I'm back home from beautiful St. Kitts and Nevis. We had a really great time staying at the Marriott resort there. There was a lot to do for the teenager and her friend as well as planned excursions for all of us to see the island of St. Kitts, the rainforest, and a catamaran trip to go snorkeling and visit Nevis.
St. Kitts (or St. Christopher as it is officially named) has a very interesting history as most of these Carribbean islands do I'm sure. This island was named by Christopher Columbus after himself because it was supposedly his favorite island. St. Kitts is not very big with much of the island take up by an "inactive" volcano. Incidentally, don't ask the locals about the fact that it is inactive as they know good and well that it will someday erupt again. I guess they believe it will jinx it to talk about it.
It seemed to me that the gap between rich and poor was vast... much worse than anything here in the United States. They have what they call middle class but they seemed more like the poor here in the states. The people that they called poor are desperately so. I would say that it was hard to see this but to tell you the truth, everyone I saw seemed really happy despite their living conditions.
And there really isn't too much crime to speak of. I had forgotten to leave my expensive jewelry at home so when I got to the hotel, I asked the lady there if it was safe to where my jewelry. She looked at me as if I was completely insane. I explained that there were places in the world that you just don't want to take that chance and she seemed really surprised. Wouldn't it be nice to not have to worry about that?
The only complaint one might have in St. Kitts is that the service is a little lacking. By that, I mean they move at a much slower pace than we do. After about a day of getting used to this new way of thinking, I found it quite refreshing and feel like I could get used to that all of the time. It's a shame that the American culture is so rushed all of the time!
I can't really say what my favorite part of the trip was because I liked all of it. I did discover that I like hiking though... more than I ever dreamed I would. The description of our rainforest tour claimed that it was a moderate hike. I might have agreed with that statement if I had ever done anything more than an easy hike. There were parts of this hike that were quite strenuous for a beginner especially considering that I had running shoes on. Still I made it through ok and really liked it. This brings up the possibility of doing more hiking on vacations. I don't mean the kind where you are packing your sleeping bag and staying overnight. I had enough of camping when I was a kid. However an all day "moderate" hike seems like it might be fun.
The catamaran trip was a blast as usual. This has become something that we do whenever we go somewhere tropical. I was a little disappointed in the snorkeling because there weren't all that many fish and I got bored quickly. The rest of the sailing was really relaxing though. They sailed us to the island of Nevis and dropped us off on the beach next to the Four Seasons. If I go back I'm definitely staying at the Four Seasons. It's not really a place I would take the kids but it was really quiet and relaxing.
I think if I had to do it over again, I would have tried to get one of the condo style rooms with a kitchen. After a while, I really got tired of eating out constantly. Occasionally I just wanted a bowl of cereal or a sandwich that didn't cost me 10 apiece. But other than that, it was awesome and I would definitely go back. Pictures to be added to this post soon....
