Exploring Nevis - Day 3

[Kyle]Since the previous day had not been quite strenuous enough, we decided to circumnavigate the entire island by bicycle. Both the guy at the bike shop and the Tourist Information office assured us that the shore road circling the island is mostly flat and not too hilly at all. Even though we were more than at touch saddle sore from the previous day's ride we figured we'd stop a lot on route and we'd be fine.

After a brief stop in Charlestown to clear customs, and to add to our stock of drinks at a supermarket, we headed anticlockwise along the ring road to our first planned stop <<>> reputed to have a crucifix with a Black Jesus. As soon as we got out of Charlestown, however, the road began to climb in the manner of the lines at Disneyland; just when you think you are almost to the top/front, you come around a corner and there is more hill/line! This went on for miles, all the while huge dump trucks were barreling down the road going both ways, leaving us little room for the weaving back and forth that is characteristic of climbing a hill at half a mile an hour on a bicycle!

We made it to the church and found it locked, and although we attempted to peep through all available windows, we could not tell in the dim light what the guy on the crucifix looked like (apart from miserable). We used the excuse to have a drink and a snack and rest before returning to THE HILL. It turned out by then, that we had barely even started. We kept assuming we were almost done (remember everyone told us it was flat) but people hanging out on the road sides, or passing in their trucks, kept laughing at us. During one particularly steep part, Maryanne had a nice conversation with an old man who was taking his daily walk. He warned her that it was dangerous to cycle on the hill with the big trucks, Maryanne told him not to worry, she wasn't cycling, mostly just pushing her bike up hill.



Gentle Hike through the "rain forest" at Golden Rock Plantation
Eventually, we finally did reach the top of the hill, and enjoyed a screaming coast down the other side. Occasionally stopping to take a picture or inspect something of interest. One of the first things we came across was our next planned stop - Golden Rock Plantation, itself up another impossibly steep and long hill. The appeal of Golden Rock was it was reputed to have a large resident population of Green Vervet monkeys (elsewhere on the island you can see them, but they are unpredictable in location). We obtained a trail map from the office and went into the forest, which of course started off with a steep hill! We didn't see any monkeys on the hike, although the forest was beautiful. At the end of the trail we were feeling pretty tired and hungry and found the restaurant too tempting to pass up. The plantation is just gorgeous, the restaurant offered views of the Caribbean from about 2/3rds of the way to the top of Mount Nevis. The food was also excellent.


Relaxing around Golden Rock Plantation
Just as we were finishing our meal, the woman from the office came looking for us to tell us that there were monkeys down the hill, and once we'd done eating we should stop by her office and she would make sure we'd not miss them. On the way down the hill you could not miss them. There were monkeys everywhere, however, they were still very skittish and hard to get close enough to get a good photograph.

Green Vervet Monkeys - At Golden Rock Plantation

[Maryanne]The Vervet monkeys were brought to the island as pets, centuries ago, and have since happily multiplied and are now fully wild. They exist only On Nevis and St Kitts, and I was especially keen to see them while we were there. I was so excited and happy to finally see them. The story is that the French brought them to the islands, however another guide book suggested that "French" was just a derogatory term used for the English that brought them over - who knows!

[Kyle]Next stop on the tour was the Nevisian Heritage Museum, which was reported to to do an excellent job of the pre-columbian life. However as we arrived, they were closing the gate (too early for closing time, but I guess it was soap opera night!).

So then we just continued on our anti-clockwise circuit via the shore road, nearly all coasting down hill which was a great relief. One extra thing on our "to do" list was to sample the "killer bee" cocktail at the Sunshine beach club. We could barely stand the extra two mile ride past Oualie beach to get there, we were so stiff and saddle sore, but we did it. When we got there, we found it was closed, totally locked and shuttered up, we were so disappointed. We returned to Oualie beach and asked the barman to give us a special (after they confirmed they could NOT make us a Killer Bee). Maryanne had a mango margarita, and I had a strong rum punch, even though we didn't need any help to sleep that night.

Again, we found ourselves having a lively conversation with the other folks at the bar, this time with an English diver/marine biologist (sound like anybody you know?). Afterwards,  we rowed back to the boat and collapsed in a heap - leaving preparations for our next sail to the following day.

Exploring Nevis - Day 2

[Kyle]Starting from Oualie beach, we decided the next day to rent a bicycle for me (Maryanne would use our on-board folding bicycle) for us to explore further around the island.



Cycle trail passing saddle Hill, and local wildlife

We took the road back to, and through Charlestown to a dirt track / trail that followed the coast on the south-west side of the island (there are numerous bicycle trails marked on the "Journey map" provided by Tourist Information). The trail took us through back gardens (on right of ways) and within a few minutes, all signs of civilization had disappeared [Maryanne]the landscape quickly became almost African. [Kyle]We found ourselves alone on a dirt trail that varied in quality between smooth road and rutted mountain biking track. Maryanne did surprisingly well with her folding bike that was certainly NOT built for rough trails. I even broke a spoke on my fancy mountain bike, and put it in the backpack to return to the store with it.

