2014-01-04-St Kitts-Day 2 by ThomasCarroll235 by...

2014-01-04-St Kitts-Day 2

By ThomasCarroll235
Jan 15, 2014
176 Photos

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ThomasCarroll235

2014-01-04-St Kitts-Day 2

Jan 15, 2014
176 Photos

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A sleek vessel glides past the Ocean Terrace Inn

Breakfast at the Waterfall Restaurant-Ocean Terrace Inn

Veranda-Ocean Terrace Inn

Basseterre in the distance from the OTI

Church ruins outside Basseterre

Romney Manor, now home of Caribelle Batik

Georgia and Britt at Romney Manor

Freshly printed Batik wraps drying in the breeze

Romney Manor Grounds

Romney Manor (Once owned by Sam Jefferson II, the great great great grandfather of Thomas Jefferson. The great house was renamed Romney Manor following its acquisition in the early 17th century by the Earl of Romney. Its grounds have a great history; there is strong evidence that they were originally the site on which Tegereman the Carib Indian Chief had his village. In 1834 contrary to the instructions of the British Parliament, Lord Romney declared his slaves free men. Romney Estate therefore became the first estate in St.Kitts to emancipate their slaves. Set in approximately 10 acres of grounds, Romney was established in the 17th century and since then has only known 6 family owners. These owners have witnessed the crushing of cane by animal power, wind power and water power. Finally however, in the 1920’s all cane processing was centralised in Basseterre.)

Romney Manor Grounds

The brilliant colors of Romney Manor

Caribelle Batik (Caribelle produced its first batik in 1974. From humble beginnings, it is fair to say that Caribelle has become the Caribbean’s most sought after batik product. Visited by thousands each year, occasionally hosting the rich and famous, Caribelle has acquired an international reputation for fine products. Caribelle Batik uses many quality fabrics including the exclusive Sea Island Cotton. Using the ancient Indonesian methods of resisting dye with wax, Caribelle creates the many designs for which they have become associated.)

A Batik Artist explains the unique process for producing batik

Early stage in the batik production process

Magnificent, unique colors produced by Caribelle

Magnificent, unique colors produced by Caribelle

Tom with the ruins of the Wingfield Estate sugar plantation in the background

A lady originally from St Kitts who now lives and works in New Jersey

Smokestack ruins-Wingfield Estate Sugar plantation

Brimstone Hill from Romney Manor

Ebenezer Methodist Church

Ruins of the Wingfield Estate Works Plantation (Wingfield Estate was founded in 1625 and the original crops produced here were cotton, tobacco and indigo. By 1682 sugar cane cultivation was commenced and a water powered system was developed to convert the cane juice to sugar. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the sugar plantation and mill were gradually expanded. Mollasses and rum was also produced for export and local consumption. Sugar Cane was harvested by hand while the mill was powered by steam and water. In 1820, the mill was shut down as sugar production moved to a large sugar factory in Basseterre. Sugar cane was still grown here and transported by rail to Basseterre. This site is being restored as a heritage site with funding from the European Union as St Kitts, though independent, is part of the British Commonwealth. Sugar cane cultivation and sugar production once formed the backbone of St Kitts' economy. Since the economics of sugar cane production depended on the labor of African slaves, the industry declined sharply with the end of slavery)

Wingfield Estate

Georgia at Wingfield Estate

Wingfield Sugar Estate ruins (Sugar was once the most important crop in the world. It was used to make molasses and rum, and to sweeten the cuisines of people around the world. And because sugar cane grows in warm, tropical climates, the Caribbean islands were the perfect places to grow it. European settlers from England, France, Spain, and Holland came to the region, cut down the islands' forests, and planted sugar cane.Of all the English colonies in the Caribbean, St. Kitts was the oldest and wealthiest - with rich volcanic soil and an ideal climate. Annually St. Kitts yielded a fortune in sugar and rum for its wealthy, mostly absentee, landholders. By around 1775, the time of the American Revolution, 68 sugar plantations existed on St. Kitts, one for every square mile. The plantation owners sold their sugar products to American, British, French and Dutch customers. They are also credited with production innovations that led St.Kitts to become the world leader in sugar cane cultivation, and a catalyst for the industrial revolution.)

Wingfield Sugar Estate (A Bitter Sweet Ending: The persistent arguments, outcries, and writings of three prominent English residents of St. Kitts, are said to have influenced the abolition of the British slave trade in 1807 more than any other factor. And with the total abolishment of slavery throughout all the British colonies in 1834, came the end of the sugar industry. Europe's beet sugar undersold Caribbean cane. Depressed market prices could not offset the production and transportation costs for an island crop. In 2005, due to plummeting profits, the Government closed both the cane fields and sugar factory. Tourism is now the major source of income for St. Kitts. The sugar train railway is now home to the St. Kitts Scenic Railway, a unique tour that takes visitors through many of the plantation ruins.)

