Tuesday and Wednesday 20^th & 21^st March

There has been lots of confusion about the cricket – ask anyone and you get another version of possibilities.   So we decided to walk up to the cricket ground and find out from the horse’s mouth.   We were introduced to a guy in the same complex but on the football side who thought that the West Indies had moved the match from Warner Park (St Kitts) to St Lucia and that the Australians had been upset by this!  So regretfully we had to give up on that plan.

We had a further wander around, meeting a very nice lady on her way to church who recommended that we went to the fort at Brimstone Hill and the Batik workshop, which sounds a good idea.   We then tried to find a way to get there cheaply:  hire cars are very expensive and on top of that you have to buy a driving licence at US$29, ditto scooters and taxis start at about US$90 a round trip to the Fort plus waiting time.   We have decided that we will catch the bus early and walk up (apparently 2 miles uphill….) while it’s still cool.  The lovely security lady on the gate here tells us we are “fit and beautiful and it should be no problem”!

Incidentally security seems to be quite tough for the residents in the marina:  we have to get passes every time we leave the site but just about anyone else can wander in or out:  the fishing boats that moor here seem to have large entourages of hangers-on and any number of cruise ship tourists, ferry users and guys touting for some sort of business can enter.   On top of that I have to beg the one and only entry card to the loos and showers – the men’s is always open.

The rest of the day Rob spent exposing the two toilet holding tanks and wondering how to get at the hose pipes and connections.   He has finally concluded that our problems are calcium in the pipes which we are slowly solving with Porchov (a magic formula from Turkey which we are fast running out of, and will have to resort to descaler when we can find it).   From now on we will also take Nigel Calder’s advice and fill up the pipework with vinegar overnight once a month to keep the calcium at bay.   And I completed my gluing of Treadmaster on to the passerelle this time.

When we got up on Wednesday morning the weather looked threatening which was typical when we are planning a lengthy walk!   Easily caught a bus from round the corner with a very helpful bus driver who pointed out where to get out for the Batik place later.   The bus fares in total for the day worked out at EC$19 (less than US$10), which was a saving of approximately EC$241 on the next cheapest form of transport!   As we got out of the bus at the junction of the main road and the long drive leading up to the fort, a troop of monkeys ran over the road and then all along the first stretch of our walk they were peeping out of the trees at us.   These are African Green Vervet monkeys originally imported by plantation owners and now in their 1000s here.   They seem to do quite a lot of damage to the fruit crops here, ruining all the mangoes by biting each fruit and throwing it down on the ground.

Much of the walk up was shaded by trees and we were pleasantly surprised to arrive at the entrance after quarter of an hour, but we hadn’t taken into account that it was still quite a way uphill to the very top!   Brimstone Hill Fort is a UNESCO Heritage site and is the earliest remaining example of a pentagonal fort.   It has been very well restored and has wonderful views.   As we came back down to the café area we realised just where all the cruise ship tourist go (but not that many were managing the short walk up to the Citadel!).   There was also a group of Harley Davidson riders there.   It transpired that they were also on the cruise ship that caters for 35 bikers as a special deal.   Unfortunately they were all rather long faced as one of their group, acting as outrider (a sort of whipper-in) had failed to see an oncoming bend in the road and plunged over the edge of a steep drop and fell down 20’ but luckily isn’t too injured.

We begged a lift down the hill in the workers’ van and then as we got out at the main road we immediately managed to flag down a bus which turned out to be the same helpful driver from the first trip.   He then dropped us by a narrow lane which would shorten our walk up to the Batik place.   This visit was a bit disappointing, although interesting to see the demonstration of how it is done.   It was also heaving with tourists.   The beautiful gardens advertised around the plantation house were limited – perhaps we have been spoilt by other visits on other islands?   Another bus trip got us back into town and we decided that we deserved lunch at the upstairs café, Ballahoo, overlooking The Circus, so named after Piccadilly Circus.  The rest of the day was spent recovering from a lot of hot walking!

We are in a dilemma about where we should go next and for how long.   We would like to see Nevis if only for the 24 hour pass we can get from here, which we think, saves extra taxes; and visit the bays at the southern end of St Kitts.   But we seem to be heading into a hole in the wind which may last for at least a week and the idea of a long motor to the Virgin Islands seems a great waste when we had been looking forward to a good/broad beam reach all the way;  so we may have to set off there rather earlier than planned to catch the wind.