Day 8 - Part I: The Grand Tour of Saint Kitts

Friday, Feb 6, 2015

I'll confess: I didn't expect a whole lot from our visit to St. Kitts. Of all the places we're visiting, this is the one that excited me the least … we almost didn't even book a tour.

Not wanting to miss out on a single experience (and to burn off the zillion ice cream cones I've had) we got up a little bit earlier today so we could hit the gym. I'll have to post some pictures tomorrow because it is pretty nice.

Well, now that we're off to such a healthy start, let's stuff ourselves! Deepa is back and she makes me another yummy omelet to go with my french toast and pancake. And ice cream.

Our tour doesn't meet until 9am, but somehow we end up having to rush to get to our meeting point for the Grand Tour of St. Kitts. We wait a few minutes for everyone to get there, then Thenford Grey himself arrives to take us around the island. He is a very charismatic man, a great storyteller very knowledgeable about everything St. Kitts and I take an instant liking to him. We begin with a driving tour through historic Basseterre. 

Immaculate Conception Co-Cathedral on Independence Square

Berkeley Memorial in the Circus

Thenford says we have come to St. Kitts at a crazy time: it is election time and today the candidates register themselves. Yellow and red signs are fixed to every post in town and many of the townsfolk are wearing the colors of their candidate.

We leave the election madness behind on the way to our next stop, but there are plenty of picture opportunities before we get there.

War Memorial

 Scenic overlook where Thenford gathered some lemon grass and other fragrant plants for us to smell.

The small souvenir shop at the overlook.

Carib petroglyphs. Some of the people on our tour were getting their picture taking with a local and a diapered baby monkey here, but I'd read some scary stories about how these baby monkeys are acquired and decided against it.

Time for our first real stop of the day: Romney Manor and the batik demonstration – neither of which I particularly cared about beforehand, but it's off to a great start when one of the people on the tour spots a monkey in a tree. Not well-suited for my wide-angle lens, but at least now there's proof: we have seen wild monkeys.

Slightly off center to the right, on the first branch coming off the trunk to the right.

The air-conditioned van has large windows, perfect for sightseeing.

The road snakes up the mountain through dense jungle, before arriving at the neatly manicured gardens where Thenford points out one interesting plant after another.

Red-Hot Cat-Tail

Our fabulous guide Thenford

Lipstick palm

Old Bell Tower

 

Christmas palm tree

Gloriosa Lily

Thenford offers to take a picture of the two of us.

The demonstration at Caribelle Batik is more explanation than demonstration, but still very interesting. We browse the brightly colored fabrics in the gift shop for a while, but they are a bit pricey.

Afterwards, we have some time to roam the property on our own. It is hot and humid today so we buy some Ting and water from the bar. Ting is a carbonated grapefruit juice drink, not unlike Orangina.

One of my favorite spots on the property: seeing the ocean through the branches of the 400 year-old Saman tree.

Our next stop is the one thing in St Kitts I really wanted to see: UNESCO World Heritage Site Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park. It's located at the top of a steep, winding road with blind curves and narrow gates but Thenford maneuvers the big van around with ease.

We have exactly 52 minutes to explore the fort on our own before we meet back at the bus. As suggested, we start at the Fort George Citadel located at the top of a long line of sloping steps.

The Citadel, the best preserved example of British polygonal fortification was built in the 1790s and is the reason Brimstone Hill became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Endless ocean vistas from the top

Sandy enjoying the Fort

Random stranger pretty much commanded us to let him take our picture haha.

Exhibit about the sleeping quarters and period clothing

Cool set of stairs

When I'm about to bound down yet another set of uneven steps leading off into the distance Sandy suggests we split up ... and off I go! The faster I run, the more I get to see.

Infantry Officers Quarters with its famed arches 

Ordnance Store House

The interior ... one of my favorite pictures.

Magazine Bastion

Infantry Officers Quarters with the Artillery Officers Quarters in the distance.

Parade looking towards Jumbie Barracks

To the amusement of the other people on the tour I burst back into the van at 12:30 exactly. Whew, I'm sticky and probably stinky, but I did it: Brimstone Hill in less than an hour!

What an incredible place to visit!

~ ~ Please continue to part II to see the monkeys ~ ~