Adventures in Nevis

Nevis:

This past weekend in Nevis was a great time. We pulled into port to Caribbean tunes and people fishing off the dock. It was a short boat ride totaling 1& 1/2 hours from Statia. It just felt Caribbean, which Statia doesn't always. Immigration took a bit of time, but other than that, it was good to be there. After stopping through customs, we went via boat to find our accomodations. They were lovely! Our 8 person Villa was set in the hillside, and a gleaming vision after living at the botanical gardens. We were just agape at all the different appliances that the house had: microwave, hot pot, toaster oven, blender, dishwasher! It was like being transported back to civilization for the weekend! However, unlike "civilization," the shops were not open on Saturday or Sunday. So, there you go: another real tropical paradise. The picture above is the view from our villa.

I saw the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton, which looks kind of like a fort. Unfortunately, it wasn't open for the weekend- so I'd love to go back and see it when it is open.

We also went to the botanical gardens on Nevis and they were absolutely beautiful. They had many different types of orchids. They also had palms from various parts of the world. They were incredible! The gardens were perfectly manicured with ponds and a georgeous building where they apparently sell food and drink during the week. We got there on a Saturday so it was closed and at the end of our visit, we ran into the caretaker who encouraged us to gather seeds from all over the garden and take them back to Statia with us. He was from NY, which made me feel right at home.

Coming back to Statia was also nice because Statia week started last week. They've had week-long celebrations in the street. It's a great tourist draw and there are many yachts currently moored in the harbor for the week-long sailing regattas. We all went on Tuesday night to celebrate one of the volunteer's birthdays and they had bands playing all night and people were dancing in the street. It actually was quite crowded, making me think that the whole population of Statia was in the street that night. I'm looking forward to going again tonight because it's supposed to be "talent night" tonight. I really can't wait to see what that means!