Eventually, towards the South side of the island, the vegetation became dry scrub with the rocky coast on one side and saddle mountain in the distance on the other. The track began to get very rough and I decided to ride the last 100 yards or so to the lighthouse (pole!) much to the irritation of the many wild donkeys and goats along the way that felt obliged to leave the road as I approached. We also found a very tiny beach, which I managed to scramble down to in order to fill my shoes with sand and pebbles!

On the way back we decided to take a short cut, the town by-pass, in effect, which ended up being just one big up hill followed by a down hill to the main coast road. Going very slowly up the hill, about half way up, we noticed TVs and a marked decrease in the number of people and moving cars in the streets. We were tired and dehydrated, so decided to stop at a local shack/store for a soda (and a rest from climbing that hill). Inside the store were a few locals watching the inauguration speeches on a TV mounted in the corner. The woman from the counter waved to allow us to take a drink from the fridge, and we sat at the counter drinking our sodas and watching the rest of the speeches with the locals. Once ended, we had no more excuse to linger, and feeling rested, we returned to the hill.

A couple of miles out of town, my chain broke, leaving the bike unusable for anything except coasting down hill. The problem was we had previously arranged to meet a guide at 3pm for a hike, and we were running out of time - now we had an extra delay. Maryanne stayed with me as I pushed/coasted for a while, but eventually, we agreed she would have to go ahead to meet with the guide, leaving me to rush to swap the bike and then catch up. Despite the fact that Maryanne had telephoned ahead for me, upon returning to Oualie beach, rather than swap the bike, the shop wanted to fix it, so I sat there checking my watch every 20 seconds until he'd finished. I tore out of the parking lot and onto the road at about 5 minutes to 3pm, worried that they would either start without me, or that Maryanne would miss the hike because I'd not shown up.

I rode as hard and fast as I could, speeding along the coast road for a mile or so, before I turned the road for the climb to the mount Lilly estate (where we were to meet the guide). This road appeared to be a 15% grade that went on for as far as I could see (and then some). I was quickly in low gear and pushing harder than I should have been, trying to make it to the top of the hill. Just as I was thinking I was almost there, a small 4 wheel drive came down the road with Maryanne waving at me from the passenger seat; one of the other hikers had graciously offered to come and collect me, and delay their hike so we could all go. We quickly loaded the bike into the car and headed back for the rendezvous point - it turned out that I was no where near the top (maybe a 1/3rd of the way), I would never have made it in time (and I'd probably have got lost on the way anyway!).

Everyone was very understanding about my late arrival, and rather than being frustrated at the late start, all seemed happy to help rescue me - a little extra adventure. The hike we had arranged was with Jim Johnson, a biologist/pathologist/agriculturist with a wonderfully encyclopedic knowledge of the flora and fauna of Nevis. During the slow pace hike we would often stop at some plant and he'd break off a piece for us to smell or inspect while he cited numerous factoids of its uses or island history. There seemed to be nothing of the forest that we could question that Jim didn't understand in great detail. He was enthusiastic, a little eccentric, and really entertaining as a guide. Our hike quickly transitioned from meadow into thicker forest/jungle where we started spotting soldier crabs (Caribbean Hermit Crab) which hatch in the sea but seem live their day to day lives atop high mountains. The reputedly got their name when an invading army heard rustling all around them at night and assumed that the enemy had found them, so they quickly retreated! We entered a couple of caves to see local bats and the blind whip-tail scorpion (no stinger) and passed numerous ruins from what appear to have been a secret subterranean enclave from a couple of hundred years ago. Towards the end of the hike, we sat down in one of the ruins and Jim opened his backpack and pulled out sample after sample of local edible plants - plenty enough for each of us to enjoy.

Forest Hike, and sunset from Nevis

We hurried back to the starting point on the hike as the sun was setting. Maryanne and I enjoyed a FAST downhill return to Oualie beach. We were very thirsty, having not drunk anything since the inauguration, so we stopped by the Oualie beach bar for sodas and found ourselves engaged in lively bar debate, starting with the inauguration and drifting around social issue to social issue.

Exhausted from our day and no longer willing to spend more time on a hard wooden bar stool (that bike they rented me had a saddle made of granite) we went home and collapsed into a very restful sleep.

[Maryanne]This day's exploring was exhausting, my little bike with small wheels, and after only a few minutes a very uncomfortable saddle was not the easiest way to see the island; but it was great exercise, and BOY did I need it. I really felt the pressure though when I had to rush to the top of Mount Lilly to meet with the hike and explain why Kyle would be late - that hill was steep, and for much of it I pushed the bike while running. The guided hike was fantastic and I would have loved to have joined Jim Johnson on some of his many other offered hikes, he was a great character. Going back down hill was much quicker, but very scary, I had my brakes on the whole time (but even without them I could not keep up with Kyle).

