HISTORY OF SAINT KITTS
The island was originally settled by the Carib Indians who were mostly cannibals. However, following the usual pattern of the Europeans, it was first colonized in 1623 by Sir Thomas Warner, his family and 14 others. These English people were joined by French settlers in 1625 after they sought refuge on the island after losing a battle with a Spanish galleon. The two groups exterminated the Carib Indians at Bloody Point in 1626. The Spanish tried to take the island in 1629 but they were unsuccessful. The British colonists then extended their colony to nearby Nevis, Antigua, Barbuda, Tortuga and Montserrat, while the French claimed Martinique and Guadalupe.
There was intermittent warfare between the French and British for the next centuries. France captured the island in 1706 only to lose it again shortly afterwards. The French then laid siege to the British fort on Brimstone Hill in 1782, eventually overcoming the British. St. Kitts was permanently restored to the British in 1782 after the treat of Versailles.
The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis was established as an independent nation within the British Commonwealth in September of 1983. It is democratically ruled with main industries of tourism, sugarcane and light industries.
The country had been blacklisted by various international financial agencies for improprieties in its off-shore financial-services industry, but by 2002, it had been removed from all such lists.
OUR DAY ON ST. KITTS
The ship arrived at approximately 9 am and the wind was blowing fiercely and the rain was sheeting down. The passengers who signed up for tours were leaving the ship with beach towels wrapped around their heads. Umbrellas were useless in the wind. The large size of the ship broke the wind until passengers had to leave that protection to go from dock to shore. It was at that point that many lost their headgear to the waters.
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| Stormy Morning |
We delayed our exit from the ship until after lunch when the rain stopped. The town is small and consists mostly of a street of tourist shops and another street that leads to the old part of town. We briefly visited one or two tourist shops for a photo op.
Since Ron and Nancy are shoppers, Earline and I took off to explore the old part of town. It is a pretty poor neighborhood so we did not want to venture too far from the mass of tourists. Still there were some interesting sights to see.
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| Old Town Plaza |
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| Interesting Air Conditioning...don't step outside! |
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| Local park |
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| Poinciana Seed Pod |
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| Poinciana Tree with seed pods that can be used as shakers.
This tree was the subject of the song Poinciana, first made popular by
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| Fountain in Park |
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| Independence Square - St. Kitts |
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| Humm... |
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| Back to the tourist district. |
There was one interesting shop in the area and they sold fabrics made from bamboo. I was amazed at how soft these fabrics, shirts, pants, sheets, etc. were. They were much softer than Egyptian cotton.
There is a bar in the center of the tourist street. Earline and I had a cocktail while waiting for Ron & Nancy to finish shopping. I must admit there were very strong. You get you money's worth at this bar!
Back to the ship for a good dinner with the waiters singing O Solo Mio... (Not so good but enthusiastic)
Since the reason for this cruise was to celebrate Ron's 75th birthday, his wife, Nancy surprised him with a special cake at dinner.
The evening production show was the "Las Vegas Tenors", three very talented tenors doing a variety of musical styles. Earline and I thought they were great but Ron declined to go, stating he had heard them before and was not overly impressed. They missed a great production. The ship's orchestra was outstanding.
The ship is sailing toward Antigua as we sail off to sleep...ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
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