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Published: February 12th 2010
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Still in North Bay but thought I would give you another history/geography lesson re one of the places we visited on the cruise.
The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is a two island nation that has a prime minister and is governed as a parliamentary democracy, very much like Canada. These islands are situated on the eastern side of the Caribbean Sea. St. Kitts was originally named St. Christopher after explorer Christopher Columbus and eventually abbreviated to St. Kitts. The residents, called Kittitians, speak English with a Caribbean accent.
St. Kitts is the larger of the two, spanning 68 square miles. The island covers 23 miles in length and at its widest point five miles across. There are varying terrains that range from semi-arid to rain forest, from flat to nearly impassable. Most of the population lives on St. Kitts with a large percentage in the capital city of Basseterre (pronounced bos-tear). The most noticeable feature of St. Kitts is Mount Liamuiga (pronounced Lee-a-mweega), usually fringed with a ring of clouds. This dormant volcano, elevation 3,792 feet, is home of the island’s tropical rain forest.
Ownership of the Caribbean islands frequently flipped between countries during the early
Johnny
This guy's monkey was named Johnny. The tour bus driver stopped to let us take his picture. days of European settlement. When the former government left, it was not uncommon for the new country to be left with reminders of the earlier residents in the form of architecture, forts, and city names. We even saw that there was a Wilkins street. Our driver's name was MacIntosh, which seemed incongruent with the location. Mack didn't know the history behind his name but it was obvious that surnames have also been carried over from previous "owners" of these islands.
When the French were deported from the islands of St. Kitts, they also left behind their monkeys. Thet had imported a few vervet or green monkeys from Africa as pets during their century of rule. When the British took over the island, they deported their enemies. However, the French refused to allow the monkeys on the ships, and the primates were turned loose on the mountainous island. The tropical climate, miles of untamed rainforest, and plentiful vegetation agreed with the furry creatures, so much in fact, that today the monkey population is estimated to be two and a half times larger than the human population in this twin island federation. And there are many young men who line the
tourist streets with their pet monkies in diapers approaching tourists who are interested in taking pictures for a price.
Another interesting thing about St. Kitts was the fact that there are 4 medical schools on the island and universities for nursing and veternarians. Not sure where these graduates go to practice after university. From the little bit of research I did on the internet since returning home, it appears these schools offer some of the cheapest tuition, room and board etc but few have connections or credentials that would allow easy access to physicians wanting to return to Canada or the US to practice.
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Carrie Donald
non-member comment
Beautiful place
Im so happy you are having so much fun and enjoying Living your life. I absolutely love all the pictures that you add and all the details, almost makes me feel like Im right there with you sisters.....Damn I was born to the wrong family it is in the 20's here, if I was a "sister" I would be having a beautiful tan by now...LOL Please keep up with the great pictures and all your details you always bring a smile to my face usually followed by a chuckly or two. Be safe....and continue enjoying you family vacation!