Another Fun St. Kitts Hash

Saturday's hash was set up in a hurry to accommodate all the folks who were in town for the Ross veterinary conference and for the students who were finished with exams and ready to get outside again. No complaints here!


We met across from the Sugar's Complex, so I knew we'd have lots of neighborhood walking to do. Hilly, neighborhood walking.  Yep, that's what we had.


But we also had great views and a neat walk amongst the water towers.

  

There was a lot of crisscrossing and backtracking going on, which made what could have been a bland hike into something rather interesting. It was great seeing friends, including a few who have also left the island in the past couple of years. You never know who you're going to see at these things - that's the best part!

The next hash will be the Christmas hash, in about 3 weeks, so stay tuned to the St. Kitts HHH  Facebook page for details. Remember, there's no membership involved, and if you need a lift, just ask. The Christmas hash will be catered, have Santa there, and include gifts for kids. That one will cost more than the usual EC$2, but it'll still be a good deal. Beverages (water, soda, and beer) are always available afterwards for EC$5 each, or 5 tickets for EC$20. Come out and make some new friends!

Renee P.

Handing over the Torch...Again

Once again, Island Babble is losing its main poster, and it's time to hand the reins to someone else. It was always my intention that Island Babble be larger than me and larger than whoever was posting on it. The direction I envisioned for Island Babble was that it be a current source of island information and a place people could come to ask questions and make comments. It has included posts about general island life (both good and bad), updates about businesses and events, and has had guest contributors to provide their own viewpoints on various subjects.  I have met many long-time friends thanks to this blog, as I'm sure Ben has as well.

I'll be leaving the island again in 2 weeks (you're not rid of me yet!), and Ben and his family are returning to the U.S. shortly as well. Jason Hanley has offered to take over the blog and update the outdated map, calendar, restaurant listing, activities list, and all other tabs associated with Island Babble (and were a lot of work!). He will be writing in conjunction with a few other folks who have expressed an interest in sharing island tidbits with all of you.


Thanks to his wife, who works at the Ross vet clinic, Jason understands student interests, but he also runs his own businesses  and personal blog, so has his own take on living and working on an island. Some of his interests include hiking, snorkeling, photography, traveling, and even flying the occasional plane.

We've done lots of brainstorming, and Jason is confident he can continue to educate and entertain visitors, island-dwellers (full and part time), students and their parents, and anyone else who's enjoyed this blog over the years or who's just discovered it.

If anyone has any thoughts on what they'd like to see on Island Babble going forward, do share. There will be lots of changes in the future to make it more user friendly and interactive, and easier to navigate.

Thanks to all of you for your readership, input, and friendship! Good luck to Ben on his new endeavors.

Renee P.

Wet & Chilly

It's been raining for the past 12 hours. And it's gotten a bit nippy.

Click on map to go to live radar.

Still a great place to be though.

That salt pond expanded to twice this size before the rain was done.

Anyone golfing anytime soon will be facing a few more water obstacles than usual.



The morning walk had us engulfed in a low, spritzing cloud.

Where'd the mountain & the port go?

Oh, there they are.

I honestly can't remember the last time I used an umbrella, but this one was quite sturdy, which was a good thing with these gusty winds. You might want to look for yours too, since we've got a flood watch until 2pm (later extended to 8pm).

Time to dry off!

Be careful if you're driving out there!

College Street ghaut - Basseterre  (St Kitts-Nevis Times)

Sorry if you're on vacation and this weather is putting a damper on your plans, but you could always put on some rain gear (a trash bag counts) and stomp through the puddles anyway.  Or you can wait it out - it's supposed to clear up by afternoon (hard to believe looking at it now though).

Forecast:

Synopsis: Conditions across the Leewards will remain cloudy with scattered showers during the morning but gradually improving throughout the day as most of the cloudiness and showers accompanying the upper level low and trough continues to move northwest over the Atlantic. A flash Flood watch is in effect until 2PM today.
Wx: Today: Cloudy becoming occasionally overcast with periods of scattered morning showers and rain.
Tonight: Partly cloudy with isolated late night showers
Winds: ESE at 12-16kts.

Seas: Moderate to locally rough with waves 1.8-2.1m or6-7ft. A small craft advisory remains in effect.


It was overcast all day, but it did dry out. A partial rainbow at sunset.

Renee P.

Island Snippets

So it seems a lot of you non-islanders had a taste of winter recently. How about a few pictures to bring you some temporary warmth?

Full Moon
(The second pic is from a May Harmony at Sea post, but this is what it looked like last night, too.)



Sunrise



Sunrise while walking the pooch



What happens when a tired pup wants to rest on her doggy bed. Kitty always wins.

General island scenes



Feel better?

Renee P.

Changes - Part II

A few posts ago, I mentioned I'd been down to the Peninsula and there were some changes to share. So let's do some before and afters. As you head up Timothy Hill toward the peninsula, you encounter a nice deep hole in the road that apparently has been there for about 3 weeks now (UPDATE: This was filled in as of Sunday 11/2).



Timothy Hill has had a lot of problems with huge boulders falling down,

August 2011

so an alternate route was created, which is still in use.




