I started early with my usual hot tea in the deck chair to watch the sunrise and our approach to St. Kitts today. The first glimpse of the island looked similar to other islands we’ve visited that have been volcanic in nature, mountains rising gently out of the sea ringed at spots by beaches fading into crystal blue water. The sun popped out from behind one of the mountains as we approached and the day dawned with only a few puffy clouds. After breakfast we made our way to the gangway. I had booked us on an island tour today with a man who seemed to be legendary (at least in the world of trip advisor). As often as we can we stay away from excursions booked through the ship for reasons of both expense and experience. The exception is scuba diving because of a broken down dive boat on our very first cruise ever that made us late for the boat. The entire ship was held for us, which is would not have been if the excursion had not been through the ship. But on or very near land, I am comfortable with our ability to make it back to the ship on time. Our tour departure was scheduled for nine, so we had time to walk through the brightly colored shops always “conveniently” located near the pier. The first people we encountered were carrying tiny Green Monkeys and offering to let us hold them and take pictures for a fee. The girls couldn’t resist the adorable, well-behaved monkeys, and Christian’s enthusiasm for monkeys (since he had one as a family pet as a child) didn’t make saying no possible. We did get some adorable pictures and the monkeys were very friendly. The next priority was wifi, I mean how were the girls going to post monkey pictures without wifi? We quickly found a shop that offered free wifi as an enticement to shop in their store. With pictures successfully posted (of course with clever captions), we went to find our tour. We were soon introduced to Thenford Gray, a slender gentleman in his 60’s who took the six of us who would be on his tour today to his small, air-conditioned bus. We passed a variety of vans with different names or nicknames painted on the front in an airbrush style that served as taxis. Mr. Gray was not the type the have his name airbrushed anywhere as was the style for the younger drivers. But we were stuck right away with the respect and kindness with which everyone treated him.

We began our tour with a trip through the city of Bassetere, the capital of St. Kitts. There were beautiful old buildings and landmarks along with thorough explanations of the history and workings of each. I caught myself looking toward the front to see if Mr. Gray was reading this information, which he was not! The man would prove to be a walking encyclopedia for St. Kitts, which was mentioned in hundreds of reviews I had seen (hence the legendary status). We ventured outside the city and stopped along the way for photo ops. Our first stop was Romney Manor, an old sugar cane plantation with many of its buildings intact and a beautiful botanical garden. The girls quickly tired of the talk of plants as we toured the gardens and I know they were beginning to doubt my choice of activities today. They were the first back on the bus and they entertained themselves by staging a froot loops blind taste test with the small boxes of cereal we picked up at breakfast. Everyone will be glad to finally know that each color actually tastes too similar to each other to differentiate by taste. They were getting a little restless and when we returned they tried to sneak a froot loop into Christian’s ear without him noticing. They were disappointed when he immediately said “I know there’s a froot loop in my ear”. The comical interlude ended when Mr. Gray continued our education of St.Kitts. They began to change their minds about the excitement level of our tour on the next stop when we visited Caribelle Batiks. They make cloth here through ancient wax dying methods to make designs on fabrics that is labor intensive but very beautiful. Next on the agenda was Brimstone Fortress. It is an old fortress began in 1690 by the English to protect the island, it is perched on a mountain top and has the most incredible views of the Caribbean I’ve ever seen. There is a vast complex of old, relatively intact buildings to explore and expansive grounds to cover with another stunning view at every turn. We boarded the bus again and headed down the mountain on the precarious, narrow winding roads. Mr. Gray was a more careful driver than many of the cab drivers we had been with, but the combination of being on the left side and the fact that many of the steep roads were barely wide enough to accommodate two cars left us holding our breath more than once.

Our tour then took us to the other end of the island and to a high point where we got a good view of the most narrow point on the island (400 meters wide). It was actually a mountainous ridge separating the water. To the left you see the Atlantic Ocean and to the right you see the Carribean. The views just got better and better. We made our way down to the Caribbean side to South Friar Beach where we ate lunch at a waterfront restaurant and spent time snorkeling at the small reef about 50 yards offshore. The water was crystal clear and bright turquoise at the same time. Christian found a sea urchin on the reef we were able to examine more closely before returning him to his home. The mountains surrounding us in this small bay made a breathtaking backdrop to a gorgeous beach. We finally returned to the dock with only a few minutes to spare, the girls put the time to good use with another monkey picture and one last use of the wifi.

Back on board the ship we went through our well tuned shower plan and headed to dinner. We made a much-anticipated siting of elliptical lady as we ate. Dinner was always a time to relax and recount the days adventures. We sat through a family friendly comedy show (well I for one slept through it), the long days in the sun and water were wearing on me. The girls went to watch a movie on the big screen by the pool and I turned in. It’s so hard to believe we had only one port left. Vacations go like that, the first day or two it seems like you have lots of time, but it flies by and when you look up again it’s almost over. Most important for me is not to dwell on that (like I can have a tendency to do), but to be present in every moment of it and take every memory I can away with me.