My new friend Glenky and his Vervet monkey, Patrick (Glenky loves animals and wants to be a vet someday. Glenky has many pets--dogs, cats, chickens and, of course, a monkey. He is studying science so that he can attend Ross Veterinary College here on St Kitts. This young man was very bright and highly articulate. He has a bright future ahead of him.)

Patrick-A Green Vervet Monkey (The green vervet monkeys originally arrived is St Kitts when the French occupied the island sporadically in the time frame of 1665 to 1690. They brought them as pets from their colonial possessions in Africa. Eventually the French were deported when the English assumed control of the island and the monkeys were not allowed to enter the departing French boats so they were abandoned on the island. This did not pose a threat to them because St Kitts had ideal climate and vegetation with no enemies. They began to multiply and to date they have out-populated humans on the island. There are 1.25 monkeys for every human. The current population of monkeys on St Kitts is about 53,000.)

Patrick-A Green Vervet Monkey

Patrick-A Vervet Monkey..note the diaper. (Patrick's owner, Glenky, fashions these by cutting baby diapers with scissors to make smaller versions. He does this so that, in his words, "Patrick does not poop on tourists" (!). Glenky and Patrick introduce themselves to tourists on the grounds of the Wingfield Estates, collecting gratuities along the way which Glenky is saving for his education.)

Green Vervet Monkey

Viaduct-Wingfield Estate

Old church-North end of the island

Middle-Island street scene

Ruins of St Thomas Anglican Church

Ruins of St Thomas Anglican Church

Ruins of St Thomas Anglican Church

Verchild's Mountain shrouded by cloud cover

Artificial Harbor, Middle Island

Limestone cliff on the way to Brimstone Hill Fortress

Limestone cliff on the way to Brimstone Hill Fortress

After a long switchback road, the entrance portal to Brimstone Hill Fortress

Fort George Citadel, Brimstone Hill Fortress (Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the island of St. Kitts in the Federation of St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis in the Eastern Caribbean. It was designed by British military engineers and built and maintained by African slaves. It is one of the best preserved historical fortifications in the Americas. Cannon were first mounted on Brimstone Hill in 1690, when the British used them to recapture Fort Charles from the French. The French had not considered it possible to transport cannon up the steep and thickly wooded sides of Brimstone Hill. The construction of the fort then carried on intermittently for just over 100 years. In its heyday, the fort was known as 'The Gibraltar of the West Indies', in reference to its imposing height and seeming invulnerability.)

View of Mt Limuiga from Brimstone Hill Fortress (Mount Liamuiga is a 3,792 feet stratovolcano which forms the western part of the island of Saint Kitts. The peak is the highest point on the island of Saint Kitts, in the federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and in the entire British Leeward Islands, as well as one of the tallest peaks in the eastern Caribbean archipelago. The peak is topped by a 0.6 miles wide summit crater, which contained a shallow crater lake until 1959. As of 2006, the crater lake had re-formed. The last verified eruptions from the volcano were about 1,800 years ago, while reports of possible eruptions in 1692 and 1843 are considered uncertain. Mount Liamuiga was formerly named Mount Misery. The renaming took place on the date of St. Kitts' independence, September 19, 1983. However, many older citizens still refer to it as Mount Misery. The name Liamuiga is derived from the Kalinago name for the entire island of St. Kitts, which means, "fertile land.")

17th Century British Canon Brimstone Hill Fortress

The Citadel, bristling with cannon (In 1782, the French, under Admiral Comte François Joseph Paul de Grasse laid siege to the fort. During the siege, the adjacent island of Nevis surrendered, and guns from Fort Charles and other small forts there were brought to St. Kitts for use against Brimstone Hill. British Admiral Hood could not dislodge de Grasse, and after a month of siege, the heavily outnumbered and cut-off British garrison surrendered. However, a year later, the Treaty of Paris (1783) restored St. Kitts and Brimstone Hill to British rule, along with the adjacent island of Nevis. Following these events, the British carried out a program to augment and strengthen the fortifications, and Brimstone Hill never again fell to an enemy force. The French navy tried to recapture the fort in 1806 but failed.)

Prince of Wales Bastion (The first building to be completely restored, this area housed the Brigade Office, main guard barracks and a powder magazine.)

A broader perspective of the Prince of Wales Bastion (The fort was abandoned by the British in 1853, and the structures gradually decayed through vandalism and natural processes. Stabilization and restoration of the remaining structures started in the early 1900s. In 1973 HRH Prince Charles reopened the first area to be completely restored, the Prince of Wales Bastion. In 1985 Britain's Queen Elizabeth II unveiled a plaque naming Brimstone Hill as a National Park. Legislation in 1987 officially declared Brimstone Hill to be a National Park. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999.)

Top of Infantry Officers quarters

Ruins of Artillery Officers' Quarters with sweeping views of the sea

Ruins of Artillery Officers' Quarters

The Main Ordnance Store (Cannonballs & Ammunition). Some of the walls are six feet thick.

