17 Mar 2017 – St. Kitts & Nevis

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Happy St Patrick’s Day! Today we and many other pretend Irishmen are in St Kitts. Sadly we have to report this is the final port excursion for our remarkable vacation. After this we have two sea days and then it will be time to make landfall in Ft Lauderdale and our return to the “real world”. But we wanted to make sure we enjoyed today and finished our island experiences with another enjoyable time.



The ship docked about 7:00 and passengers were able to leave for their visits ashore about 7:30. However our tour today was not until the afternoon. David woke up early and watched our ship’s arrival at the pier before having a couple of pastries and juice in the Horizon Court as an early breakfast. There was also a second ship that arrived across the pier from us, so he watched it back into its place. Janet wanted to sleep late to be fully rested for the day. This meant that many of our fellow passengers were already ashore and it was not too crowded in the Horizon Court when we went up for breakfast. Since this is Friday it should be a no-meat day, but Janet says there are special rules today for those with Irish roots. So she got to have a full breakfast and David had a couple of waffles.



We had the morning to do what we wanted because our tour wasn’t until after Noon. Janet went back to the cabin to enjoy a quiet morning. David went to town to see how long a walk it would be down the pier. He also found where we were supposed to wait when the time came, so we knew what to expect. He also walked around some of the souvenir stores and watched a Caribbean band play near the terminal.



About 11:30 we left the ship and walked over to the waiting point. We were well ahead of time but there were benches under an awning so we were comfortable. Only moments after we had sat down, there was a sudden downpour which drenched others walking to/from the ships. A little later Jim’s friend Rich showed up and he thought he was on the same tour as us. It turns out his tour was a little later and not the same thing as ours. They started boarding our group about 20 minutes early and lead us off in groups of 20 to board a minibus. We were the last 2 on line so Janet got a window seat by herself and David got the co-pilot seat in the front.



Although we boarded early, all the buses had to wait until a specific time so our departure got us to the first location together. Our guide Lyndr (not Linda) gave us a short tour of town – the capitol Basseterre. She explained that sometimes there are 4 or 5 ships on the same day, but 2 was a better situation. Back in 2001 the pier was damaged by a hurricane. They are working on it, but we are lucky not to have been sent to the commercial pier across the harbor. St Kitts only has about 40,000 people. They have the same cruise ship season as the other islands, but they welcome “fly in” tourists all year long. The island is shaped like a chicken leg, with a peninsula stretching out in the ocean/sea containing many great beaches and hotels. The main part of the island surrounds Mt Liamuiga (3800 feet). Most of the population lives in the capitol or along the coast lines. The other island around here is Nevis (we think they actually combine to make up the country), which we saw from a distance across the water but we did not go there today. There were excursions which would have gone there instead, but we can only do so much in one day.



Our first stop of the bus was at the St Kitts Scenic Railway Station. We arrived just as the train was arriving. People got off the train and onto our bus and we replaced them on the train. We had an 18-mile ride along the Atlantic side of the island, around the north shore, and a little ways along the Caribbean side. At that time we got off the train and boarded our bus again. But the train portion had a whole lot to offer in the way of information and entertainment.



There were 5 double decker cars, which were pulled along a narrow-gauge track system. Janet went into the enclosed air conditioned lower cabin and could see out large windows and listen to the commentary. David went to the open air upper level, which was covered by a canopy. Before the train even started there was a brief but windy shower, but it passed quickly and David did not get very wet. Along the way he was able to also hear the commentary and take as many pictures as he wanted without window glass. The train only went 10 mph so we had time to prepare for the pictures and weren’t too unsteady on the upper level. We had many view of the ocean, with the surf breaking on the beaches, of cliffs on one side and plentiful vegetation on the other side. We passed many different flowering plants, crossed 3 bridges, and generally went around the old volcano. Unfortunately the top was always shrouded in clouds, so it was never visible. During the ride they provided complimentary drinks – Janet got a Strawberry Daiquiri and David had a Pina Colada and a Rum Punch. They also passed out a sample of a sugar cane cookie which was mixed with coconut – David thought it was yummy – Janet saved hers for David to eat later. There was also a trio of singers who serenaded us off and on during the trip. There had been a morning tour which we had tried to take, but in retrospect morning rum might not have been such a good idea.



We got back on the bus after the train ride was over. During the combined train/bus tour we were told the history of the island, which was joint administered by France and England for 40years before they had a war elsewhere and England took all of St Kitts. Our driver pointed out numerous points of interest, one right after another. David tried to take notes about what she was saying and taking pictures too, but that just did not work. So we have lots of pictures but not so sure what each thing is. In the city area of Basseterre there were a lot of houses where the people obviously are not very well off, but there were others which were really nice too. In many of these places they had an abundance of multi-colored flowers and shrubs growing. One general thing she said is that no building can be taller than a palm tree, so the island keeps a kind of low profile. She also made comment about the abundance of wild monkeys roaming the island, but we only saw a few in cages.



Although sugar had been very profitable in the past, all commercial production ended in 2005. The cost of sugar just would not support the production costs. Now tourism is the #1 product of the island and they are very welcoming and appreciative of the tourist coming to spend money here. The bus did drop us off in the heart of the souvenir district so we would have an opportunity to contribute a little more to the local economy, but we just walked slowly back to the ship. We got back a little before 4:00 but we felt we had another really good time exploring a Caribbean island.



David brought some cheese & crackers and some fruit down to help make up for no actual lunch. Then at 5:00 we changed for dinner and went to meet up with Craig & Debbie for appetizers and cocktails. They had been on the same excursion as us, except they went on the morning session. This meant their rum drinks were at 9:30 in the morning. Then we went to dinner and talked to Ken & Mary who had been on our train but in a different car. Everyone enjoyed the tour of the island and found different parts that they liked the most.



This evening the main rooms (Club Fusion, Dining Room, International Café, etc) were decorated for St Patrick’s Day with lots of balloons and streamers. There were even a few passengers who had gotten really dressed up in their leprechaun-looking clothes – we just wore some regular green things with Janet wearing a green scarf she had knitted a couple of weeks ago. For dinner Janet had the Mushroom Soup and the Pork Tenderloin (no corned beef). David had the shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad with anchovies, and Diver Sea Scallops. Janet skipped dessert and just had a pot of decaffeinated tea. David had a strawberry sundae.



After dinner we all went to the theater to see a show by a pianist named John Bressler. He is very talented and plays extremely well. In his performance a few nights ago he included a lot more comedy with his playing (something like Victor Borgia used to do), but tonight was mostly serious piano playing. We enjoyed it a lot but have come back to the cabin now to wrap up our day’s activities.



It’s kind of sad to realize that we don’t have any more new places to explore on this cruise, but we still have 2 sea days left and will try to get as much fun from them as we can. However we are also beginning to look forward to getting home and seeing everyone who is waiting thee for us.



There are 12 pictures today. Good night for now.

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