Charlestown - Captial of Nevis

[Kyle]We first had to clear into Nevis (pronounced Nee-vis), so we rowed ashore to the dinghy dock by the ferry terminal and immediately were given a good impression of the place. Maryanne asked directions for a dumpster (for our trash) and the official was very nice, directed Maryanne as to where to find the dumpster, and then asked if we had just arrived? "Yes? Then once you've dumped that, come back and I'll give you directions to Customs, etc.".


Charlestown Port

At customs (2 desks, 4 chairs and a printer), the officers were very nice; joking with us and each other. Having just computerized their system - we were amazed that having given them the name of the boat, they knew where we'd come from and all our details - our arrival paperwork was quickly checked, printed, paid for, and handed over! Creepy on the one hand, but convenient in its efficiency on the other. The next stop was immigration (the local police station, several blocks away). Maryanne was keen to start on her tourist hit list (with a visit to the tourism office we were passing), but I had to remind her that we were not yet legally in the country.

At the police station the highlights were:

• A bulletin board showing all 4 of the people WANTED on the island - I only had a chance to read one - a Haitian who had overstayed his visa, I imagine the others were for similarly minor offenses.
• On the opposite wall, a chalkboard with a tally of all traffic accidents for previous years/months, etc (280 for 2008) - below that, a list of people who were (currently) banned from driving, or should I say person; just one guy, publicly humiliated and known to all. Nevis has some very peculiar laws: swearing in public is illegal, but drinking and driving is not, which might explain why an island of only 11,500 people has so many car accidents.

The officer at the counter cleared us in quickly and welcomed us to the island with a smile.

From there we went to the more stereotypically surly Port Authority office in order to pay a week's mooring fees for mooring balls that didn't exist in our planned anchorage, along with other harbour fees.

Charlestown Views - and Kyle gets to relax too
Since we still had most of the day remaining, Maryanne pulled out her list of "must see" sights in town.

• Museum of Alexander Hamilton - one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, on the USA $10 bill, etc - a big deal in the States; he was actually born on the Island of Nevis. A reconstruction of his house is here (in the original setting), with the ground floor dedicated to his life story. The museum was disappointingly small (the entire thing can be seen from the cash register where we purchased our inexpensive ticket). It was informative, and prepared and laid out much more professionally than the Antigua museum.
• Horatio Nelson Museum - Nelson exhibits are all over the Caribbean, but he married Fanny Nesbit who was born on the island of Nevis, married in Nevis, and visited several times before and after his marriage. However, his marriage was unhappy and didn't last too long, but this does not stop the Nevisians housing a museum about him. This museum was also (technically) the Nevis museum, so they had a few artifacts (maybe 25% of the displays) of the pre-colonial occupations and some exhibits on government structure, political history, and slave culture.
• The Bath Hotel, reputedly the first hotel in the Caribbean; our guidebook said it was now empty and abandoned, but it appeared that various ministry offices are now housed in it. There were some great balcony views and the hotel itself was in good condition and undergoing renovation where not.
• Another Hot Bath! Nevis has an area of natural volcanic hot springs. The Bath hotel was built beside the springs, and an older bath house has long fallen into dis-repair. However, the hot springs are still popular with the locals and a number of "baths" have been built to make the most of the hot spring waters. Maryanne was the first to go in. Now Maryanne likes HOT water to bathe in, so it was a surprise to see her gently and tentatively lowering herself into the water and obviously struggling to adapt to the temperature. I had a good laugh at her expense until it was my turn to go in, at which point I understood - this water was scalding hot! Once we were both in, eventually we managed to submerge to our necks, there was no way we were putting our head in that water - my face would come off. The sign outside the bath said time limit was 15 minutes and we both wondered how anyone would (or could) stay in the water that long. We managed a photo opportunity and climbed out. The searing hot water did, however, make the hot, muggy, Caribbean air feel positively refreshing once we'd climbed out. As we were drying off and preparing to leave, a local, arriving for her daily bath, insisted that the water was usually much hotter, but recent rains had cooled things down. Jeez!

View from Balcony of Bath Hotel
Kyle takes a hot bath
Alexander Hamilton House

All these things were within a 15 minute walk from the center of Charlestown. We were pleased to do so much (including visiting with the Tourist office to pick up a good Island map).

Once we were done with our tour, we returned to the boat and moved it north up the shore to Oualie Beach (NW side of the island) just in time to enjoy the sunset and plan our next few days of exploring.

[Maryanne]Nevis has been fun so far, and has a character of its own. Everyone has been really friendly. If we even look slightly lost then we get several offers of help. The kids all wear school uniform. We checked out the town library where there was a week long special Obama presentation.