The Ordinance Store and Prince of Wales Bastion

Britt and Georgia on the ramparts

Expansive Caribbean views

Artificial harbor

Caribbean View from Brimstone Hill

A lush hillside and the Caribbean beyond

Bastion, Brimstone Hill Fortress

The Orillon Bastion, where the hospital, cemetery and main ordinance store were located.

The St Kitts flag snaps over the Citadel

The arched infantry officers quarters in the foreground

Infantry Officers Quarters

Warrent Officer's House

Prince of Wales Bastion

Georgia ascending the ramp to the Citadel

Warrent Officer's Quarters with panoramic Caribbean views

The ramp to the Citadel

Georgia entering the Citadel

Citadel entrance

Britt on the ramparts of the Citadel

Pump Bay and the Dutch island of St Eustatius beyond

The Citadel-Fort George at Brimstone Hill Fortress

The Western Place of Arms, Fort George

Britt on the ramparts

Magazine Bastion, Brimstone Hill Fortress

British Cannon on the Western Place of Arms facing the Caribbean

Eastern Place of Arms facing the mountains

Fort George Citadel

Britt in the Citadel

Georgia studies a plan of the fort

View from the Citadel to the Western Place of Arms (foreground) and the Caribbean beyond.

Bell Arch on the Citadel

Tom in the Citadel

Leaving the Citadel

My new friend.... since I shared my Sun Chips with him

Magazine Bastion

Ruins of an old home-Shady Point Town

Street scene-Shady Point Town

Old church on the NW coast

Sugar cane sways in the breeze in front of an abandoned plantation structure

Sugar Estate Ruins

Sugar Estate Ruins

North Island Bay

North Island Bay

Lots of churches on St Kitts

Note the black volcanic sand

Black sand beach

Old Anglican Parish church on the NW coast

Mount Liamuiga, shrouded in clouds as usual

Shimmering cane fields

Tiny village near the NE coast

Entrance to Ottley's Plantation Resort, a high end getaway

A cottage at Ottley's Plantation Inn, an exclusive resort

Cottages at Ottley's Plantation Inn, an exclusive, expensive resort

Ottley's Plantation Inn

Ottley's Plantation Inn

An unusual tree-Ottley's plantation

Flags whip in the wind at the OTI

New earrings for Britt

Our new friends from the OTI (This young lady is a waitress at the Waterfall Restaurant at the Ocean Terrace Inn. We met her yesterday and Britt admired her gold earrings. Today, she returned to the OTI with her young son and a pair of the same earrings for Britt!)

New friends at the OTI

New Earrings for BBC

Britt sports her new jewelry

Georgia at the OTI bar.

A handsome young lad

A handsome young lad

War Memorial Oblisque near Basseterre

The Brazilian Embassy, the OTI's next door neighbor

The Brazilian Embassy

Waliking into Basseterre from the OTI

A colorful skiff

The Basseterre fish, meat and vegetable market

Nanco's Barber Shop

Grilled lobster anyone?

Colorful Basseterre

Colorful Basseterre

The National Museum (2002 saw the official opening of St Kitts and Nevis National Museum in the Old Treasury building. Erected in 1894. this proud building served as the gateway to the city of Basseterre for decades and housed many ministries and departments of government over the years. Today it is one of St Kitts' most important historical and architectural monuments.)

Berkely Memorial Clock, Baseterre (The Circus-Today Basseterre's French heritage is not nearly so prominent as its British colonial past. The centerpiece of the city's evocative Georgian architecture is its Circus, a diminutive roundabout modeled in proper Victorian patriotism after Piccadilly, in London. In the middle of the Circus stands the bright green bronze of the Berkeley Memorial Clock, an ornate, cast iron tower with four clock faces and more than a little architectural decoration.)

A snack truck named for an Ethiopian King, one of Basseterre's many little surprises.

Independence Square (Independence Square Built in 1790 for slave auctions and council meetings, this public square was officially named in 1983 to commemorate the independence of the island Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis from Great Britain.)

An old English phone booth in Independence Square

Egret, Independence Square

Egret, Independence Square

Fountain in the center of Independence Square

Basseterre-Independence Square

Immaculate Conception Cathedral

Immaculate Conception Cathedral and Fan Palm

19th Century Commercial Building

Immaculate Conception Cathedral

Old warehouse, Basseterre

The Old Treasury Building (The Treasury Building, now the National Museum-This domed colonial building stands right on the waterfront and is a reminder of the value of these islands as sugar colonies. It is the former Treasury Building, or customs house, and through its arches passed virtually everything that arrived at or departed from St. Kitts, including until recently all visitors.)

The Old Treasury Building

Late afternoon glow

A senior Kittian-Basseterre

The sun sets behind the Ocean Terrace Inn

A commercial vessel, Basseterre harbor

Evening falls on St Kitts

Georgia and Britt at the Fishermans' Wharf Restaurant

Britt and Tom-Dinner at the Fishermans' Wharf

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