The Last Caribbean
Eight kilometers. west of Basseterre, is Old Road Town, where the first British colonists arrived, and where you can still find, very well preserved, some Caribbean petroglifos that are proof of the existence of the ancient inhabitants of the island. Before reaching Old Road Town, you’ll pass by Bloody Point, where French and British left aside their disputes, and joined forces to annihilate, on a hot sunset of 1626, the 2000 Caribbean Indians that have launched a massive attack against them. Further on is Middle Island. In the garden of the St. Thomas church, is the grave of sir Thomas Warner that led the first British settlement in the island.

Near Old Road Town, towards the inner lands, are the exotic gardens of Romney Manor, a house that was destroyed by a fire in 1995. Here is the workshop of Caribelle Batik (open from Monday to Friday) where you can see artisans painting textiles, with a millenary technique called batik.

Following the road northeast is the fortress of Brimstone Hill (open daily, entrance fee), whose construction started in 1690, over an andesita hill, a rock of volcanic origin. This fort was known for some time among the British as “the West Indies Gibraltar”, and was later conquered by the French in 1782. The British responded to such a humiliating defeat, recapturing the fort a year later. At present, many galleries of a museum give a global vision of the history and culture of the island.

Walking by Mount Liamuiga
Behind the fort, the landscape is abrupt and covered by the green of an exuberant tropical jungle. Tourist agencies in Basseterre offer guided excursions to the volcanic crater of Mount Liamuiga, a mountain 1156m. high.

In the northern face of the volcano, and very close to the circular highway, is Rawlins Plantation Inn, an ancient sugar plantation, with a mansion of the XVIII century, properly restored and converted in an elegant hotel, surrounded by wonderful tropical gardens. Following the Atlantic coast southeast, you’ll reach Ottley’s Plantation Inn, another old plantation, also transformed in a charming hotel, and that offer clients a pool with water coming from a spring, as well as a route, with proper signals, through the jungle.

The Wild Beauty of the Southeast Peninsula
Just entering the twenty-two km. peninsula at the southeast of the island, is Frigate Bay, where you can choose between the Caribbean and the Atlantic beaches, and where you can practice all kinds of water sports. At the end of the peninsula, the landscape appears full of hills covered by wild vegetation, lonely salt ponds and beautiful beaches. To this part of the island come numerous migratory birds, and a monkey colony has also their habitat. The only human presence, will be find at the Turtle Beach Club, a place designed by Ricky Perreira, respectful of the natural beauty and the ecological balance of this place, where you can take a drink or taste the delicious barbecue.

A Odyssey Towards Nevis
Though it’s possible to go from St. Kitts to the neighboring Nevis, in one of the quick regular flights between both islands, the ship that sails from Basseterre to Charlestown provides an unforgettable navigation experience. Next to the ferry station at the modern port of Zante, in Basseterre, a pile of boxes, some baskets, vegetables sacks, some frightened chickens, two pigs tied with a rope, three old bikes and five hatchets with sharp edges, wait to be loaded into the Caribe Queen, the name of the ship that takes almost an hour, to sail through the 20 km. separating the cities of Basseterre and Charlestown. After leaving, the ship borders the south of the island, passing by Ballast Bay, Bugg’s Hole and Nag’s the Head, riding over the agitated waters of the strait that separate both islands.

Through the windows spattered by the sea foam, you can soon see the unmistakable silhouette of the Nevis Peak, a volcanic mountain whose peak, at 985m high, appears always covered by mist. In the west coast of Nevis, is Pinney’s Beach, a beach of 6 km. of white sands. Here is the major hotel of the island, the Four Seasons Resort.

A Capital with Fascinating Buildings
Charlestown, the capital of Nevis, with a population of 1800, is a city with white buildings, tin roofs and exuberant gardens. At the dock, a placard receives visitors, with the following words: “Welcome to Nevis, the native city of Alexander Hamilton”.

Far away are the days of splendor in the XVIII century. A series of hurricanes and other natural disasters diminished the prosperity of the once noisy capital. However, Charlestown still maintains something of its past splendor.
On Main Street and around D.R. Walwyn’s Plaza, still stand buildings with beautiful verandas and their fronts decorated with wooden traceries. At the end of Main Street is the Museum of Nevis History (open from Monday to Friday, Saturday mornings; entrance fee), a Georgian building, the birthplace, in 1757, of the famous American statesman, Alexander Hamilton.

Back to the square, some peddlers have their vegetables and souvenirs stands next to the Nevis Handicraft Co-op, a cooperative where handicraft works are sold, as well as home wines and a hot red pepper sauce.

Round the corner is the Nevis Philatelic Bureau, where many visitors go to buy the famous stamps printed in Nevis (a good income source for the island).

On Saturdays, around 7:30 am, the fruit and fish market, next to the dock, is full of life