There was quite a breeze last night and so there was more than normal rocking of the boat, which was fine with us. For those that don’t like that, this is not the cruise for you. All night you could feel the boating swaying and could hear the water slapping up against it. We never sleep well the first night, which was the case, but I still found the sway comforting.
We met up with Marguerite and Joe for a leisurely breakfast, and then got ready for our excursion for the day, a rain forest hike at Nevis Peak. It is a potentially active volcano at the center of the island, and it is 3232 ft above sea level. The slopes and valleys are covered in lush green rain forest. We had a short drive to the Atlantic side of the island, and you saw traces of Nevis’ sugar producing past as the last plantation closed in the mid-20th– century. The hike began at the ruins of an old plantation in St. James parish dating back to the 1650’s. Our guide, who for short, went by Willie, talked about the flora and fauna which included bamboo, tropical fruit trees and the local monkeys, Vervet monkeys (which we didn’t see any). At one point, he picked some leaves off a plant and had us break/tear them and figure out what we were smelling. It turned out to be cinnamon, but the bark on this species is not used like we normally see. You use the leaves and make tea among other uses for recipes. The hike was not as strenuous as it was made out to be, but it was nice to see the island and some stunning views. It was hot outside, so the shade from the canopy of trees was welcomed.
At the end of the hike, Willie took us to the Nevis Hot Springs. It is known by the locals that the ultra-warm springs have therapeutic healing powers. Most of us sat and put our feet in the water, and it took a couple of minutes to keep my feet in, as the water is very warm. Apparently, the water gets up to 108 degrees Fahrenheit, and is said to contain minerals of medicinal value that some claim cure rheumatism, gout, and other chronic illnesses.
We found out that Alexander Hamilton was born on Nevis and there is a museum and statue of him near the port. We tendered back at 4:30 and showered, then had drinks and nibbles before dinner at 7:30. The sea was very rough and at times was difficult to walk, so the evening activities were cancelled due to the weather. Since we didn’t sleep well the last couple of nights, we made it an early night, did some reading while being lulled to sleep with the movement of the ship. This is our third trip with Star Clippers, and it has been the roughest so far, but it doesn’t bother us, which is a good thing! Tomorrow, we arrive in Dominica and in the morning around 9 am, we are to meet up with the Royal Clipper and we will sail into port together! That is the largest of the ships in the Star Clippers fleet.
Excerpt about Nevis from our daily flyer:
Unspoiled nature is only one of the many fascinating aspects of this small, and relatively undiscovered destination. Long ago, St. Kitts and Nevis were the pearls of the British Caribbean; rich and enormously wealthy with its highly productive sugar industry, while on St. Kitts the impregnable fortress of Brimstone Hill stood proudly as the Gibraltar of the West Indies. Romance also plays a part in the island’s history for it was under Nevis’s blue skies that a certain dashing young naval officer, one Horatio Nelson, met, courted, and married Fannie Nisbet, amidst the glamorous background of the colonial plantations.
