Nevis 2 Kite Day

Kite Day on Nevis!

We have met so many nice people on our journey. One couple we met several times have a home on Nevis and invited us to the kite day festival!

We stopped at the IGA parking lot to wait for some other people. Donkeys grazing at the IGA:

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One of the first in the air:

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Pretty serious stuff:

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Pretty thin crowd when we arrived but by the end of the day there was probably 300 people:

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There is a prize for biggest kite…Bringing in the frame and covering:

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Unfortunately it did not get much higher than this:

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Lots of people, music, food, and of course kites. Everyone had a great time, young and old:

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Always a cloud hanging over the volcano:

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We had a fantastic day! Thank you to our friends on Nevis!

More to follow!

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Nevis 1

Nevis

Our next stop after Statia was St Kitts and Nevis. We already stopped at St Kitts last year so we just anchored for the night, then the next morning we moved six miles down to Nevis. Nevis was a pleasant surprise, same country but completely different feel from St Kitts.

http://www.nevisisland.com/

Waterfront, Charlestown Nevis:

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Welcome!

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1a Charlestown (1024x768)

Dinghy dock:

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Waterfront at the head of the ferry pier and dinghy dock:

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One of the many ferries to the other islands:

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Really nice buildings:

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Tourist office:

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Library:

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Park:

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Police and Fire:

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Back to the place by the ferry pier for…sunset, yes that’s it.

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Then a walk up the waterfront for dinner at Cafe de Arts:

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Lots more to follow…

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Into the Crater

Backtracking to Statia…

One of the things on my to-do list was hike down into the volcano crater on St Eustatius. On our trip south from St Maarten we made a quick stop so I could cross that off. The pictures are not that great…

Harbor on Statia:

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I already blogged about the climb up, http://www.dea-latis.com/2016/03/the-quill/ so here is the hike down into the crater. The descent was quite steep and rocky:

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Looking back up and starting to question myself…

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Down and down:

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The trees at the base of the crater were quite large, some I’m guessing to

 be about 150 feet tall:

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Once down into the crater there is a path leading you around and back out:

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Looking back up to the rim of the crater:

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Another big tree, probably about 30 feet in diameter including the exposed winding roots:

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And back up the steep wall:

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And back to the boat for a wonderful sunset:

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http://www.statiapark.org/parks/quill/

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Saba

We finally departed Sint Maarten for Saba. We had a fantastic sail, breaking eight knots at one point! We spent three days on Saba and had a fantastic time. We were able to quickly tour the island, climb Mt Scenery, snorkel the crystal clear waters, and even get some boat chores completed!

Click on the pictures for a full screen view.

Departing Simpson Bay Lagoon we were followed by this 143 foot sailboat. The little catamaran behind it is 33 feet long:


1 Depart St Maarten (1024x768)

Passing the Simpson Bay Bridge for the last time…probably…

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Saba in the distance. What a great sail!!!

1b sailing to Saba (1024x768)

1c sailing to Saba (1024x768)

We picked up a mooring in Wells Bay:

1d mooring Saba Wells Bay (1024x768)

1e Wells Bay (1024x768)

1f Wells Bay (1024x768)

This is just down the coast. If you look closely you should be able to make out the stairs which start at the shore and lead up the rock face to the little building at the top. At one time this was the only way on or off the island. The building at the top was the customs building:

1g Stairs (768x1024)

1h Stairs (1024x768)

We took the dinghy down around to the harbor at Fort Bay to check in:

1i Saba Fort Bay (1024x768)

1j Saba (1024x768)

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Wednesday, supply boat day:

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Customs, immigration and harbor office:

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Then up to the marine park office, to part with more money:

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West end of the harbor:

1o Harbor (1024x768)

Saba is very small. We wanted to see the island and hike Mt Scenery in a day so we hired a taxi, it was actually pretty cheap. Tried to take a picture of the steep windy roads:

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…airport:

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The island of St Eustatius in the distance:

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Roads are in very good condition:

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Church, and our taxi:

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Mt Scenery trail head in the town of Windwardside:

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Ok, here we go:

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2 up (1024x768)

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Are we lost?

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Mooo, ahem, I mean, Fooooood:

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On on:

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Are we there yet?

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Cocoa:

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Raspberries:

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Up Up:

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Finally, one hour and twenty five minutes later:

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We made it!

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Comm tower:

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Guard rooster:

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Yep:

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Very nice view when the clouds broke:

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And then back down:

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The town of Windwardside. Our taxi driver Rodney and his wife own the Bizzy B Bakery under the orange awning:

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 Nice church:

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We bought some fresh food at the Big Rock Grocery and had a great lunch across the street at Saba Snack:

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Then Rodney drove us back to Fort Bay. Power plant and waterfront business area:

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Dinghy ride back to the boat:

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The next day we did some laundry, worked on the varnish and did some snorkeling:

3p saba snorkel (458x344)

3q Saba (458x344)

Beautiful sunsets here!

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4a Saba sunset (1024x768)

We had a wonderful time on Saba! The people are friendly, the scenery is breathtaking, and the water is crystal clear. One of our favorite stops so far!

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Finally

It looks like Mother Nature is ready to release us from Sint Maarten! Tomorrow we depart for Saba, then on to Statia, Nevis, Montserrat, Antigua and Barbuda.

While here one of the interesting things we did was explore an old hotel complex. La Belle Creole is a 26 acre hotel in French St Martin that closed in 1995.

http://www.uncommoncaribbean.com/2011/10/27/photo-essay-la-belle-creole-post-colonial-ruin-on-st-martin/

http://labellecreolestmartin.com/

http://barcann.livejournal.com/260356.html

Guard house in there somewhere:

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Stone pathways:

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La Belle Creole:

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We checked out a couple of rooms:

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Old hair dryer and room safe:

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Then up the stone walkways to check out some other buildings:

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Up to the main courtyard

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Bar:

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Down to the pool and snack bar:

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Hot tub turned science experiment:

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Back up to the main buildings:

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Lobby, which appears someone set on fire. People are great.

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Money room and office next to the money room. There were boxes of blank checks everywhere:

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Then we climbed the tower for a better look:

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Then into the basement to check out the kitchen:

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Freezers:

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Why?

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Hotel’s Vision Statement:

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Locker rooms:

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Need a job?

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Fountain in the courtyard:

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Check out another building:

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Twenty years, nature taking over:

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Then finding our way back out:

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The Charles De Gaulle Suite:

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Back to the central courtyard:

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They appeared to be closed so we left:

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After our exploration we headed down to the beach with some friends we met in Grenada, and several other boats we had never met, for a cookout. We had a fantastic time meeting up with old friends and making new! Thanks guys! Have a safe trip back!

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