Middle Island

In the afternoon, we joined a shore excursion for a rainforest hike. A rather ominous start saw us hop into an open sided rather well-loved bus! We travelled along the coast out of Basseterre to some volcanic stones and their folklore legends (a very strange stop with 70 odd passengers visiting rocks in an area less than the size of out garden!).

From there we travelled to the start of the hike, at the Wingfield Estate, a former sugar plantation now batik workshop (where we spent 40 minutes *not* browsing the gift shop for souvenirs). The initial part of the hike tool us through the remnant buildings of the sugar plantation with our excellent guide explaining what each thing did. He also showed us the local plant life and the properties each one was believed to hold. From the plantation, we walked into the rainforest proper, filled with tangled vines hanging from incredibly tall trees. The area he showed us is where most of the islands water comes from, and so we saw the dams and relatively new pipework within the rainforest that carried the water to the island. On the way back, we were joined by four monkeys on the path! Back at the bus, the guides provided a lovely snack of banana bread and banana fritters before returning to port just in time for departure! We sailed away from St Kitts with a glass of cider on the balcony, before heading away for dinner, and then a game of Carcasonne in Brodie's Bar (a far-too-large-bar in the mid-ship that's rather like a naff Wetherspoons!)Read more