rainforest walk with Princess?

[TeamGunga]

Is it worth the $69 through the Princess excursion?

[Liz Pereira]

Definitely.

[JimnKaren]

This is part of my cruise diary entry for St. Kitts:

 

The alarm clock had to be set as the excursion we were to be on was scheduled to leave the pier at 8:30. We got up shortly after 6, ate breakfast and got ourselves ready for our day ashore. We were tied up in Basseterre, St. Christopher. No one really calls it that; the island is commonly called St. Kitts. St. Kitts and Nevis are considered one, even though they are separate islands. On a previous trip we had take a snorkeling excursion to Nevis, so we intend to stay on this island for the day.

We signed up for the Rain Forest Hike that starts of the grounds of Romney Manor, an old sugar plantation. Sugar cane used to be the primary source of income in the Caribbean, but like many other islands, St. Kitts is no longer growing it for export. There are many acres of land that are dormant, waiting for the government to decide what to do. We learned this from our guide Winston Churchill who drove us along a winding, coastal road, with several stops to tell us what we were seeing.

Along the way I noted several signs: Disaster/Swift, Sudden, Deadly/Let’s Get Ready Now. It reminded me that this lush island paradise is indeed in the path of hurricanes. I also saw Ross University, which has a couple of levels of instruction including 1700-student school of medicine and a 1000-student vet school. The International University of Nursing (also started by Robert Ross) shows new building that look impressive. Winston said that the literacy rate on St. Kitts is 98%, with only 4.3% unemployment. With a population of around 32,000, this 69 square mile island is very impressive. St. Christopher is the patron saint of travelers.

At the start of nature walk, we toured Caribelle Batik and used the restrooms as there would be nothing for the next several hours. Caribelle also has a location on St. Lucia. Karen purchased a couple of very nice things and then the group gathered under a nearby Saman Tree, which is said to be more than 350 years old. I have since found information that shows this tree to cover more than ½ acre. The grounds were impressive; I could have parked myself there for hours.

We were divided into three groups and our leader, Fonzie, started to tell us about the sugar cane industry and the remnants of the buildings there. He related a lot about the flora and fauna of St. Kitts. A large number of plants are used for various things: Hog Plum, used in tea to stop dysentery; Wild Cilliment, whose leaves are soaked in rum and then used to relieve soreness; Joint Wood, put in tea to treat colds and flu and used as a laxative; Mahoe, the stems are used as a rope substitute. There were many more plants, but I did not write all their names and uses.

One tree I found particularly fascinating is the Sandbox Tree or Monkey No-Climb Tree. This very tall tree has thousands of 1-2” spikes all the way up the trunk, thus the second name. However, the first name is because the seed capsule that the tree produces was used to hold sand as an ink blotter before the advent of paper blotters. Fonzie also showed how to break open the fruit of the almond tree. I saw a fresh one on the ground and picked it up to return home.

The Caribe Indians at one time were all over the island and there are still petroglyphs that date from the time when the island was considered wild. After our informative walk into the deep forest, the three guides provided coconut, watermelon, oranges and bananas, all grown on the island. There was fruit punch to drink and then they brought out their locally produced rum. What a taste! It was now after noon and time to return to the ship. We were both saddened to see this excursion end. We felt that we really got our money’s worth at $69 each.

[Liz Pereira]

Enjoyed reading about your day in St. Kitts.

 

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