The Kittician Adventure - Day 3
Day 3, we intended to go to Nevis. But we were slow to get going, and realized that we had missed all of the morning ferries. So we decided that we would shoot for Nevis on Sunday, and really study what to do there, so that we would have a plan!
So instead, we went to Brasseterre, the capital of St. Kitts, which is actually where Andy lives, so we literally just walked down a big hill to get there.
We wandered through some shops, and I bought some cheesy souvenirs for people that asked for them (note to all: if you want cheesy souvenirs, you have to place an order). We had lunch on a nice balcony that overlooked the port. Andy’s appetite was back in full force, and that made me happy!
From lunch, we walked to Port Zante, where the cruise ships dock. There wasn’t a cruise ship docked, so it was pretty tame. Wandering through the shops there, I learned something shocking: Even though Andrea knew she was moving to the Caribbean, she didn’t pack a bathing suit. Oh well. Nothing should shock me at this point.
So she tried on some bathing suits, while I looked into day-cruises. There was a fabulous day cruise that involved taking us to Nevis, snorkeling, and lunch, for a very reasonable price, but it wasn’t available until after I left.
In the port area, there are lots of jewelry stores. After Andy explicitly told me that I was not to spend some gigantic amount of money, she dragged me into one. Then another. Until eventually we found ourselves in a nice little store looking at pearls and diamonds. While looking at diamonds, Andy told the Jeweler that I like Rum. So he fed me some Lemon-Rum on the rocks. It was delicious!
We left the jewelry store with pictures of diamonds for my mom and a cup of rum for me. We had walked a good ways before Andy looked over and said “What is that in your hand?” and I remembered that I wasn’t in New Orleans anymore, and drank up the rest of the Rum before we could discover what the Kittician laws regarding walking around with a cup of rum are. Andy carries around numbers for immediate rescuing by the Ross University Security Staff, but we didn’t want to use them.
We wandered near the docks, hoping we could discover some secret cruise company to give us an adventure, but didn’t have any luck. So we hiked back to Andrea’s apartment, and rested a little while. I discovered that I was sunburnt.
After waking up (oops) we decided to go to the Marriott resort in Frigate Bay to play in the ocean and stuff. We thought that perhaps we could catch a bus there, and started hiking to the bus stop. Meanwhile, we passed some ladies cooking something in a big pot on the street. Andy stopped to ask them about the bus, and they informed us that we would need to get a taxi to go that far, and gave us a taxi number to call.
Calling taxis in St. Kitts is interesting, because they don’t have house numbers. At least they have road names. So every taxi call goes something like this on one end:
“We need a taxi, we are on Wiggly Avenue, near the school… yes, the school. We are standing across from a baseball field. Yes, on Wiggly Avenue. My friend is wearing a bright yellow shirt…”
When we walked away (which I wondered about, since we had just given the taxi guy specific directions regarding our location and the school) Andy asked the lady what she was cooking. She replied “Black Pudding.”
“What’s that?”
“You wouldn’t like it.” She replied.
“It’s very savory,” her friend added.
“Are you selling it?” Andy asked. I thought she was crazy. The woman said she wouldn’t like it, and we hadn’t looked into this pot to know if it was goat intestines or something!
So she bought some black sausage type thing, as a thank you for the ladies helping us out. While we waited for the taxi, she bit off a piece, and first said “It is very good!”
But evidently the after-taste was horrible, and “savory” means “Ultra Mega Spicy.”
A taxi showed up, and we jumped in. Then OUR taxi showed up, and he shouted at us (I think he saw my bright yellow shirt) and we jumped out of one taxi, and into his. He drove us to the Marriott, which is huge and shiney. We went down to the beach and sat our stuff on some of the provided lawn chairs and watched two guys kite-surfing. They were REALLY good. Then they came towards us, and the kite came closer to the ground, and it was really cool…
But I turned around, and andy had run all the way back to our chair with our stuff. I thought Maybe when she ducked she saw somebody stealing our stuff? so I walked back to find out what was going on…
Andy’s Version, written by Rhiannon: We were walking on the beach, and this kite surfer came toward us blazing fast - and his kite swooped down at our heads, the chords threatening to decapitate us! Andy jumped on Rhiannon, to save her from the risk that she obviously did not recognize. The fabric might just have brushed her face. In one version of the story, the chord knicked Andy’s ear. Either way, we went back to the lawn chair and sat until it got too cold, and I teased the crap out of Andy.
After our near-death experience, we got a cab back to Brasseterre and went to Fisherman’s Warf for dinner. Our waitress was hilarious, often just walking away in the middle of talking to us, and she took our order at least two times. I wasn’t sure what to order, and figured that “fish” might be a good option. I wasn’t sure what to expect - but I did ask the waitress if the fish would have bones. Her response was “I don’t know, depends on what the chef does today!”
I got a whole fish. Flippers, eyeballs, and everything. I covered the eyeballs with the lemon wedge, and went at it. I asked the waitress if I was supposed to eat the skin, and she replied “Eat the skin, eat the fins, I would even eat the eyeballs!” She very much was jealous of my fish.
I was pretty full already from conch fritters and salad and potatoes, but I made a decent effort at eating the fish. I didn’t eat but half of it, and didn’t want to take it to go. So I sent it with the waitress, who I hope enjoyed eating all of the parts that I wouldn’t touch.
We walked home, studied the ferry schedules one last time, determined the ferry that we wanted to catch, and went to bed. Thus ended Day 3.