We have now followed the highlights of Horatio Nelson’s life from beginning to end. He was born in England and when we were in Portsmouth, England, we toured his ship Victory which he commanded when he was killed in the Battle of Trafalgar in Spain. We visited Nelson’s Boatyard in Antigua where he spent a portion of his navy career and we now visited Nevis where he was married and served in the Navy for several years. St. Kitts and Nevis were quite the hotbed of activity back in the day. Samuel Jefferson, great-great-grandfather of Thomas Jefferson, lived and died on St. Kitts. Alexander Hamilton was born on Nevis. The Jamestown settlers stopped on Nevis for a week to get supplies and rest and Cecily Tyson was born on Nevis. Today, Nevis is a quiet island with a population of 11,000 people. We headed over to Nevis via a short ferry ride and were met at the port by Sam. Sam was a self-proclaimed tour guide and he gave us a fair price so we climbed into his taxi. Upon further inspection, Sam had to have been at least 104 years old. He drove an average speed of 15 mph. At top speed, he reached 40 mph but we were going downhill so that was probably by accident. When other drivers would blow their horns behind him, he would say, “Not sure what their problem is today!” His daughters lived in New York City and he told me, “I call them several times a day. It costs 25 cents a minute so I only talk for two minutes. Then, I call them for two minutes later in the day….at least a few times.” I could just imagine his daughters trying to explain to him that 25 cents a minute was all the same whether it was in two minute increments or not! Bill and I nicknamed him Sam the Sloth. When we zipped past the local drag racing strip at a blazing 20 mph, Bill jokingly asked Sam if he raced there on the weekends. Sam responded, “No, that’s for the youngsters” as he totally missed the irony and humor of the situation. At his own speed, Sam took us to all the places we wanted to see including the botanical gardens, the first church in the Caribbean, Nelson’s places and a haunted ruin (that’s what happens when the groom gets into a duel on his wedding day and dies….it tends to piss off the bride!)
We spent our other two days of exploring seeing the rest of the sites on St. Kitts. Our first stop was the Eco Park which was built by the government of Taiwan….do not ask us why, we just knew we had to see what it was. The park will forever remain a mystery as it had not reopened since the Stupid. The Eco Park employee handed us a brochure but she would not let us walk around the property. There was more than likely a hidden nuclear facility hiding under the guise of wind vanes and solar panels but who knows! After our Eco Park disappointment, we drove over to Fort Brimstone which was an amazingly restored British fort. The views were incredible and other than a few tourists and about 30 elementary school children, we had the place to ourselves. Another site we visited was a plantation that featured Old Road Rum and batik cloth making. The property had a 400 year old tree that was spectacular! I also got to hold some baby Vervet monkeys that were so sweet. We spent the night at an Airbnb which, once again, featured a rooster outside the window with the added joy of a barking dog. I believe all Caribbean Airbnbs should just be called “The Farmyard”. That way, our expectations would be set accordingly prior to arrival. Our final day with the rental car, we drove to the south end of the island to investigate our next anchorage. We have decided the best anchorage will be the one next to the Shipwreck Beach Bar….our kind of place! It featured ocean views, a beach, beer and more monkeys! After a few days at anchor seeing more monkeys and doing some snorkeling, we will be crossing over to the BVIs where we will jaunt about the islands for the next month. We are both looking forward to the beauty and party atmosphere of the BVIs as our “last new first stop in the Eastern Caribbean”. I have lots of pictures this week but the internet is not currently cooperating. I will upload as soon as I can.
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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