During Orientation I got the opportunity to take two tours of the island: one by land and one by sea. On Wednesday we drove around the island and stopped at various points of interest. On the way to the first stop our driver pointed out a rather macabre historical site called Bloody Point. This is where the English and French colonists massacred over 2,000 of the native islanders and tossed them in the river, which ran red with blood for weeks.
First stop, Caribelle Batik. This is where they make beautiful batik cloth by applying wax in various designs to a fabric and then dying it. The dye does not penetrate the wax so you end up with dyed and undyed parts of the fabric in the desired pattern. They can also do multiple steps of this process to create layers of different colors and white areas. The work they do is beautiful.
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| The gardens around Caribelle Batik showcase the gorgeous island flora. |
Another interesting sight was this decorated tree in Sandy Hill. Our driver said some of the locals drink all day long and when they finish a bottle, they hang it in this tree.
One of the most popular attractions on the island is Brimstone Hill. It is the site of the English fort built in the 18th century when the English and French stopped sharing the island as well as they used to. It has some amazing old stonework and a fantastic view of the island.
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| I thought it was a pretty big drive/hike all the way to the top of Brimstone Hill, but this little cat seems to have thought it worthwhile to hang out in the old fortress |
As we continued around the northernmost point of the island to the Atlantic side we stopped to see where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean Sea. There were some pretty amazing wave patterns as the two bodies of water collided, unfortunately they didn't show up well on film. An interesting stop on the other side of the island was Black Rock Point, which had some pretty cool volcanic rock formations. It also had some small little stands set up by the locals, such as the "Coconut Pub" below.
On Saturday we had our Catamaran trip around the island. We sailed past Port Zante and the peninsula and over to spend some time on the beach at Nevis. We had a great time on the boat listening to music and eating lunch served by the energetic crew. I was especially amused at how the captain drove the boat.
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| Catamarans |
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| Where the cruise ships dock. |
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| Port Zante |
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| Nevis |
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| One of the other catamarans off the coast of Nevis |
