St Kitts and Nevis

December 2017

Wednesday December 6th – St Kitts and Nevis

Captain’s Log: “Azura approached St Kitts from the South with moderate winds from the East of around 25 knots. The Captain and Deputy Captain arrived on the Bridge shortly before 06:00 in preparation for the arrival and ‘Stand By Below’ was called down to the Engine Control Room. The Deputy Captain gave the order for the pilot ladder to be rigged and the local pilot boat made her way towards the side of the ship to commence the pilot transfer. The local pilot boarded at 06:27 and the Captain took charge of the navigational duties as the vessel closed on the berth. Azura was swung bow to starboard and then backed on to the berth to be positioned Starboard side to the quay. Once the vessel was within range, the order was given to send the mooring lines ashore which allowed the vessel to be secured alongside and the gangways rigged. Guests were then free to explore the wonderful island of St Kitts.”

Which we did. From the bow of the ship, as soon as the sun started to rise, I had watched us approach the cruise ship complex at Port Zanta in the capital of Basseterre. The town was mostly one or two story buildings. After an early breakfast, we disembarked around 0730 and walked towards the terminal complex where the shops were still closed. In an open area, a local man had a small tame monkey which he gave Wendy to hold and have sat on her head, while he took photos with her camera. He then demanded $10US to which he got short shrift. Wendy wanted the photos and $5US was agreed. The Hertz office was nearly visible from the ship and it was only a ten minute walk. It was open and we were able to rent our first car. I had to also pay for a St Kitts temporary driver’s licence. The currency of St Kitts was the Eastern Caribbean Dollar and I used an ATM. The ECD was also the currency on other islands we would visit.

The P&O Cruise guide said “St Kitts has volcanic peaks with lush green forests and endless sugar cane fields. The charming capital of Basseterre features many historic buildings which have been lovely restored. One of the ‘must sees’ is the awesome Brimstone Hill Fortress, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Foundation and one of the most impressive fortresses in the Caribbean.”

St Kitts and its sister island Nevis, officially known as the Federation of St Christopher and Nevis, consider themselves ‘The Secret of the Caribbean’ and mass tourism has had little impact on these two delightful Leeward Island to the north east of Montserrat. Mountainous St Kitts is shaped roughly like an upturned chicken drumstick and is approximately 23 miles long and 5 miles across at its widest point. With winding coastlines, it covers a total area of 65 square miles.

Mount Liamuiga, an old dormant volcano, is the islands highest mountain standing at nearly 4000ft. The island was first sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1493 during his second voyage of exploration. He named it St Christopher (St Kitts for short), after the patron saint of travellers.

In 1623, it was the first island to be colonised by the English. Old Road Town was the first settlement and a tobacco plantation was soon in operation. The French also moved in and in 1626 they joined ranks to massacre 2000 of the indigenous ‘Caribs’ in one day. By 1700, slaves had been introduced to work the sugar cane plantations.

English and French relations were however, always strained. The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht gave St Kitts to Britain but the French took the Brimstone Fortress in 1782 only to lose it under the Treaty of Versailles a year later. St Kitts finally gained independence in 1983 but remained a British Dependent Territory and is now a member of the Commonwealth. Since the island’s sugar export industry closed down a few years ago, tourism has become increasingly important

We decided to tour the island clockwise from Basseterre following the (only) ‘Main Road’. Most of the famous sights were on the southern half of the island and we also hoped to see the St Kitts railway possibly for a ride. Bloody Point was just marked with a sign. It was here that the British and French united and massacred over 2000 Caribs in 1626. A little further on, we passed though the sleepy hamlet of Old Road Town. It didn’t seem important enough to have been the first British settlement in the West Indies (1623) remaining the island’s capital until 1727. Now it was just two lines of houses divided by a narrow two-lane road.

Wingfield Estate, located at the foothills of the mountain range above Old Road Town supposedly represented the old tobacco and 250 year old sugar and rum industries on the island. Having previously visited plantations in Antigua and Mauritius, we were expecting more than we found here, which was just some ruins of the old watermill, a tall chimney and the foundations of old walls. Modern tourist companies of Zip wiring and Batik making seemed to be using it as a base because the ruins themselves were hardly inspiring.

