to see the island, though there were a couple of spots where the train tracks ran over bridges that seemed rather rickety.  This time I decided to stay with the relative safety of a motor vehicle....though they do drive on the left side of the road. 

I met my tour group just off the pier for our 10:45 meeting time.  We were escorted to our van just after 11 and met our driver, Mr. Magic.  Throughout the tour, he kept up a steady stream of chatter, pointing out various buildings along the way, sharing information about the island and its people, and answering our questions.  

Our first stop on the tour was Fairview Garden, a former plantation home turned museum.  It was truly a lovely place, and we had a half hour to tour the house and grounds on our own.  I'll let the photo do the talking!

The pool in the photo above, is shaped like the islands of St Kitts and Nevis.  The plantings were simply gorgeous especially against the backdrop of the ocean.  The interior of the house was very nice as well, but I didn't spend a lot of time indoors.

There were chickens running about everywhere.  Natural insecticide!










We hopped back in the van and drove up into the hills to our next stop, Romney Plantation. This was formerly a sugar cane plantation, but is currently the home of Caribelle Batik creating lovely (and expensive) fabric.  

At the entrance is a 400 year old tree.  I'm sure Magic told us what species it is, but I've forgotten.  It was truly amazing and has become the home to other plants.  

We were given about a half hour to tour the grounds and visit the gift shop/batik display. I needed almost all that time to get a photo of the tree without other people standing in front of it.  This photo doesn't do it justice as it only shows a small part of the tree, it's canopy was huge!


Again, like Fairview there were gorgeous plantings every, and I particularly like this spot with the addition of the bird sculpture.













I did take a turn through the gift shop (which was the only way to exit), but didn't find anything I wanted.  The batik material was absolutely gorgeous, but at $65US for 2 yards, I decided I didn't need it.  

Outside the gift shop, I stopped at the small cafe for a Carib beer, and the viewing area.

We gathered at the van, driving around the mountain and past the airport with our final stop across the island at Timothy Hill where we joined a dozen or so other tour buses.  Magic let us know, there would be young men with monkeys there - if you had your photo taken with a monkey, you would be expected to pay...and not to pick up a monkey unless it was wearing a diaper.

 When we left the van, I made certain to avoid these guys and walked down the hill a bit to capture this scene.  This is the Atlantic ocean, and the Marriott operates a resort on the beach.  (I just checked...it's $448 a night! I guess I won't be staying there any time soon).

Then it was back up to the top of the hill for the view of both the Atlantic ocean and the Caribbean sea, with Nevis in the background).

We had about 15-20 minutes before it was time to head back to the terminal and the shopping area.  I wandered the stores a bit, used the washroom in the busy casino and bought a t-shirt* for Eli, using the free wifi to check for e-mail.  I considered whether I should stay on shore to find something to eat, but ultimately decided, with the heat I was ready to get back on the ship.  

After a bite to eat, I sat out on my balcony reading.  As we began sail away the clouds were building over the city.  I think they may have gotten some rain!

I know I've said this about each port, but it truly was a wonderful day in St. Kitts.  It is such a pretty island, and the tour was a great way to see more of it.  

By the end of the day, I was a bit sad to realize that we would be heading north that evening.  Little did I know there would be one more stop.

Next post - returning to Bayonne




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*To answer Kim's question, I've purchased t-shirts at most ports, as D is planning to use them in a quilt, once Eli has outgrown them.  I'm not sure how practical that idea is as I'm guessing they'll be a bit 

D and Eli left about an hour ago for home.  We're supposed to get snow and high winds today so she left shortly after daylight to avoid the potential bad weather.  I've got my hands full today, with bedding to be washed, toys to be put away, floors that need a good sweep and mop, and all the fingerprints on the windows, mirrors, and even the wall by the kitchen table.  

We did have a great visit, Eli is growing up, learning more words everyday.  As he approaches the age of 2, no is becoming one of his favorites.  He also says, hello, down, all done, more, go, cool, wow, and so much more. He is also learning to count, one, two (for when he's naughty), and ten, nine. Some of the stuff he does makes me laugh, and sometimes he gets on my last nerve.  Mostly when he gets into things, like the cat food bowls and water fountain or when he poured body lotion all over the carpet in my bedroom.  Either way, Eli is pretty darn special.  

Have a great day everyone!