05.01. - St. Kitts & Nevis 🇰🇳

Today we were able to sleep in, as the ship was not scheduled to arrive at the port until 1 PM. So we had a leisurely breakfast as one of the last ones. Then we went to the photo point to go through all the photos we had taken. The red-haired Romanian girl counted all the pictures of the four of us and tried to sell us the 226 pictures for about 1100€!!! That would be a very special discount. The small pictures would cost 6 US dollars instead of 20. They sell the large portraits at a single price of 30 US dollars. Still shocked by the price, we insisted on taking our time to look at them and choose. We narrowed it down to 15 pictures per couple and placed an order. Very disappointed that we didn't take all the pictures, she put the ones we didn't choose back. Somewhat annoyed by how inflexible and sometimes unfriendly she was, we went to the deck and watched the boarding process. At the main port in Basseterre, which was very centrally located, the Royal and Celebrity ships were already docked. So we had to go to the container port again. This time, a tugboat also helped to position the large ship. It pushed against the rear side. From our room, I could see them tying the ship to individual poles in the water. At that moment, a turtle appeared. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to photograph it in time. A bit excited, we prepared for our quad tour, where Stephan already had a uneasy feeling. A bit earlier than agreed, we waited in the port area and already suspected that no one would come because we were in the wrong port. Stephan approached many people and asked about the agency and if they could help us. Most of them directed us to a taxi to the main port. Meanwhile, we met another English-speaking couple who had the same problem as us. Together, we tried to get a taxi, but they were all on tours and no one wanted to drive us. Disappointed, after an hour we gave up and decided to take an island tour, as we only had 5 hours on St. Kitts. Together with four Italian women, six French people, and two more Germans, we set off fully packed. The first stop was a former sugar cane plantation that had been converted into a small hotel complex (Ottleys Plantation Inn). The small cottages invited us to relax and unwind with their views of the sea. A little dog that was struggling with flies also came to cuddle. For 20 dollars per person, everyone received a wristband and the journey continued. As we later found out, he had done it very cleverly. The second point offered a view of the Black Rocks. The landscape reminded us of Ireland, but with warmer temperatures. At the small booths, we bought a Carib beer and Sprite for Stephan. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a beach tunic that Stephan haggled down to 14 dollars. Parallel to our road along the coast, there were also tracks for the panoramic train, which was much more expensive. We passed by the most expensive hotel (Kittitian Hill) in the Caribbean and the World Heritage site Brimstone Hill Fortress. This is an old fortress. Unfortunately, we couldn't stop there due to lack of time. The limited stay on the islands is sometimes a big disadvantage of a cruise. The last stop was at an old, no longer active rum distillery (Wingfield) owned by Thomas Jefferson, which was located in the middle of the jungle. Here, the process of production at that time was explained in more detail. When we were back in the bus, we could decide whether we wanted to go to the beach or back to the port. The French people got off earlier because they wanted to go back to the World Heritage site. The rest of us were driven towards the beach. But since it was almost 5 PM, we all agreed that it was too late for the beach and that we would rather go back to the main port. On the way there, we saw the panoramic point from which you could see the gigantic Marriott hotel complex and the connection to the front part of the island. From the car, Stephan took photos of the famous St. Kitts panorama. Our driver was waiting for us at the port. It seems to be common here for them to wait until you come back, even if you spend 5 hours at the beach. We strolled through the port passage, had another delicious Carib beer, and bought a longer top for the beach. We were driven to the port without any problems and checked in on the ship with the first blast of the ship's horn. We didn't have much time to rest, together with Schwägi and Danny we went to the photo point again to make the final selection. Once again, the red-haired Romanian girl served us. This turned out to be more difficult because we needed a total of 10 large and 10 small pictures and initially we were not allowed to buy the pictures together. She reminded us insistently of the good offer from this morning! Hmm, of course, we'll buy photos for over 1000€, which I could either wallpaper the apartment with or leave some behind for my great-great-grandchildren. The highlight was when she said that we had 14 days to take some nice pictures. We all thought, yes, we just need a few more attempts because we're so ugly. In the end, we paid 250€ for the 20 pictures. Schwägi and I then brought the pictures to the room. We were still wondering why the card was inserted. But Schwägi said that Danny sometimes leaves it in so that he can charge the devices. It was also strange that there was a doorstopper on the TV. We didn't think much of it and just fell onto the bed. At that moment, the balcony door opened and the room boy came in. We were so startled and then laughed afterwards. What if a couple had burst in passionately?! In the wine bar, the men were already waiting for us with delicious rosé wine. There were delicious appetizers again. For dinner, we exchanged stories with Gudrun and Nello, who were at the same beach as Danny and Franka. They also told us that out of the 22 people, only Danny and Franka returned in the end. It is often paid afterwards here. I felt very sorry for them. That evening, we gave our waiters a tip, hidden in a homemade boat. Officially, they are not allowed to accept money and they get fined if caught.