St. Kitt's and Nevis ... two gems in the Caribbean

As it would be, St. Kitt’s was as special as we thought it would be.  More on that is just a little bit…

But, the little island just south of St. Kitt’s is Nevis – so the boys are easy and up to anything so we sailed to Nevis – Pinney Beach was our destination for a couple of days – great mooring balls.  Our main objective was to actually tour this little gem – we ended up at Golden Rock Inn, one of the most amazing restaurant - hotel -botanical gardens I have ever seen. The owner’s 5^th generation grandfather owned/built the sugar plantation that encompasses the aforementioned.  All of the buildings and foundations are made of the volcanic rock, have been incorporated into one of the most stunning/ breathtaking views/and delicious lunch stops – even had a dip in their pool before completing the rest of the island tour.  

At the Golden Rock Inn - all built by slaves....

As I keep repeating; “the Caribbean Folks” are special – they are kind and considerate and truly want a person to enjoy time on their islands – true with our taxi/tour guide ... Frances answered all questions and was a wealth of information…. dinghying back to the boat for a relaxing evening on Companion – a game or two of Rummikub (Andy was excited because he actually beat Dale – which hardly ever happens!) (Zeph is a new learner to the game – so he needs practice!) and we were out like a light…

the stone walls of Brimstone Fortress

Wednesday was back to St. Kitt’s - a little island history tour we took– Brimstone Fortress – the oldest fort in the Caribbean, which took over 104 years to build, – oh my gosh it was on top of the world (or at least this island) – an amazing and huge fortress – with tons of history – the boys enjoyed climbing all over and thru the buildings and so did we! 

Carib slave built

Rainbows that knock your socks off... we saw both ends hanging in the moutains

Again the taxi/tour guide, Adolphus was also over the top …. he was so proud of his home and the “international, international airport!”  (inside joke…. to long to explain …but maybe sometime when you need a giggle we can go there!) 

One of the other interests for me was to actually see the “green velvet monkeys” – to the locals they are "pests" (fun fact: 36,000 people and 50,000 monkeys) – but I was fascinated – we happened upon a research team from UCLA and The University of Wisconsin – capturing the monkeys for genetic testing – and then releasing them back into the mountains – fascinating work and a chance to see the monkeys up close – they really do have a soft green fur that shimmers in the sunlight …    

You know … this world is really so small – Chuck Novak and Peggy Weymouth from Springfield, IL met us for lunch on Thursday – we were in the Port Zante Marina next door to their cruise ship dock – what a great way to reconnect – can you imagine, going half way across the world for lunch? -  a lot of reminiscing and laughing…. Chuck helped us finance Companion way back when – so it was good to show “the banker” what he dealt with!!!  Life goes by to quick not to take advantage of these kind of opportunities …. Chuck is planning on joining us sometime in March – so there you have it – life is really good – he just retired last week!!

Chuck on Companion... what  a treat!

After a quick decision, we left the marina at 4pm and just “gonna” sail to the end of St Kitt’s and then make a decision – anchor or keep going … need to get to Antigua for sure by Saturday because Danylle is arriving.   So we rounded the island – winds ok – waves not to bad…. go thru the “narrows” which really meant going over shallow water into the Atlantic – (during the Ice Age St. Kitt and Nevis were one island ) … One of the highlights of this sail for the boys was sailing past “Boobie Island” (yes, that its actual name) – you know what kind of comments I got to listen to…. let your imagination wander ….  the wave and winds got a “little more than rough” – the guys sailed thru the night – the moon was so big and full – a giant spotlight in the sky we could see the waves roll across the bow …. what should have taken about 10 hours took 17 hours – whew we were tired when we floated into Antigua – but what a sight we saw…  were treated to amazing turquoise waters, beautiful picturesque homes/resorts and a lagoon that was as smooth as silk…. thanking God again for a safe night’s passage and settled stomachs!

keep forgetting to share - the flowers are magnificent

This Glorious Lily just growing on the side of an obscure path

God is so good for sharing with us!!

A good little nap before we checked into Antigua, delicious dinner – (love the pressure cooker) - a scoop of ice cream and off to bed tonight…. St Kitt’s and Nevis … so glad to have visited you!!  We would all recommend these two little gems for a get away!  Can't wait for Danylle to arrive... counting the hours....