View of Basseterre from the ship |
We didn’t spot Daniela so we started walking down Bay Road (which is the front road stretching along the waterfront) following the map that was on their website. After a couple of stops to make sure we were heading the right way, we found their storefront about a 7-8 minute walk from Port Zante, where the cruise ships dock. Daniela went over the map of the island with us and gave us her overview of her perfect day on St. Kitts. We wanted to head to the beach right away but she recommended that we do the route around the island first and head to the beach in the afternoon. We bowed to her greater experience and took her advice, which we were glad we did!
When we arrived, Daniela told us that the government on St. Kitts had just implemented a new requirement for visitors to have a temporary driving permit for scooters. It was going to cost an additional $24 for each driver. We figured that we might as well go ahead with it as we had been looking forward to this outing all week. Daniela got the guys geared up to take them over to the fire station to get their permit. Another couple had also arrived and were getting ready to leave as well. Unfortunately, I don’t think buddy was as experienced as he thought and he hit the gas instead of the brake, lurched across the road and ran into two scooters parked on the opposite sidewalk. The bike fell over and the wife’s leg was underneath the scooter! Fortunately, there were no major injuries, a pavement burn on the wife’s leg and definitely some aftershocks to deal with but they decided not to go. We were all a little shaky after seeing that and I think we all questioned whether we were doing something crazy or not. We marshaled our resources and forged ahead. Dave and Trent went with Daniela on the scooters to the fire station so that they could get a feel for the bikes and get used to them before Rebecca and I got on the back. They were only gone a short time and had their permits in hand on their return. After some last minute instructions from Tim, we headed out on the highway…♫♪lookin’ for adventure♪♫.
The first part of our drive was the longest on the scooters. It gave us a chance to get used to driving on the left side of the road and get a feel for how the scooters responded. We made a couple of stops to take photos of the gorgeous surf on the Atlantic side of the island.
What a gorgeous coastline! |
I must say that a fabulous part of touring the island this way is the close contact with the people! You drive through lots of small towns and the locals wave and tell you to have a good day or ask if you are enjoying their island. You just do not get that kind of contact when you are taking a tour in a van or car.
Our first stop was at Black Rocks which are volcanic rock formations along the Atlantic coast. The rocks are very chunky and rough looking and some of them are located out in the pounding surf. It is amazing how hard the waves crash into the shore and it is kind of mesmerizing to sit and watch them for awhile.
Black Rocks |
We hopped back on the bikes and headed up the coast to Dieppe Bay and the Golden Lemon Inn (recommended by Daniela). Dieppe Bay is the spot on the island where the currents of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet. You can look out into the water and see white caps coming in one direction and other white caps meeting them at almost a 90 degree angle. Very cool! We spent some time on the black sand beach and then walked over to the inn to check things out.
Black sand beach at Dieppe Bay |
Rested and re-hydrated, we got back on the bikes and headed to the western side of the island and Caribelle Batik at Romney Manor.
The Manor is set at the base of a stretch of mountains located near the centre of the island and boasts some gorgeous gardens that you can wander through at your own pace. There are also some ruins of an old sugarcane plantation as well as Caribelle Batik, which makes gorgeous batik fabrics and has a wide range of clothing and other batik offerings in their gift shop. If you want a unique souvenir that is truly local to the island, this is the place to pick it up!
We spent some time around the grounds and watched a demonstration of how they make the batik fabrics. There was a deluge of rain while we were there but it didn’t last very long. Most people were running for shelter but I was so warm that I stayed right out in the middle of the rain for awhile and cooled off!
Batik demonstration at Caribelle Batik |
View from atop Timothy Hill |
We made our way down the other side of the hill and over to South Friar’s Bay to the beach. Rebecca and I had heard that they gave massages on several of the beaches on St. Kitts and were very keen to get one. Funny enough, we were just getting off our bikes when a guy walked by and we found out his name was “Magic Fingers” and he and his mom, Laverne, gave 30 minute massages for $30. We made an appointment with him and then we set off to the beach. Before we even got there, we came across a bunch of monkeys hanging out around the Shipwreck Bar. They were getting fed some bananas and the tourists were madly snapping photos. Of course, I had to join in because that is not a sight you see every day.
A monkey having a snack! |
South Friar's Beach |
We enjoyed a bit more time in the water before we got back on the scooters and headed back into town. We delivered the bikes to Ride St. Kitts and said our thanks and farewells to Daniela and Tim (who are fellow Canadians…did I mention that???). We walked back to Port Zante and found an internet café so we could find out what was going on in the ‘real world’ at home. We were back on the ship with just a few minutes to spare before ‘all-aboard’ at 5:30pm.
Supper was Chicken Tenders marinated in Thai spices, Tomatoes & Buffalo Mozzarella, Roasted Tom Turkey and a mouth-watering Apple Pie with ice cream for dessert. Checked out a couple of activities and decided we should close out our fabulous day in the hot tub!
We were glad that we didn’t let our nerves dissuade us from doing the scooter excursion because it turned out to be a true highlight of our trip. Daniela and Tim were so helpful and Tim’s quick response to our scooter ‘emergency’ kept it from being more than a small blip in our day!!
Two things I would recommend if you want to do this outing: one is that you MUST have had some kind of experience with motorcycles and/or scooters; second is to take it slowly at first and get used to the scooters. I would add a third thing as well…reapply your sunscreen often!! If you do that, you will have a stellar day on St. Kitts!
If you want to find out more information about what to do on St. Kitts, check out my St. Kitts port-of-call post on this blog.
I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoyed every little bit of it. I have you bookmarked your site to check out the new stuff you post.
ReplyDeleteThe Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, an English speaking two-island nation in the Caribbean, established in 1984 the Federation's citizenship-by-investment program. This second citizenship program is the oldest and most respectable of three existing second citizenship programs in the world. The other two are in the Commonwealth of Dominica and Austria.
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