Well hello there my loyal followers. Once again I apologise for the hugely long gap between posts but upon returning the to snowy UK I felt quite despondent and not in the mood to write about my fabulous holiday. Then just this week I had an operation (which I am sure I will be posting about soon) and now I am finally back in the writing saddle and ready to tell you more about the beautiful Caribbean.
So, let me start by saying I hate monkeys. I mean really detest them. I don’t like their deceptively cute faces, their human-like grabbing hands and the one with the big pink bums just freak me out completely.
What has this got to do with my tales? Well read on and you will be enlightened.
After the passenger swap at Puerto Rico we set sail for St Thomas where we visited a little butterfly farm. I love butterflies but these were a little disappointing as there only seemed to be a few species there. Nevertheless it was a nice little interlude and we ran back to the boat just as we got hit by a brief downpour. The turn in the weather meant I could go back to the cabin and read (and sleep) the afternoon away.
At The Butterfly Farm
The next morning we arrived in St Kitts, which as it turned out was one of my favourite islands. I had booked Trevor on a cooking excursion where he went to a manor house and learnt to cook the Caribbean way. He was very excited to get going and so were Sam and I as we were going to a fabulous beach where we would have lunch and play in the sea.
We left the boat and walked to the meeting point where I realised that I had forgotten my sunglasses and my book. Luckily we had time for me to run (!) back and get them. Running is not my forte and running in 40 degree heat is torturous but I made it just in time to get on the bus and off we went.
St Kitts is an up and coming island where tourist resorts are expanding very quickly. It is a beautiful place with amazing views and cute little mountainside houses. The tropical weather just tops it off. The roads are typically unkempt though and whiplash is always a risk, but we got to our destination safely and alighted the bus onto a strip of white sandy beach complete with loungers, parasols and restaurant.
The best lounger ever.
Suddenly, beside me, Sam became very excited, jumping up and down and pointing. Following his excited gaze I was dismayed to see a man holding…… yes you guessed it a monkey. But not just a monkey. A monkey wearing a NAPPY. Urgh!! I shuddered but of course the man had seen Sam’s excitement and was making his way towards us. “$5 for a photo with the monkey” he informs us. I wanted to tell him I’d give him $50 to bugger off but Sam’s pleading face stopped me. I told the guy that I had no money but I’d let Sam hold the monkey (again I say Urgh!!). The guy agreed and passed the offending creature to my son. Once he looked away I quickly snapped a couple of photos of my own, for free, and instructed Sam to give it back. Thankfully the man took it away and I relaxed. For all of a minute. To my left I saw someone else approaching us. Another man with a nappy wearing primate. Ah maaan! not again. I made my distaste perfectly clear by vigorously shaking my head and indicating for them to back away. To give them credit, they didn’t push themselves onto us at all and quite happily moved on to the next monkey loving weirdos.
Sam and the offending monkey (Urgh!)
Sam was happy and ran off to play in the sea. I found an amazing lounger and settled down with my book. After a gorgeous lunch and a little bit more monkey-avoidance we boarded the bus for a bumpy ride back to the boat.
Trevor was already back and told us of his cooking prowess and when Sam told him about the monkeys I am sure I saw Trevor laughing behind his hands, but I may have been mistaken.
So St Kitts slowly disappeared behind us as we sailed off towards Aruba.
Until next time my salty sea dogs.
Julie 🙂
JulieRKendrick 