While the island doesn't seem to be overtly religious, things are definitely slower on Sundays. After a slow start, I laced up my hiking boots to take a walk down to the beach. Even at 8:30 am it was pretty warm. I walked past the Vance Armory International airport landing strip that made me glad I had flown I to St Kitts. Of course the water was an amazing blue and I passed a flock of wild goats for which the island is known.
I got into the pool upon my return before having a traditional salt fish Nevisian breakfast. The rest of the day was spent napping or by the pool with a book, until I decided I was going to rent a scooter to get around rather than a car. I figure it will be a little more forgiving if I find myself on the "wrong" side of the road.
I struggled with the website application due to my inability to follow directions well, impatience, and a poorly designed site. After consulting with the staff at my hotel, I elected to walk back down the hill to find Kevin who runs the scooter rental. Nothing is really well marked so despite my gos saying I had arrived, I did. It feel that I had. I went into a small restaurant to ask for help and the ladies said he had just left. Just my luck.
But as is the case anywhere here, they asked if I wanted them to call him. Yes please. And five minutes later Kevin was back. In the meantime, I saw in my email that one of my applications had gone through despite getting an error every time. I still had to wait for processing. Kevin asked me what my intentions were and I said I wanted a scooter for five days. He gave me a ride back up the hill and I quizzed him on places i should visit.
He said definitely the Alexander Hamilton museum and the hot springs which were in my list. He added Montpelier (where Princess Diana stayed in 1993) for its gardens and Golden Rocks for the view . Both are former plantations that have been converted into hotels. I had avoided staying at the former plantations because of the ridiculous prices and concern that my Pisces sense would pick up the former negative energy of these places. The slave life expectancy rate on sugar plantations was five to 10 years due the crushing labor, heat, and disease.
He also recommended the artisans village just outside Charlestown where island people sell their hand made wares. These are always places where I am easily parted from my money because I want to support local economies, but I told myself I don't need any more stuff that my kids will have to sort through when I die.
After a swim in the pool, I got cleaned up to have dinner. After all, it was my birthday. I had the ahi tuna tartare and grilled prawns and they brought me a strawberry cake with a candle for dessert.
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