Cruising Day Five

We woke up at 6 am (yikes!) to get ready for our 'big' day!  We were just pulling into port as I drew the curtains.  It was always a surprise to open the curtains in the morning which was fun.  Basseterre, St Kitts!  We had only booked one excursion before we left for the cruise and today was the day.  Bike riding tour of the island and beach time.  Sounds good, no?

 

 We enjoyed breakfast delivered to our veranda.  Omelettes for energy this morning!

 We mustered at the pier with about 20 others from our ship and the Royal Caribbean ship docked right beside us.  Our tour guide was quite the taskmaster and I wasn't sure what we were in for!  My bike wasn't working well so we got off to a late start while they attempted to fix it and then gave up and got me a new bike.  The tour guide led the pack and his helper drove a pick up truck behind us with our bags and cold drinks.

 We would stop every so often while he gave us interesting historical anecdotes and island information.  He started to loosen and became quite funny.  We found out that he does this in his spare time and he's actually a police officer.  He was most concerned that we were enjoying his tour.  All Caribbean people that we interacted with were very similar.  They are very direct, friendly and in no way shy. 

 This is the view of our ship from the first of many, many hills we climbed.  St Kitts is a very hilly island.  I think we biked up most of them.  Crikey!  And did I mention the heat and humidity?  Oh right, I did.

 Posing and still enjoying the tour.

 And the summit of one of the steeper hills.  This is where I started to get a bit nervous about what I had gotten myself into!

 A local cemetery.  Morbid, to take a picture but it was so unkempt unlike our cemeteries here.

 Here we are stopped in front of the governor general's mansion.  Our tour guide Leston fancied himself becoming governor general one day. 

 And here he is explaining how the sugar cane industry worked back in the day.  The building is an old run down sugar cane factory.

 And here we are stopped atop another hill waiting to cross their major highway to ride up more hills.  Oh golly.

 Sweet relief!  Shade and a sugar cane stick to eat for energy.  It was tasty!

 First time for everything!

Keith even managed a few 'action' shots.  Still smiling!  What I don't realize is that my sunscreen has now sweated off and my hands and nose are burning to a crisp.

 Click to enlarge this photo.  I took the easy way up that hill in the back of a pick up (no rules in the Caribbean I guess) with 10 other people while the rest of the group RODE THEIR BIKES up that insane incline. 

 The view at the top was rather spectacular though and Keith didn't die from exertion so I call that success.  The sea on the left is the Atlantic and on the right is the Caribbean.  Phenomenal!  This is view point there were vendors selling cold drinks, chips, snacks and trying to put a little monkey on your shoulder and charge you to take a picture of it.  Ewwww!  Our tour guide told us to avoid that like the plague.  He said the monkeys were not healthy or safe. 

 Pretty amazing, yes?

 By the time we pedalled our weary selves to Frigate Bay I was so ready for a dip in the ocean.  This is where they fed us some snacks (oranges, fresh coconut, apples and banana bread) and ice cold juice. It tasted so good!

 We weren't at the beach too long...about 30 minutes or so.  I dreaded the ride back but what could you do?  There were no taxis that I could see to rescue me!

 Getting back to the pier was a VERY long ride and we were beyond exhausted at this point.  Keith really enjoyed the day and I mostly enjoyed the day but had hoped for more beach time.  In total we biked 22 kilometers for 3.5 hours.

 

So we arrived back safely and were given an ice cold Carib Beer as a reward for our travels.  I hate beer but man did this ever taste heavenly!  At least the first few gulps did and then I passed it off to Keith.

 We were a bit bummed that we didn't get to see the town at all but we were able to see many aspects of the island that we normally wouldn't have.  Leston took us to every nook and cranny (at least it felt like it) and he was very proud of his island.  We had a 3 pm departure from port so there was no time at the end of the tour for anymore touring around.

 

 As we arrived back to ship we were given the royal treatment again with drinks and ice cold washcloths.  Also on hand were the ships officers all lined up welcoming us back like long lost family.  The neighboring boat's passengers had no such treatment and I could tell they were a bit miffed.  Ha ha!  Try Celebrity next time, suckers!

So we showered up and had a nap (I never nap but this cruise turned me into a napper big time!).  I truly needed to recharge my batteries from regular life.

 

 We walked around and watched the ship leave port.  It was a good day.

 We dressed for dinner and caught the early show in the theatre.  Tonight it was a finalist from 'America's Got Talent' who was an incredible juggler.  It was quite an act and very enjoyable.

 And then a well deserved dinner.  My appy was a crab cake.  Loved it.

 Keith's was some sort of mushroom concoction on risotto.

 I had penne primavera for my main.

 

I don't remember what this dessert was called but it was good...I can assure you!

Another successful day in the Caribbean.  We had a lovely time at dinner that night chatting with the couples at our neighboring table.  They were two couples from Rochester, NY who were about my parents ages.  They gave us lots of advice about the next ports and cruising in general.