St. Kitts

Thursday, February 15, 2001

017-17.340 N
062-43.740 W

St. Kitts is not a place that I'd recommend. Clearing into customs and immigration is a royal pain. You have to go to 3 separate buildings and crawl over terrible docks to get there. The town of Basseterre is grimy and lacks any aesthetic value. I''ve heard that the island is beautiful, but the parts of it that I've seen don't fit that category.

The island of Nevis is about 7 miles south of St. Kitts, and beyond that is Montseratt. The volcano on Montseratt was clearly visible with smoke pouring out of it. According to the reports the dome is building at the rate of 3 cubic meters per SECOND. They expect it to blow sometime in the next 6 months or so. Then again, who knows. I'll keep wide berth.

Mid-February After Trip Back to Boston

I'm happy to report that I had a wonderful 2 weeks back in the Boston area. I got to experience a great snow storm (16+ inches) and got 3 days of great skiing in. It was quite amazing to think that within a week that I had climbed a 3000' volcano, been diving 115' under the sea, and then was skiing down snow covered mountains in single digit temps. Those single digits got the best of me, and on 2/12 it was back down to St. Kitts where Blue Jacket was waiting.

My last e-mail was somewhat negative on St. Kitts and I heard from a few of you that it was a very nice island. Well, after renting a car I can see why you say that. The southern end of the island, which contains the resorts and is mostly undeveloped, is absolutely beautiful. Gorgeous vistas and beaches. Unfortunately if you're on a boat and want to do anything other than sit on it you have to pull into the marina at Basseterre. The effects of 3 major hurricanes have taken their toll on the southern and western sides of the island. I'll repeat my comments on the asthetics of Basseterre and the problems of clearing in. Compared to other islands, I would skip St. Kitts in a heartbeat!

Log ID: 276