Today was another early morning. None of us quite felt like getting up early but we had an adventure awaiting us. We started the day with breakfast of champions – donuts. It was the only thing I could get the boys to eat that early in the morning. We headed off the ship and straight to a catamaran that would take us for a 10 mile ride down one coast of the island on the Caribbean sea. They said that the Caribbean sea is much calmer waters than the Atlantic Ocean that borders the other side of the island. None of us had ever been on a catamaran before and it turned out to be a really fun ride. The boys and I sat in the very front on the netting. Lincoln laid back and was living it up. We saw dozens of flying fish as they skipped across the glassy water. It was really cool to see.
The catamaran took us to a dock where we boarded a bus for a 15-minute ride to the train pick up stop. The bus driver gave us a lot of information about the island, how they got their independence from Great Britain and about the sugar cane industry. The island has about 51,000 people of the island and about 100,000 monkeys. They used to farm sugar cane as the primary industry until it was all shut down in 2005.
The train that we boarded was no ordinary train. It was a double decker train with four cars. It traveled 18 miles around the other side of the island, through villages and the three towns, on the same tracks that were used by train cars to carry the sugar stocks for processing. The breaks were incredibly loud and squeaky but we managed. A narrator gave us some informative information through the entire ride and some school girls got on each of the train cars and sang some local favorite songs.
We travelled through the poorest sections of the island. There were shanty houses, abandoned buildings everywhere, children walking around without shoes, and trash everywhere. One of my favorite things was that every time we passed locals, especially school children, they would smile and wave. They were very friendly people and clearly enjoyed the tourists coming through. We also traveled through areas of rainforest. We saw a few monkeys playing in the trees but they were too far away to get pictures. The boys ended up falling asleep for the second half of the approximately 90-minute ride. We also saw the black sand beaches and the dormant volcanoes.
When we were done with our tour we were greeted by a local who had a monkey that the boys got to hold…on their arms and their heads. Overall, it was a great day. It was our final island stop. Although we didn’t get to go in the ocean, I think we got a better feel for island life on St. Kitts. I hope the boys got a little perspective for how life is different for those here than it is for them at home. I know Logan noticed that people were hanging their clothes to dry. He was bothered by that because he said they would just get dirty again if they were hanging outside. This is exactly why I like them to travel. They need to see different cultures, ways of life, and know that there is more to the world then what they live every day in our Phoenix area bubble. It also helps them to appreciate the blessings that we have and enjoy.
After our adventures on the island, we boarded the boat, cleaned up and went straight to dinner. After dinner we attended the Ice Games show. It consisted of professional ice skaters who played a game of monopoly and danced to songs related to places on our ship, i.e.. the boardwalk, the casino, the movies, etc. We were very impressed with how many tricks, and how fast they went, on the small rink. After the show the boys wanted to go to the kids area and Ricky and I had another nice evening listening to the piano player and reading and writing poolside.
Breakfast of champions...donuts. Each morning the boardwalk shop puts out fresh donuts and this was a good morning for us to try them since we had to be out early and didn't fill up to a full breakfast.
The first time on St. Kitts for us.
In the back of the catamaran waiting for take-off.
Riding a catamaran for the first time.
The island was a beautiful lush green and the water was the perfect color blue.
On the bus heading to the train stop.
At the train pickup. We selected this shore excursion specially for Logan since he loves trains so much.
While waiting for the trains the boys were being boys, digging in the dirt and they found some worms and centipedes. They played with them for about twenty minutes before letting them go. They loved it. I on the other hand was completely grossed out by them.
This was our train. It's not a conventional looking train.
Chillin' waiting for the train to depart.
Family picture with the Caribbean Sea in the background.
These are old sugar train cars that used to haul sugar cane on the same tracks we were riding on.
This was Port Zante where we did a little shopping on our way back to the boat.
Docked in St. Kitts.
Logan was such a trooper. He tried something new to eat each night, although once he found some things he liked, he just wanted them over and over...like the jello and guacamole dip.
