ST KITTS

On Monday we arrived in St Kitts, the main island of St Kitts and Nevis. We took a coach tour of part of the island followed by a scenic train ride all around the island. The train and line are remnants of the sugar industry which collapsed in 2005 due to competition from beet sugar. It was a great way to get around and we were entertained by a trio of local singers on the way (see photo 2).

The island was settled by the British in the 17^th century and for a long time was the centre of government for all their Caribbean possessions, as witnessed by the many ruins of old government buildings. The island was part occupied by the French until 1783 and the most durable thing they left behind was monkeys imported from Africa as pets. Now there are twice as many monkeys as people and they are considered a pest. Have an outdoor party and the monkeys will invite themselves baby! (See photo 1)

We learned late in the day that this country is no longer an aid recipient and has the best housing infrastructure in the Caribbean. That was not evident from appearances, as it seemed to have much the same mix of big, luxury houses and smaller village houses as St Maarten. But the place is very prosperous. It has advanced solar and electronics industries as well as clothing manufacture and has world class medical research facilities. St Kitts is one of the centres for research into finding cures for Alzheimers Disease and Parkinson’s Disease. It has the International University of Nursing and also Ross University which specialises in veterinary research. These institutions are attended by students from all over the Caribbean and even from Africa. Also, all education is free for locals and a new health insurance scheme is to be introduced. They can manage all this with no income tax and just a 17 per cent value added tax because they make so much out of tourism and their other industries. Quite a place!

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

Another day, another beautiful island. On Tuesday we visited the island of Antigua. Gary wanted a day off and had been here before so Phil took one tour and Sue and Jamie took another.

Phil’s tour travelled right around the island, which is bigger than the previous two we visited but at 108 square miles that’s not saying a lot. The island is very pretty and is very similar to St Kitts in many ways including the housing, education, the large number of churches everywhere and the importance of tourism. However, they do grow and export melons and black pineapples which does enhance the country’s income somewhat. Black pineapples are small pineapples that look black when they are growing but are normal inside (see photo 2).

We passed the cricket stadium built for the World Cup in 2007 and dedicated to Viv Richards. Guess who the only person on the bus was who knew about ‘the master blaster’? Yankees know nothing important! J.

We were driven up to Shirley’s Heights, a wonderful lookout and site of an old 18^th century British army fort. The ruins are in poor shape but that is not surprising due to the effects of hurricanes over the years. From the Heights there is a magnificent view over English Bay and Eric Clapton’s mansion set on a cliff above a point jutting out into the Bay. Where do the poor people live eh!

English Bay was a major British naval Base from 1745 through the 19^th century and also has impressive old buildings, except that most have been restored. Horatio Nelson was commander here from 1784 to 1787 and much of the building was done during his tenure.

There is an election under way at the moment. How familiar to see signs for parties saying stuff like vote for us for ‘more jobs, more investments, less taxes’. Some BS is universal, right?!

Sue and Jamie has a great excursion.  We boarded the coach with our tour director Vaughan.  He was hilarious, and everyone relaxed and enjoyed his banter.  We visited an old sugar cane homestead that is still being used as a residence.  They had 4 rooms open for you to walk through including the original kitchen.  The cabinets were full of interesting pieces (otherwise known as junk!!!)  We wondered who dusted them all.  We had several other scenic shots around the island including going to a black pineapple plantation, but finished at Ffyfe Bay.  It was the ultimate tourist destination that you see in postcards –white sandy beaches and clear blue/green water (see photo 3).  It was so easy to see your feet and the bottom of the ocean.  We were treated to a local barbecue lunch and entertained by a local steel drum band.  They were great, and played around with many different tunes.  On the way home we had a trivia quiz to see who had listened well during the morning.  It was 1 point for a right answer, and the winner was the first person to 3 points.  Well guess what limited drinker won a bottle of the finest Antiguan Rum???  Yes moi, so I have donated it to Gary and Jamie’s bar when we arrive back in Houston.

Last night we went to see a comedian.  He was priceless, and we almost cried with laughter.  The downside was that we didn’t go to dinner till after the show, so it was almost 11pm before we collapsed into bed.  It was a long but fun day!!!

 

 

ST LUCIA

Wednesday was beautiful St Lucia! This is by far the biggest island we have visited so far at 238 square miles (616 square kilometres). It has many similarities to the other islands except that it is much more mountainous and mostly covered with rainforest that is full of Australian ferns. The capital, Castries, looks very prosperous so tourism – the main industry – must be thriving. Photo 1 is a resort.

We took a tour around the island that showed us some wonderful sights. We give the island 9 out of 10 for beauty and the tour no more than 5 out of 10 for the way it was run. The tour guide was nice but had poor English, for the most part gave rote descriptions of what we were seeing and was unable to understand most questions. Still, we had a good time.

The island’s industries also include banana plantations, fishing and a rum distillery that makes 160 proof rum! It is known locally as rocket fuel, for obvious reasons.

We visited the Maranatha Gardens, a beautiful botanical garden with the loveliest tropical shrubs and flowers. But the highlight was La Soufriere volcano. It is an imploded volcano so the caldera (the Qualibou Caldera) is only about 400 metres above sea level and you can drive through it – all 12 square miles of sulphur springs (see photo 2), steaming hills, forest and two peaks called The Pitons which rise 600 metres above sea level (see photo 3).  It reminded us of Rotorua – sulphur smell was horrendous.  At times their mud pools will spurt up into a geyser, but today they were just bubbling at the surface.  We think that was just as well!!!