Video: St Kitts

15 December

Here’s Mui’s point of view of our day on the island …

Next Up … St Thomas: America’s Caribbean

St Kitts: Memories Created Here

Wednesday, 15 December

Another great day in the Caribbean is drawing to a close. Mui is checking out Peter Gossamer, the illusionist who is performing in the Princess Theater. For me, there was no question that I’d be returning to the cabin to enjoy the cool breezes on the veranda while I blog about our day in St Kitts.

Before 1988, St Kitts was officially known as St Christopher.
(The inset shows where we played in relation to where we docked.)

Today was our third visit to St Kitts. Our first time to the island was aboard Holland America’s Maasdam in 2004. On that occasion, we hired a private guide to take us around the island. We visited Brimstone Hill Fortress, a World Heritage Site; strolled the grounds of historic Romney Manor and learned how batik cloth is made at Caribelle Batik (yes, we bought a few pieces, too); drove around the island to see the beautiful scenery from every overlook we could find; and checked out the island’s version of London’s Piccadilly Circus. When we returned to the island in 2009, we went to Cockleshell Beach, located at the tip of the Southeast Peninsula, and had a very relaxing day filled with sunshine and light breezes.

St Kitts 2004 and 2009

Let me clarify that last sentence — we enjoyed a relaxing day after the resident monkey, which we nicknamed “holy terror,” and the goat he victimized were penned up. Check out the following clip and you’ll see what I mean.

The Holy Terror — 2009

We were up around 6:30a today and off the Grand Princess shortly after the ship was cleared by the local authorities at 8:00a. Familiar with the layout of Port Zante, we had no trouble finding the taxi dispatcher. At that early hour, we had the van to ourselves, which meant paying the $8/person minimum (for 4 passengers or less) to get to South Friars Bay. No problem; we’d rather pay a bit extra than waste our time waiting around for the van to fill up.

Welcome to Basseterre, St Kitts.

When the cabbie dropped us off in front of the Shipwreck Beach Bar & Grill around 8:45a, we were greeted by Marcos. After he welcomed us, he pointed out the small reef for snorkeling (others later confirmed there wasn’t much to see), the sand-bottom swimming area, and the sandbar about 500 yards (450 m) out. Telling us that two chairs and a palapa was $10, he left us to choose our own spot. Easy enough to do … except for a threesome off Celebrity’s Millennium, we had our pick of the entire beach. By 11:00a, it was a whole different story, with all the chairs and palapas taken by happy beachgoers bent on enjoying the beautiful day.

We opt for a spot at the far end of the beach.

A beautiful day to enjoy the sand and surf.

we pay for two chairs, but We start off with four loungers,
moving from one to the other in our quest for shade.

Though the water was a little cooler than it had been at the islands that preceded St Kitts, I joined Mui multiple times for lengthy dips, even venturing out to the sandbar with him on one occasion. The rest of the time, I was ensconced in the shade of the palapa, reading Clive Cussler’s The Chase, which is quite different from the author’s Dirk Pitt adventures — though he still manages to get in a mention of his name as a character in the book, and weaves several classic automobiles into the plot.

Mui waves to me from the sandbar; yes, he’s standing up.
(the inset shows the ship’s distance from shore)

(That sailing vessel, by the way, is the Royal Clipper. Inspired by the world’s largest and fastest sailing ship, the Preussen (launched in 1902), the Royal Clipper claims to be the world’s largest full-rigged sailing ship. It sure would be fun to sail on her someday.)

We remained at the beach through lunch, ordering fish sandwiches, fries, and a couple of cold Carib Beers for our noon meal. Then, another two hours on the beach enjoying the cool breezes coming off the ocean. I don’t know if elsewhere on the island the temperatures reached the forecasted 93-96F (33-36C), but on the beach, we were quite comfortable.

The Shipwreck Beach Bar and Grill …

… serves up a tasty fish sandwich; we opted for take-out.

Around 2:30p, we packed up our bags and took one of the many cabs waiting for fares back to Basseterre. With a full load of passengers, we paid just $5/person for the ride. En route, the driver made the obligatory stops at the two overlooks on the Southeast Peninsula that offer fantastic island views. Though I already had photographs from previous trips, I couldn’t stop myself from clicking the shutter again … and again.

South Friars Bay (r) from Sir Timothy's Hill on the SE Peninsula Road.

North Frigate Bay from another overlook on the SE Peninsula Road.

Back at Port Zante, we inquired about a wi-fi hotspot and were directed to Caribe Café, located at The Sands (across the street from the port). For the price of a mango smoothie and a scoop of ice cream, we had a connection that allowed us to make a few calls to family and check email.

Caribe Café is St Kitts’ first coffeehouse.

There was no mistaking the grey clouds that were gathering overhead. As soon as the last email message was sent, we hurried back to Port Zante, hoping to beat the rain. We didn’t make it. The rain was warm, so we didn’t bother to run like so many others did. The sudden downpour did mess up my plans to take a photograph of Celebrity’s Millennium, which we sailed across the Atlantic in 2003, sharing the long pier with Grand Princess. Come to think of it, I have no photographs of the Grand in St Kitts … oh well.

I’m a sucker for murals; the scenes are from the two murals at Port Zante.

Even though it was still raining, we were able to sit on the veranda, sip our wine, and watch passengers streaming back to the two ships. A nice cool breeze, combined with the clouds overhead, made for a very comfortable late afternoon as we waited for the ship to sail.

Mui, didn't anyone tell you to empty your pockets before going swimming?

Cheers! Şerefe! Salud! Na zdorovia! Skål!

we sail away As dusk falls, leaving Windstar’s WindSurf (l) and
Celebrity’s Millennium behind.

Our table in the Da Vinci Dining Room was still occupied when we showed up for dinner around 7:15p. We would have been happy to stroll around the Promenade Deck and return later, but Franco (the dining room manager) insisted on accommodating us at a different table, even assigning our usual wait-team of Rotchana and John to serve us.

Mui: grilled calamari with shaved fennel; seasonal field greens, celery hearts, and tomato salad; roast rack of veal with glazed artichokes and mascotte potatoes.

Me: Caesar salad; hearty black bean chowder with corn; grilled tiger shrimp kebab with mango-lime relish and jasmine rice.

Dessert: New York style cheesecake; Viennese apple strudel … no, we didn’t share!

Tomorrow we’re in the US Virgin Islands. More specifically, in St Thomas. Whether we stay on the island or go to the neighboring island of St John is heavily influenced by the dock to which we’re assigned. Mui just came back from the show with the news that we’ll be at Havensight, so unless something changes in the interim, I see a ferry ride in our future.

By the way … just so you don’t think this visit to St Kitts was monkey-less …

Yes, there were green monkeys at south friars bay …

… but they were better behaved than the ones at Cockleshell Beach!

Next Up … Video: St Kitts