St Kitts
We left Nevis and took the short few mile trip across to St Kitts.
It was not worth putting up the main sail for the few miles it would be, so we
just pulled some genoa out and had enough engine revs to give us 5 and a half
knots.
I was surprised at the chop between the islands, especially
as this 2 mile gap is swum as a competition and last year an 8 year old did it.
We tried to catch a fish as food was low, but only managed
to get the line caught in the wind generator. A true school boy error.
On our way to White House Bay we took a peak at the new
marina being built in the salt pond. The website looks to be both a costly and
rather ambitious. There is a big emphasis on getting the superyacths to
purchase homes and berths. Given our rolly night in White House Bay and our 2
night stay in the very small but reasonably priced St Kitts marina I can see
why they want to do it. There was a pontoon with a couple of boats moored stern
too but we were unsure if they were paying guests or just taking advantage of
the work in progress, as we have seen in many other marinas on our travels. We
decided that the likelihood of mosquitos would be high and the sound from the
dredger would not make for a peaceful place to spend a couple of nights.
We picked up one of 3 buoys in the bay and spend a couple of
rolly nights before managing to get a space in the marina. A phone call the day
before had told us there was no space but just turning up seemed to do the
trick. Space was found for both us and Chewsy and also found inside was Open
Blue and Fabiola. It was the cheapest marina at US$ 0.50 per foot (The rate
changed at 40ft to US$ 0.75 per foot so Chewsey became a moody 39 rather than
her true identity of a 41). Water was a flat rate of US$ 15 for whatever you
used and electric was charged by the unit. We split the water fee with Chewsey
as we were virtually next door and with us only staying 2 nights we couldn’t
use that much water.
The marina is in the capital Basse Terre. This gives the
feeling of France but it is not a French Island anymore. As with most of the
islands they have been invaded and fought over by the English, French and
Spanish and as we move north the Dutch have also had a go. The huge cruise
ships dock next to the marina has created a boulevard of shops eager to cash in
on the wealthy tourists. Taxi drivers are in attendance as are the “have your
photo taken with a monkey” men. In order to show customs our cruising permit
purchased in Nevis we had to make our way through the throng stopping to politely
say we did not need a taxi. We have found that as soon as you say you are on a
private yacht they lose interest. They know we are tight with our money and not
to waste time. We have a nice chat about where we are from and wish them luck
in finding a rich American to take on a tour. One taxi driver told us that 250
cruise ships would be docking this season. The season is around half a year so
you can understand that they must earn big in the short window of opportunity.
We checked in without problem and decided to go and have
lunch at a hotel that would give us the opportunity to use the pool. It was
very hot in the marina and there was no nice beach to go and cool off in. We
went to the Ocean Terrace Inn a short walk along the promenade after turning
right when exiting the Marina. It cost EC$ 127 for lunch of burgers and drinks.
This was around £30. The pools were lovely set into rocks that meant water
flowed from one to the other like a waterfall. The boys found a friend to play
with. Elliot was 13 and from Long Island in New York. He had not seen kids for
3 days and was keen to play “it” with the boys in the pool. Swimming was not
his strong point and the boys did run rings round him but he was glad of the
company. He was extremely polite and called me Maam.
Ethan decided to take Dogless to enjoy the pool too.
Chilling at the pool bar, where it was EC$6 for Sprite and EC$5 for a beer.
We took the hot walk back to the boat and passed the bus
station which was to be our starting point tomorrow to go to the Brimstone Hill
Fortress. The busses are little mini busses all privately owned and all blinged
up. The artwork is bright and vibrant and they all have names painted on them.
We were unsure of the ones called Survival and Chucky for fear they may have a
hidden meaning. The music blares loudly from them as they zoom along the roads.
There is no timetable and no bus stops. You just wave if you want to get on and
shout stop to get off. It is brilliantly simple. They leave the bus station
when they are full. Everyone uses them as they are so cheap. To travel the 15
minute journey cost EC$10 each way for all 4 of us, that is just £5 as opposed
to a taxi that would have cost probably ten times this.
As I said they go when they are full, and if you do not think
there is room and say you will just get the next one then they will find you
room. I thought Oli was going to be engulfed by a big black momma who ushered
the 2 of them into a space that she had previously occupied. She then sat down
again. Russell was ushered into the front and I in the back. Luckily it thinned
out along the way and Oli was relieved to find a new space.
It was a 30 minute walk straight up to get to the fort. It
gave breath taking views across to Statia. We tried to take a photo and a
rather officious lady told us we had to pay at the booth. We understood this
but A: we were just catching our breath and B: we were taking a photo before
climbing up the hill and entering the fort. She begrudgingly let us take a
photo and when we went to take a second we were told we had to pay. Not sure
why she was so upset about us taking a photo.
The fort has been restored over many years and covers a
large area. The boys liked the cannons as usual and ringing the bell. It
certainly commanded excellent views over the surrounding area, and showed that
indeed we had walked along way up. It was extremely hot and took a lot of
effort to walk around the buildings as they were out in the open. There were
some good displays in the main part of the fort that told you about life living
in the fort. The boys particularly liked the one about the punishments. They
felt the worse one was sitting on a wooden horse whose back was a sharpe V
shape. They then added weights to the ankles depending on the seriousness of
the crime. The boys were quick to point out that this would hurt the men a lot.
I am now threatening to recreate this as a punishment if they do not behave
themselves. The second was a cage suspended and then spun until the prisoner
was violently sick. They thought this one sounded more fun. Having spent a
couple of hours at the fort we went back down the hill to the main road and
caught a bus back to town.
View to Statia
Our friends on Open Blue and Fabiola off to St Barths
Ethan, Emma and Oli pretending to be soliders.
There is a railway on St Kitts which we would have liked to
have done. It takes you halfway round the island and then the bus takes you the
rest. The tour is 3 hours and includes drinks. The catch is the US$89 per
person fee. The boys would have been half price but still this was close to
£200 for a train journey. Here is a link to the website as we never managed to
walk to the station to actually take a picture. http://www.stkittsscenicrailway.com/the-train.html
We picked up a few supplies from the 2 main quite large
supermarkets. They promised quite a lot in their size but the quality and
availability of meat was poor. We would be eating a lot of chicken!!! There
were a lot of fruit sellers with small stalls and also many street BBQ’s. The
smell of the ribs and chicken wafted through the streets and was very enticing,
but we never actually gave it a try. We also bought a lobster from the
fisherman at EC$ 40 (£10) which was both good value and very tasty.
It was time to leave St Kitts and this meant a trip to
customs and immigration to check out. It was a Sunday and despite asking at the
cruise dock if the authorities would be there on Sunday and if there were
overtime fees, (yes to the first and no to the second) it turned out that
immigration was at the airport. This required a US$12 each way taxi. Luckily
Chewsey was checking out too and another yacht was checking in so the 3 of them
split the taxi. It is very tempting if going straight to a French island where
you are only entering data on a computer and nobody ask for previous checkout
to not bother taking the taxi. This is a risk that we have heard many take
successfully, however we always play by the book. When you read Statia (which
was our next port of call) you will know why it is perhaps not worth trying to
bend the rules.
No comments:
Post a Comment