Saturday March 21 St. Kitts

This morning we find ourselves arriving at the city of Basseterre on the Island of St. Kitts, another member of the British Commonwealth. The much smaller adjoining Island of Nevis is combined with St Kitts (Federation of St. Christopher) to make up the country, which gained independence from Britain in 1983. In fact, these two islands make it the smallest sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere.

The town was founded by Thomas Warner in 1623, the first successful Britiah Colony. France and England fought over it for years! Sugar was the main industry here until the British outlawed slavery. Now its tourism.

Norwegian Sky (2000) is right behind us.

Our first excursion stop, again by Toyota mini-bus, was Romney Gardens, a beautiful spot with a 200 year old tree. (This was far superior to the "garden" we saw yesterday). In residence here is the famous Caribelle Batik studio. An artist was hard at work showing how to wax the fabric. Lots of amazing colors!

Back on the bus, we continue on what they call "The Old Road" (which is fairly new since a Hurricane damaged the original). We head up the mountain to the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built by the British beginning in 1690, using African slaves. The most famous battle was 1782 when the French dislodged the British and took over the fort.

Its a huge compound and gives credit to the engineers as the stone buildings are still in good shape after more than 200 years. The hike up to the top of the fortress is brutal. Five paces up then a step, five paces, then a step. Built the views are impressive! (Sam stayed below, was I the only one who found the trek difficult?)

Back to Basseterre by about 1:00 to explore the cruise terminal which is a large tourism complex that is more typical of other Caribbean ports, that we haven't seen at our previous stops. Found a nice little cafe for lunch called Sweet Cane. Conch chowder!

Dinner tonight was our second "special" dinner, this time in the Pinnacle Grill. We both had steak. Food and service is a step above what we'd get in the Main Dining Room. Excellent!

Tonights entertainment was a musician who was awesome on the Saxaphone, but also sang popular tunes. He was OK.

Tomorrow we're at U.S. Virgin Islands.