We had a phenomenal sail to St. Kitts… a nice leisurely broad reach with 4-6 foot rollers trailing us. It was neat to see the Kingdom of Redonda’s cliffs come into view. Its an uninhabited micronation. From 1865-1912 there was a lucrative phosphates export business into Britain. As for the history of this steep little tyke…. look it up…. it’s shrouded in mystery. No, seriously. Apparently a trader in Montserrat noticed no other nation lay claim to the neighboring island. So he took it upon himself to claim it for him and his son.

As we neared St. Kitts, Nevis came into view. A green island with a great mountain that disappeared into white clouds, it was just as Christopher Columbus had found Nevis. We entered the customs port of St. Kitts in Basse Terre where large rolling waves tore through the anchorage. This was not going to make for a quiet calm night. So we motored into a marina for some luxury sleep. Yay! We cleared in next to two titanic-looking cruise ships…. I will never trust a cruise ship that large. I just don’t get it.

The next day we met with our friends Tom/Megs & Nils/ Lisa. While figuring transportation to Brimstone Hill Fort, a street food chef came over to us hurriedly said ‘ I have a present for you.’ then puts two kicking lobsters in my hand and walks away to tend to his grill. …uh…. what?!?!. I eventually gave them back and we found a van to the fort. WOW what a fort, it was so picturesque, standing prominently on an enormous monolith of land. Even driving up to it was fun. A guardhouse on one of the hairpin turns held about 6 lounging cats with a sign next to them that said ‘no dogs allowed’. The fort was very well restored and held really great informational stations. The premises were great to explore  and we made the most of it. Especially when we scaled the side of a wall to see the captains quarters….Once we were all “forted-out” we visited an old batik plantation which was immaculate with old trees and lovely gardens.

At the end of the day we all ended up in White House Bay to hide from Southeasterly rolling waves for the night. Our friends continued onward to other islands but Mike and I still had some exploring to do in St. Kitts. We explored the bar next to us which was far too posh for us. But it had so many great features, we were suckered into the ambiance and ordered our high-class cocktails. They had a pimped-out dinghy dock with underwater nightlights so you could see the fishes  below. The lounging couches had fine wooden pulley system for decorations, sail pillows & throw cushions for couches under firelight lamps, and my favorite, the hammocks that extended over the water with underwater lights below. We met some rad kids from the bay area at the bar who were a riot. And before we left, we laid in the hammocks. The next day Mike threw his phone in the water but with cat-like reflexes snatched it out of the water. We continued the day with a hike with beautiful views of the Atlantic and Caribbean oceans. When we were trying to hail a taxi to reggae beach who else  showed up but the rad bay area kids on their scooters. They gave us a ride to the beach and showed us where to eat. Sure enough we had some great cocktails (mudslide!!!) and the best roti Mike and I have eaten thus far. In the end people in St. Kitts want to make sure you have a good time. Great place, can’t wait to return.