Wednesday 20 March 2013

St Kitts

March 19
Today was our excursion to St. Kitts. We had another wonderful breakfast. Then we were off to see what there was on the little island of St. Kitts.The Island looked much greener with less rocky cliffs and rolling hills that may have bee crop land at some time in the past. The walkway from the boat opened into the square of the old town. It was obvious that this area was a much poorer island than others we have been on. First thing we saw was the museum and wanting to understand better the history of the area Rex and I paid the three dollars and went up an old staircase into the hot stuffy room that was encircled with displays and writing of the history of St. Kitts. It was by no means a fancy building or a fancy museum but there was much history recorded for us to see and understand. The first inhabitants were Indian-American which they believed arrived between 1000 and 800 BC. It told of the first Europeans coming and looking to get rich off the cane crops and how the first cane workers were indentured servants from Ireland in the early 1600s but as the Europeans-at some point Spanish, French, and then English,  began to become rich from the sugar industry they wanted  it to be bigger and better. This is when the slave trade began and they began bringing slaves from Africa. Thank goodness for men like James Stevens and James Ramsey who saw the plight of the slaves and realized how pathetic the conditions the slaves were living in and wanted to do something about it. After much effort finally in 1833 the slavery abolition act came into effect. This had detrimental to influence on the sugarcane business. Because workers now had to be paid money this decreasde profit margins. Eventually with lower prices the sugar industry was not as lucrative as it had been before and by 1972 the sugarcane business was in jeopardy. In 1980 sugar prices crashed and in 2005 the sugar industry was no longer a part of the economy of St. Kitts. Tourism is now their main industry.
We walked the narrow streets withnarrow sidewalks and small stores filled with dollarstore items but at higher prices. The store in the middle of town had prices in their own coinage so you would have to ask how much in American dollars. I sam an ironing board for $110.00 obviously not American dollars..or at least I hope not. We explore the two old churches that were in town. The oldest was the third church built on the site as the two former ones had been destroyed, one by a hurricane and one by fire. It was a stone church with beautiful stained glass windows.  The grave markers in the court yard were mid 1700's. And English and Irish names. We wandered some of the streets that felt like back alleys with small shack like apartments. With not much for a yard. On the way back to the boat we looked through some of the shops along the cruise ship docks. I heard a fellow waiting on his wife comment to another guy “ Just getting stuff for next years garage sale” :)
When we got back to the boat we had a late lunch and we laid in the sun and listened to the band at the pool. It was so beautiful with the green island as a backdrop, the blue rippling water and the gentle Carribean breeze. I felt so lucky to be having that moment. I said to Rex “ I feel almost guilty living in such luxury and these people so poor” His immediate reply was”look at all the jobs you are providing! What would these people do if we did not come and spend our money in their country” How true. So many of the workers on the cruise ship are from many of the cental and south American countries. 
We had another wonderful evening with our supper in the dining room and then a great Elton John impressionist who gave us a real rocking concert with lots of audience precipitation. The party then went on all night but after a little dancing on the promenade we called it another terrific day and headed to our room.

1 comment:

  1. I guess the Elton John impressionist wasn't great... I mean if their was audience PRECIPITATION, he must have been bad. I have seen some bad acts and even had the urge to spit at them, but I have never done so. Sounds like it got ugly.

    But seriously, it sounds like a good time!

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