The fort was high on a hill and a key stronghold during the 17th and 18th centuries, when various European countries dueled to claim islands in the Caribbean.
On our trip up the island, we were going against the flow of mostly commuters heading toward Basseterre for work. On the trip back, we met the cruise shippers coming out by minibus. We felt fortunate to be going against the flow both ways because the roads were narrow and winding.
The cruise-shipper minibuses were travelling fast along the highway. It appeared they pretty much missed everything except for the few souvenir shops. The buses slowed and sometimes stopped for the folks to take picture without leaving the bus. The more we’ve seen of cruise shipping, the more we think it’s not for us.
The road hugged the coast, and went from town to town, Boyds, Trinity, Challengers, Old Road Town, and Middle Island. Each town was an interesting collection of dilapidated to modest housing, a church or two, and a couple of business enterprises. The area was rich with history, building ruins, some restored and some replaced.
In the towns, the houses were at the edge of the road, and the locals were often sitting in their doorway greeting us as we went by. "Good morning, mornin’" was often the reply to our greeting. We stopped many times of course, but once it turned into a 10 minute visit with a couple of guys that just dropped by to say hi. They said "business was a little slow". Later on down the coast, a bus went by, and there was one of them hanging out of the window with a large smile, waving madly, and yelling "Hey Steve", as if we were best friends.
The riding was easy with lightly rolling hills along the scenic coastline. In places, the sea had artistically carved cliffs out of the shore along one side of the road, and the land rose to dormant volcanic mountains on the other.
Like Nevis, the seashore was rich with seashells for the beachcombers that weren’t there, except of course, for Marlene and me.
We found the southwest shore of St. Kitts unspoiled by tourists, and the locals friendly. With sunshine and light on-shore breezes for our ride, we couldn’t have asked for more.
Click here for the next story in this series:
http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2013/03/destination-south-firars-beach.html
