Monday was our first full day on St. Kitts, so obviously our
expectations were very high. Despite the humidity and rain I believe our
expectations were met. After waking up we ate breakfast at the hotel and almost
had to be rolled out of the restaurant because of the mass amount of food
consumed. Mrs. Newman passed out a packet on the history of St. Kitts to
prepare us for the tour we would take in a few hours. After relaxing by the
pool while reading the brief history we were picked up by Annie our tour guide
for the day. She drove into the city of Basseterre to begin our walking tour.
On the tour we learned about the vast history of St. Kitts and the culture of
the “Kitties”. Basseterre is filled with many different beautiful churches and
many buildings made of timber and brick. Annie was filled with dates and fun
facts and never failed to keep us interested.
Her passion made us want to love the island as much as she does. Annie kept us involved for example she created a slave simulation where according to Gabe I am only worth $1,000. Out of all of the important lessons we learned I think we will never take a picture of a monkey in a diaper because the owner will charge you $20. “The finest pencil point does not do justice to the perfection of St. Christopher” (St. Kitts). Before departing Port Zante, the owner at a local jewelry store gave each of the girls a pearl pendant as souvenir.
In the afternoon, we met Dr. Kimberly Stewart, the founder
of the St. Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Network. She spoke with us about how she
started her NGO, and we watched a presentation on sea turtles and what this
organization does for them and for this community. She informed us about the
types of sea turtles on the island and how their population is quickly
decreasing. We ate dinner with her at the hotel and then headed to Key’s Beach
to begin our turtle watch. Starting at 8 p.m. and finishing at 12 a.m. we
walked a total of 8 miles with 30-minute naps along the way. Although there
were no turtle sightings and little sleep there was plenty of exercise and
stargazing. I am excited for the future turtle walks with hopes of spotting a
turtle eventually. All in all Monday was a great day and a good way to start
the trip off right.
Tuesday morning began about the same as yesterday. We first
went to breakfast at the hotel and then hopped in the car to do our own island
tour. Our plan was to walk around Brimstone Hill, which is a main part of St.
Kitt’s history. However the weather did not want to cooperate. It continued to
pour and pour some more so we decided to drive around the island. We stopped at
the Ottley’s plantation and walked through their rain forest. Eventually we
made it to the South Peninsula and the view was awesome. Although the drive was
a journey by it self because the potholes were practically craters. At times we
could have sworn the bumper was going to fall off due to the steep ditches. We
often felt like we were on a roller coaster. Why would you go to Six Flags if
you can go to St. Kitts? I am officially the trip navigator and reserved my
shotgun spot in the car due to the many times where we would have gotten lost
if I had not remembered where to go. Ms. Yen often doubted my memory, but hey
we would probably still be lost if we went her way!
By Sarah Bair
No comments:
Post a Comment