Further along the coast, we could see part of the Brimstone Hill fort overlooking the coastal plain. Turning off to the right we used a narrow twisting lane to climb up to Brimstone Hill passing the old lime kiln en route. The most important (and most impressive) historical site on the island is a massive fortress perched on a volcanic outcrop. It sits some 800ft above sea level and overlooks the west coast. Begun in 1690 by the French and completed a century later by the British using slave labour, the fortress was finally abandoned in 1851. Restoration work started in 1965. The fort was multi-tiered with defensive walls and cannons positioned at strategic gaps. We climbed up a ramp to the main complex built of black volcanic rock stones compacted together by lime.

Inside the walls was a cobbled courtyard off of which stood various rooms. We saw the officers’ quarters, ammunition stores, hospital and kitchen. There was lots of interesting information boards. One told of the soldiers’ biggest problems – the heat and boredom. Because of the heat they had to stay in the shade and sit around. Sitting around with nothing to do, led to heavy drinking of rum and homebrew. Drunkenness led to fighting and even sex with animals which was punishable by execution. Who knew? Despite the mist we could pick out Nevis, the other island on the horizon. Brimstone Hill is easily the best fortress I have seen in the Caribbean and definitely the historical highlight of St Kitts. Recommended.

Solidified lava flows have created an area known as Black Rocks on the North East Atlantic side of the island. The constant pounding of the waves against the black lava cliffs has created this cluster of oddly shaped rocks. There was a shack nearby selling beer and BBQ. Numerous local men had gathered to drink and shoot the breeze. I wasn’t sure if the police car parked by the shack was to join in or keep order.

The scenery for much of the island was sugar cane. We finally came across the railway lines of the St Kitts Railway but never actually saw the double decker train which winds its way around the north-coastline. On narrow gauge tracks that were built between 1912 and 1926 it was built to haul sugarcane from the plantations to Basseterre. Our ship was running excursions to ride it but it remained elusive to us. We did see the longest bridge that had been built to cross a small valley. The wooden slates were not much wider than the railway tracks and there were no barriers. Rather peckish but not finding any shops, we found a bakery and bought a few of the remaining samples.

The north side of the island was just sugar cane. We kept going, skirting around Basseterre and the modern Industrial parks until we reached the start of the Southeast Peninsula. From here, was a viewpoint with the most spectacular view of the island - that of the narrow peninsula beyond Frigate Bay following a road built in 1989. Supposedly this is where you can find the island’s most beautiful white-sand beaches. But we had a couple of problems. Firstly it started to pour with rain and all tracks off the sealed road turned to mud and secondly, we never saw any beaches. The hotels located on the peninsula seemed to own them all.

We backtracked to Basseterre but there wasn’t much here we wanted to see. The traffic volume was far too heavy for the road system and we crawled into town to reach Independence Square. This was the location of the slave market place in the 18th century where the cellars of the surrounding Georgian houses hid the slaves before they were brought out for bidding. Today the square is an attractive park with a central fountain. On the edge of the park were the Court House the Catholic Church and numerous restored Georgian houses. Nearby downtown Basseterre had ‘The Circus’ modelled on Piccadilly Circus in London. Four main streets all met here where an ornate Georgian Clock Tower stood.

Filling up the car with fuel we returned it and walked back to the terminal. We had been told to be back on board by 1730 but never wanted to risk it. If you missed a departure, you only choice was to get the next available plane to the next island where the ship was arriving. You would also have to fork out for any accommodation as well while waiting.

So we were back on board by 1645 having stopped in a duty free shop to pick up a couple of bottles of rum punch. We had seen other passengers bringing on their own booze and decided to give it a try. Despite going through X-ray machines every time you boarded, no one stopped us. Apparently as long as alcohol is for your own consumption, you can bring it on board.

That evening in the Oriental Restaurant we had Poached Salmon starters with Cream Cheese and Spinach Roulade. I stuck to my staple Sirloin Steak while Wendy tried the Lamb Cutlet. Our desert was delicious Caramelised Carrot Cake Cheese Cake. After our first full day ashore, we passed on the entertainment offers and watched a movie in our cabin. St Kitts was a nice little island and the English influence was very obvious. We found the locals friendly but one day was probably enough for us. I suppose you could do the Railway ride and also sail to the other island of Nevis to pad out a stay. It has some interesting sights but not enough to keep me there. Maybe in brilliant sunshine instead of gloomy overcast weather, it would look stunning. Recommended.

Captain’s Log: “For departure, once all lines were let go, Azura was thrust laterally to Port off the berth. Once clear of the berth on the Port side, propulsion was set to ahead. Courses were then set in a Northerly direction to commence the one day cruise to Amber Cove. Weather: Partially cloudy, passing showers and sunny spells. Temperature: 29’C. Wind: Easterly, Force 5.