They're supposed to be building a tunnel, at least part of the way, but considering there's nothing to burrow into, I'm not sure what they're doing.



I encountered quite a bit of traffic at 6:30am on a Friday. Very close traffic (I fist-pumped the truck driver as he passed).



Once on the other side of the mountain,  you come upon Friar's Beach.

Not much has changed on either side, although like The Strip, the Caribbean-side beach has taken a beating and can be non-existent at times. There are still the same bars.

Carambola from road

Carambola from beach

Jam Rock from road

Jam Rock from beach

Sunset Beach Bar from road

Sunset Beach Bar from beach

Discovery Beach Bar from road

Discovery Beach bar from beach

Unknown bar from road

Still unknown bar from beach

Godfather's from road

Godfather's from beach (it's there!)

Mongoose from road

Mongoose from beach

Shipwreck from beach (hanging in there!)

Shipwreck beach (cont'd)

Notice all the %#* seaweed. We have the latest tropical storm to thank for that. The best spot for lying out on S. Friar's right now is Mongoose on one end or Carambola on the other, although once open, some of these bars might try to scoop the offending stuff away. The beaches on the Atlantic side look a little better, and the Marriott always rakes up their seaweed. Sandy Bank is looking good too, thanks to Christophe Harbour's raking efforts.

Here's a view of Shipwreck then and now. Looking toward the left (toward Nevis):

December 2010

October 2014 (not sure why it's looking like a Polaroid)

Looking to the right:

December 2010

October 2014

The sunset looks the same though!



Monkeys are still there too.

Nothing seems to be happening along most of the drive, which is what I've always liked about it. The first development you come to is Peninsula Cove, but it's as it was 2 years ago - nothing but nice landscaping that was installed in 2011. That's still being maintained, but the sign is almost faded to nothingness. If you Google "Peninsula Cove St. Kitts" there is no home page for it, and yet many realtors are still promoting it as a investment/citizenship opportunity. Hmmm... It's supposed to be on that slope. Shrug.



Next up is Christophe Harbour and its many projects. One of them is a marina that got off to a slow start but is now picking up steam and is supposed to open in a couple of months.

May 2012

October 2014

May 2012

October 2014

Here are a few more current photos of the area. In addition to my pics, there's a time-lapse video of it going in.



The harbor lots (homes built on fill, jutting into the pond) now have some activity on them.



More homes and infrastructure have been put into place.



The first home has gone up on the cliff leading to Cardinal Point (according to Christophe Harbour's Facebook page, there's a hiking trail starting at Cardinal Point and climbing up to Sugarloaf Peak). This is the home owner's view. The Pavilion looks cool from above.

May 2010

October 2014

May 2010

October 2014

There are some cute villas steps from the beach, although without a view, that allow fractional ownership. It seems insane to me to pay the same price for basically a timeshare that you would for an actual property (and there are many on-island), but I suppose if you just want the passport and not the hassle of maintaining something, this is the way to go. Homes in this particular area are in the millions, so paying $400K is a steal if you've got that kind of money.

I'm not sure what's going on with the golf course. Down at White House Bay, the dock for cruisers has been removed.



Notice the building at the end there? That would be Salt Plage. From the outside, it looks like a ramshackle metal shack.



Up close and inside, it's rather chic. They've even incorporated ruins they found onsite into the decor. The place was closed when we were there, so we're not quite getting the full effect.



It's nice, but apparently they haven't seen what happens there during a storm.

Farther down the peninsula, the road to Cockleshell beach/Spice Mill is now paved. That was rather pleasant.



Once you turn off to go to Banana Bay though, you see a lot of changes. Sugars is building apartments before you get to that beach.



And the dirt road you used to take Banana Bay has been rerouted to around the point.

Coming back toward Cockleshell

Once you get around, you see both the Sugars complex and the Park Hyatt buildings rising.



You still have access to the beach, but the fence line limits things, and well, it's not exactly relaxing at the moment.



This is what it looked like in 2010 & 2011:



Sigh. Well, the view out is still nice, and the old pilings that provided such good snorkeling are still there, so maybe that's still worth a try (a previous trip there).



We didn't head down the road to Reggae Beach or the Beach House, since I didn't get the impression they'd changed much. The villas that were next to the Beach House were moved to Sandy Bank - completely in one piece with even the furniture inside and paintings on the walls - so Turtle Beach is partly back to its wild state.

Cockleshell Beach from Spice Mill looking down toward Reggae.

Heading back toward Basseterre, on the other side of Frigate Bay, I know a few things have changed in Bird Rock. For example, a very controversial project involving a dolphinarium is being built. If I head that way, I'll take pics. I don't have to see it to know I'm against it, and a petition is available should you want to oppose it too. The person who wrote the petition no longer lives on the island, and many people who have commented are also not from the island (including me). Considering the attraction is meant for tourists, this is not necessarily a bad thing, but I'd like to see more Kittitians put their two cents in. For more details, there's a Facebook page to check out. There's also an interesting Facebook page about ongoing non-eco friendly development, too.

Rocky's when it existed and had calm snorkeling December 2009

Rocky's is no more. Neither is the reef. 2014

The times, they are a-changin'

Renee P.