These photos finish up my reporting on Bill’s and my February trip to the Caribbean island of St. Kitts. If we had the opportunity to return, would we? Yes! The friendly residents of St. Kitts and the island provided entertainment, a variety of activities, beautiful sites, serenity, great food (including seafood) and a sense of safety.
To see the photos in slideshow view, click on one of the thumbnail photos.
.
-
- Cemetery and Middle Island Anglican Church
-
- The exterior paint of many homes was quite colorful. Junk cars were quite plentiful.
-
- Carib beer is brewed on the island of St. Kitts. Its taste was similar to many of the more tame (i.e., less hoppy, etc.) beers brewed in the United States. The beer selection wherever we went seemed to be quite slim.
-
- This was a common scene.
-
- A sign on the northeast coast of the island
-
- Although the St. Kitts Scenic Railway tourist train still runs along the east and north coasts, the track pictured here is no longer used.
-
- Just goats!
-
- This vendor was selling cut up coconuts at Black Rocks (hardened lava formations) on St. Kitts’ northeastern coast.
-
- Black Rocks (hardened lava formations) on St. Kitts’ northeastern coast
-
- An anole, I believe
-
- An anole, I believe
-
- We saw these throughout the island
-
- An abandoned lime kiln
-
- Lime kiln on the way to Caribelle Batik
-
- Tour guide Edwin Burt supplied the rum punch for our picnic.
-
- While on a tour of the rain forest and other island areas with Edwin Burt of Greg’s Safaris, we stopped for a picnic. Mr. Burt served a fine rum punch along with fresh island fruit and baked goods.
-
- Our Greg’s Safari guide, Edwin Burt, educated us about St. Kitts’ sugarcane history. Here he is inside a sugar mill ruin. He said he cut this sugarcane about two weeks prior to our visit. Sugarcane is no longer a major crop on St. Kitts; it grows wildly on the island.
-
- Near the end of our Greg’s Safari tour, we stopped at a sugar mill ruin. This photo is of the inside of that sugar mill. Notice the plants growing near the top.
-
- The exterior of the sugar mill ruin shown in other photos in this post
-
- This is the bell at St. Mary’s Anglican Church. Our guide told us not to ring it. He said the sound of the bell could signal to St. Kitts residents that someone had died.
-
- A view from the inside of St. Mary’s Anglican Church. Notice the thickness of the wall.
-
- The interior of St. Kitts’ St. Mary’s Anglican Church
-
- This is St. Kitts’ St. Mary’s Anglican Church. The restrooms are in a separate location (at left in this photo).
-
- This is the Plantation Great House at the Shadwell Estate. According to Edwin Burt, our guide with Greg’s Safaris, this is where the plantation owner used to live. When we were there, the house seemed in shambles.
.
* * * * * * * *
For “St. Kitts — Part I” click here.
For “St. Kitts — Part II: Vervet Monkeys” click here.
For “St. Kitts — Part III: Lobster” click here.
For “St. Kitts — Part IV: Caribelle Batik at Romney Manor” click here.
For “St. Kitts — Part V: Mr X’s Shiggidy Shack” click here.
For “St. Kitts — Part VI: Brimstone Hill Fortress” click here.
For “St. Kitts — Part VII: The Beach(es)” click here.
For “St. Kitts — Part VIII: Plant Life” click here.
(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)
Marion Gunderson Art (and the Farmer's Daughter) 
April 14, 2012 at 5:36 pm |
I liked getting the tour! But the anole is my favorite pic. Must have been a weird life being a slave there. Are most of the people real poor?
April 21, 2012 at 5:34 pm |
Louise, I’m backlogged in reading your blog – but really enjoy all your articles and the great photos. Thanks tons.
April 21, 2012 at 11:52 pm |
Marti, that’s fine. I’d rather have you spend your time on things that are more pressing, anyway. I know you’ve been saying you don’t have enough time to get other things done, so just put the blog on the back burner.
April 22, 2012 at 6:32 am |
We probably all want to have time for it all – pressing and not pressing things. That’s my goal.
April 22, 2012 at 12:11 am |
Jeff, by the standards of many in the United States, it would seem that most of the people on St. Kitts are poor in terms of money and possessions. One of our guides said that his wife works in a factory and makes about $138 a week, and that the “good” jobs pay about $15 or $20 per hour or more.
However, the impression we got was that people seemed quite content. Their appearance seemed to say they didn’t think they were poor. Our main tour guide said that he usually doesn’t take a day off (or if he does, it is very rare) except for in August (or maybe it was September) when he takes a break for about three weeks. He said he needs to work when there is the opportunity.
We never experienced anyone local doing or saying anything we felt was offensive.
So, in essence, it seemed like their lives were rich, even if they might not have had an obvious huge excess of money.