I can’t believe Christmas is almost here. It will mark my first Christmas away from my family and friends in New Jersey. It will also be the start of new traditions in my new life here in St. Kitts. I do wish you all have a very happy and joyous holiday season. Enjoy the time off and the company of those you love.
Well... since my last posting things have been fairly busy. At work we had a lovely holiday celebration at my bosses house. Everyone brought finger foods and outdid themselves in creating some favorite recipes. We all had a fun time eating, and being merry. Shortly after our holiday party we had our Christmas Concert. It was a wonderful event. The students had been working on many songs in music class. Then each class sang their own song. My class sang the “12 Days of Christmas” but with a Caribbean flare. We didn’t have a partridge in a pear tree, we had an egret in a cane field. The kids loved it and it went over really well with the crowd. That was on December 10th. On the 12th we had a half day and school officially closed until January 5th.
There have also been several members of my travel forum down visiting during the holiday season. I’ve been able to spend some time with all of them, even if for a short visit. Paula, Bernie and i had a great dinner at Formosa Gardens a new Chinese restaurant. The food was great, the atmosphere was wonderful and the grounds were beautiful. It will stay high on my list of places to plan a return visit to.
OnDecember 14th Jen and Diana arrived for a week in St. KItts.
This was not Jen’s first trip by a long shot, but it was Diana’s first trip to St. Kitts. The week went by extremely fast. It was full of fun times. We went on the Eagle, a 67 foot catamaran two times. The first time we went as guests because they were doing a commercial shoot for the boat and my friend, Captain Ian, asked
us to come and be a part of it. The second time we went as paying customers. The day starts leaving Port Zante at about 9:30 am. Then you set sail to a lovely cove for snorkeling. After snorkeling it is off to see Nevis and then back to Cockleshell Beach on St. Kitts for lunch and swimming. Being that we are in the know we got to have some fun on the Zodiak (a small rubber dingy) and head off on our own little journey onto the Irie Lime, where my friend Captain Antonio had invited us to join him for a short while. From Cockleshell it is about an hours sail back to port, putting us back around 4:00. One of the cool highlights was Diana and Jen meeting my friend Cindy. She is a Green Vervet monkey who is tame and takes pictures with tourists. She is a fun and friendly monkey. 
The following day we
hiked up the Cayon Ghaut.
Ghaut is another word for river,
basically. Anyhow, Javin, Apo, Shaddy, Jen, Diana and I set off on a nice hike up
the ghaut to the top of the mountain where we were planning to swim in a cold, spring fed, natural pool. We had to “skip stones” up to the top, meaning that we were jumping from rock to rock and walking through knee deep water on our way. It was a blast. Javin had arranged two of his best friends to join us so that each of us ladies would have a gentleman to assist us on the journey as some parts require more effort than others.
Along the way we swam in cold spring after cold spring. The water was bitter but refreshing. We hiked up for about 2 hours and then back took a bit less. It was a great afternoon. From there we
had a great jeep tour of the mountains. We had two jeeps lined up and the guys showed Jen and Diana the beautiful sites of the mountains and cane fields.
The next
two days were spent half a day in town shopping, then at the beach. The next day was half a day doing an island tour for Diana, and then to the beach. The island tour included stops at Romney Manor, Brimstone Hill, Black Rocks, and other scenic vistas along the way. We took lots of great pictures and made sure that Diana really got to see St. Kitts. Both afternoons we went to South Friars Beach. It is one of my favorites with great views of the Southeast Peninsula and Nevis in the distance. That evening we had a lovely dinner at Serendipity, my favorite restaurant on the island. It was a night full of laughter, good food, and good company.
Diana put in a request to go to Nevis for the day aboard our car ferry, the Sea Bridge. We left on the 9:00 ferry and arrived on Nevis around 10:00 a.m. From there we did an island tour of Nevis. Stopping at random roads to explore as I’m not as familiar with Nevis as I am with St. Kitts. Then we spent the afternoon on Pinney’s Beach, at the site of the new and improved construction of Chevy’s. We spent the afternoon chatting with Amelia and Chevy catching up. It was wonderful to see them, especially Amelia as I’d not seen her since moving down to St. Kitts.
The last day for Jen and Diana was Sunday. They had a late flight 6pm which allowed us to have the day to swim and have a bit more beach time which was nice. We grabbed lunch at Ziggy’s and then off to get ready for the airport. Their flight was delayed when we got there, so we checked them in, paid the departure duties, and then headed back to the beach. We brought them back about 6:15 where they quickly ran through emigration & security and then were the last two through the doors, to board the plane and take off to JFK.
That about brings you up to speed. Stay tuned for my blog about Christmas. Today I will begin preparations for tomorrows meal. I have some friends coming to join me for dinner. It will be a new Christmas experience for me, it will be with mixed emotions for being away from my family and friends in New Jersey.
Well.... all the best for the season. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Love,
Krista (Ms. Vics)
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