Nevis

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It has been a busy few days on Nevis since we arrived on Sunday evening. The Island was first settled by Indians way back around 100BC, some of whom were thought to be cannibals, or so I have been told! The name comes from a visit by the explorer Christopher Columbus; the day he arrived he must have been suffering slightly from the heat, because despite the sweltering temperatures and humidity (I have spent most of the last 3 days dripping with sweat), he thought the top of the mountain was covered in snow and so named the island ‘Nieve’ after the Spanish word for snow.

The time on shore began with a visit to the local marine laboratory to look at some of the weird and wonderful creatures found in the waters surrounding the island. Check out the photo of ‘Crush’ a small hawksbill turtle that they are nursing back to health to release into the wild. After class the students all headed out for a hike to the only source of freshwater on the island: a small spring high up on the mountainside, where you can put your water bottle into the stream and drink crystal clear water surrounded by jungle and the odd monkey. Today we cycled around the island to check out all the little villages and get some exercise going up the hills. I managed to ride around the whole country in 2.5 hours!

Below is a photo of the Nevis primary school, which I passed on the cycle, with the mountain behind and views overlooking the sea.

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