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Early this morning it was wet, so our planned trip to Nevis was postponed. We decided to stay in St. Kitts and explore the Atlantic coast.
Sugar, rebellion, a pyroclastic flow and a missing Lion
Dorian Speakman2006-02-23 14:04:23
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drenched white couple, one with a silly hat from the Canary Islands brandishing a camera in pouring rain by the lineside. We wandered along the line a bit further, but the rain was making progress a real chore. We hit the road again, and decided to call it a day. We jumped on the next bus going up the coast. Passing some small rocks with "Black Rocks" painted on, we then changed at Dieppe Bay to continue down the Caribbean coast, with a possible stop at Brimstone Fortress. But the weather continued to be wet, so we stayed on to Basseterre. We both felt a bit green, I don’t do narrow roads at high speed well, give me the train any day. Although at $85, perhaps not.
² to bez. Yorkshire Dales (Wharfedale) dialect: to move at speed usu. in terms of a small road vehicle.
We staggered off the bus and went into the market to stock up, to pass the latest shipment of cruise passengers, on the island for a few hours. They tend to move very slowly and want everything, including their change, to be in US dollars.
5 February, Sunday: The SE Peninsular
Today we decided to cycle down the South East peninsular. “There could be rain”, said one of the gardeners. And yes, some of the cumulus clouds did look quite tall for 8.30 am. But we went anyway, and soon after the sun was replaced by cloud and persistent heavy showers. Not that it put us off. We were too stubborn, daft or optimistic. Still, it meant the steep hills out of Frigate Bay were a much cooler climb. The Great Salt Lake down in the south of the island felt more like the English Lake District: driving sheets of rain and visibility down to a mile or so. Even the cloud level went down to about 300 ft - this is the tropics, right? By the lake we passed two vervet monkeys diving for shelter from the rain. We visited Major’s Bay which looked a little desolate, there was a wrecked hut and a bit of boat in the bay. We found our way to Cockleshell Bay, home of Lion’s Bar, under recommendation from our neighbours at the hotel, Inya and Karen. Sadly, due to the weather, Lion was closed and so the legendary “Lion” cocktails weren’t to be. Instead it was our own sandwiches at the bar; we’d carefully stepped over the “Keep Out” sign to shelter from the driving rain. After a while, the rain paused a bit so we had a quick dip in the sea. Occasionally, some motorists turned up, parked, had a look a the rain, and turned back. In turn, we headed back, through bits of drizzle, the skies clearing conveniently as we arrived back at Bird Rock.
See photographs from:
St Kitts and Nevis Gallery
