Life Aboard SERENADA: St. Kitts and Nevis

St. Kitts & Nevis courtesy flag with HYC's burgee

St. Kitts and Nevis are two small volcanic sister islands, whose peaks touch the clouds. St. Kitts is the larger island with a population of about 35,000 and smaller Nevis has a population of about 15,000.

a single megayacht at dock in Christophe Harbour,

currently under development

Upon arriving in St. Kitts we anchored in Ballast Bay at the south end of the island. There is a major development here... Christophe Harbour, which caters to megayachts. We explored this area with our dinghy. It is a huge and very well protected harbour, surrounded by hills.

We weren't long in St. Kitts. We had wanted to sail for Montserrat, but found the going too tough. The winds were southeasterly, and too close to our intended heading. The necessary tacking would have added too many lumpy hours to our trip, and so we turned back, and ended up in Qualie Bay at the north end of Nevis.

Nevis is shaped like a sombrero

Both St. Kitts and Nevis have much history as they were first settled in the 1600's. Back then the main industry was sugar cane, much evidence of which remains today.

Many of the old plantation estates have been restored and converted to small luxury hotels and inns. On Nevis, we visited a few of these - Golden Rock, The Hermitage, and Montpelier. Our favourite was Golden Rock Estate, which covers 96 acres on the edge of the rainforest, and dates back to 1801. Its current owners are artists, and they have transformed this property into one masterful work of art, blending old and new. I took many photos....

old windmill rebuilt into a guest suite

one of several private dining areas

incredible gardens

pool with a view at Golden Rock Estates

plantation ruins blended in gardens

While touring around Nevis, we stopped at this little church perched up on a hill. It was built in 1643 and is the oldest active Protestant Church in the Caribbean. Its oldest gravestone dates back to 1649!

circa 1643

What we haven't seen (yet), but hoped we would, were Nevis' green velvet monkeys. We did see wild donkeys and many sheep and goats, but as yet those monkeys have eluded us....

We spent some beach time on Nevis too. Pinney Beach is magnificent, and the location of the Four Seasons Hotel. There's even snorkeling around the breakwalls in front of this resort.