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<\/a><\/p>\nWe did some wandering around Basseterre a bit. \u00a0It’s a large, busy city which is the site of the original European settlement in the early 1600’s. \u00a0According to Chris Doyle (author of our “Leewards Islands Cruising Guide”), \u00a0the French and British teemed up to massacre 2000 Carib inhabitants then began fighting amongst themselves. \u00a0 The British prevailed and ruled for many years although today St. Kitts and Nevis are an independent\u00a0 state. Basseterre is also where the cruise ships land and has an large restaurant and tourist shopping area beside the dock. \u00a0This area can be convenient but it should be noted that there are two bars that play VERY LOUD music till 5:00 am on some nights…the marina is right beside them.<\/p>\n
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We chose to rent a car to see a bit of the island. \u00a0Our first stop was Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park. It is quite an impressive spot. \u00a0First, the drive in is a bit wild, you are going up the original road which is quite steep and curvy, plus there are several very narrow arches or gates you drive through. \u00a0Lots of horn beeping, hopefully to alert other vehicles coming the opposite direction to our presence. \u00a0Once at the top of the 800 foot volcanic cone you reach the fort which “Lonely Planet” \u00a0identifies as one of the largest forts in the Caribbean. \u00a0They say it’s nicknamed ” the Gibraltar of the West Indies” and it played a key roll as a British garrison. \u00a0Queen Elizabeth II visited in 1985 and inaugurated the fort as a national park.<\/p>\n
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We also visited beaches and spots mentioned in our guides but we’re less than impressed. \u00a0The beaches seem to all be laid claim to by bars, restaurants and hotels. \u00a0The are lined with lounge chairs which can be rented for the day, no beautiful sandy beaches that we saw. \u00a0We also encountered a man with a monkey outside a place we stopped for lunch. \u00a0He was quite persistent that we should hold his monkey. \u00a0We did not want to touch the monkey even though is was wearing a diaper. \u00a0We politely said no and went in for a nice lunch. \u00a0We must have made quite an impression since he was waiting for us right outside the restaurant and accompanied us back to our car while he continued to flip us off and hold the monkey’s tail up to show the monkey’s butt right beside his finger. \u00a0Another time I wish I would have pulled out the camera but I just smiled and waved as we drove away.<\/p>\n
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In our exploration we did find some monkeys in the wild near Ballast Bay. \u00a0Our pictures don’t show it but there were at least a dozen in the area, several very young. \u00a0There’s a large population of Vervet monkeys in St. Kitts and Nevis which are descended from ones brought as pets from Africa in the 1800’s for European settlers. \u00a0Their population had grown quite a bit over the years and have at times been a popular food source. \u00a0We did not see any on the menu.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We left the marina after 3 nights and dropped anchor in Ballast Bay in the southern part of St. Kitts. \u00a0You may have surmised by this point that we were less than enamored with St. Kitts but we did very much enjoy our time in Ballast Bay. \u00a0It was quiet, provided a beautiful sunset spot and had great snorkeling.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nevis is a short journey and a completely different atmosphere. \u00a0We picked up a mooring ball at Piney’s beach near Charlestown. \u00a0The moorings are paid for when you clear out but cost only about $6 per day and seem well maintained.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We stopped at the Nevision Heritage Village on Fothergill’s Estate<\/a> where we were given an introduction to the village and it’s history then encouraged to explore on our own. \u00a0Pat’s introduction was so well done, she clearly takes pride in her island and it’s history – this was a great stop!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sam also showed us two of the island hotels. \u00a0The Nisbet Plantation Beach Club has cottages spread out around the property along with a beautiful pool and a very nice a beach area. \u00a0The manor house is the office and restaurant and there are some ruins of the mill on the property. \u00a0This was the home of Fanny Nesbit who became the wife of Horatio Nelson, a famed British naval officer. \u00a0Montpelier, also a former plantation, was up on the mountain with a very nice pool too. \u00a0It looked to be beautiful accommodations and was where Princess Diana choose to stay with her sons in 1992. \u00a0Apparently this was also the location of Franny and Horatio’s wedding in 1787.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Last stop on the tour was the Bath Hotel and Spring House, there is a magma vein on the property which heats a river. \u00a0It is believed the water has healing properties and many people have visited for “the cure”.<\/p>\n Sam’s tour was wonderful! \u00a0We may have had a better impression of St Kitts if we had a similar tour but we will never know.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I should also point out that Alexander Hamilton was born on Nevis and his home houses a museum. \u00a0It’s right in Charleston but we did not visit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The afternoon was spent walking and relaxing on Piney’s beach. \u00a0We watched the sunset from an upper level of one of the restaurants.\u00a0 It was a perfect view and had live a steel drum player. \u00a0For dinner we had a wonderful lobster meal at Sunshine’s Beach Bar<\/a> and Grill. \u00a0The food, atmosphere and service was great. \u00a0The Nievians are proud of their signature “Killer Bee” drink, we tried it at Sunshine’s and did enjoy it.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>We we choose to tour Nevis with Sam, a cab driver Jeff met at the dinghy dock. \u00a0Sam spent almost four hours with us and gave us a very good tour and history. \u00a0We stopped at a few churches, one which the crucifix has a black depiction of Jesus.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>We visited a farm market where the owners were proud to show us their crops, the land is rich and fertile. \u00a0We bought several tomatoes and cucumbers which we savored for the next few days.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n