Nevis is the smaller of the two sister islands, St Kitts and Nevis. It is known for sandy beaches and Nevis Peak, which is a potentially active volcano (though no historical eruptions are known). Nevis (and St Kitts) are a bit out of the way and seem to often be skipped by many cruisers. We are excited to be able to spend a few days exploring here!
Never thought we’d visit Nevis
We wake up before the sun (again) to get an early start. A pretty sunrise helps – as always – fight against tired eyes. It isn’t our smoothest passage coming over to Nevis from Antigua. The seas are still very rough and trade winds brisk. For possibly the first time ever, though, the wind and waves are behind us! This means faster speeds and a smoother ride. The waves come behind us, raise us up, and then we surf down the other side picking up speed as we go. Although, our average speed is still only 7-8 MPH, we see speeds exceeding 10 MPH often as we surf down the waves, which feels exciting. The best part about this passage is we somehow manage to maintain cell signal the entire way from Antigua to here! These islands have some strong towers (and of course our booster is helping a lot).
We arrive to the port of Charlestown in Nevis upon entry. Per instructions of other cruisers, we head a mile or so past the port towards Pinney’s Beach, where there are lots of mooring balls that can be picked up. Anchoring is largely prohibited in much of the coastal water off Nevis, so finding a mooring ball is definitely preferred. As we approach, it’s looking quite busy. Other online reviews said there’s always plenty of mooring balls – well not today. After circling a couple times, we go anchor next to another vessel off the edge of the beach *almost* outside the no anchoring zone. We have to stay close enough that we can take the dinghy ashore to clear in with customs and immigration – what’s a boat to do?
Matt has a couple phone calls for work, so we settle in and plan to go ashore afterwards. Just as he’s finishing up, I notice a mooring ball has become available. We rush to pull up anchor and make our way to the mooring. As we do, we see another catamaran approaching Nevis. Initially, they appear to be heading past the mooring field, but they must have spotted the newly open ball as well and pick up speed towards it. We also pick up speed and keep our eyes focused ahead, pretending not to notice the other approaching boat. It is a full on race at this point! Luckily, we have the inside angle and reach the ball about 100 feet before they do. For a brief second I’m afraid they are going to run right into us. A close call. We tie up to the mooring and congratulate ourselves on the win. Plus – we’ve been waiting at anchor for 2 hours for a ball to free up. These other guys just come flying in at the last second. We deserve it.
After launching the dinghy, Matt heads into Charlestown to clear us in with customs and immigration. This is a bit of a tricky island when it comes to Monster. Reading online, they claim all dogs arriving must be home quarantined for 30 days. If you move to Nevis with your dog and buy a house – not such a big deal. The dog is allowed in your home and your yard. If you live on a boat, I’m not quite sure how that works. Can the dog not go to shore for 30 days? Our goal is to not find out. We’re planning on the trusty “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach.
Unfortunately, the customs agent does ask. Shoot. Matt is honest with him about Monster being on-board. The agent seems annoyed (it’s almost closing time), so Matt mentions that we’re only going to be staying a few days and Monster mostly stays on the boat anyways. The custom agent suggest that she just stay on the boat the whole time, and then we don’t have to go through the whole process (whatever that is). Apparently the first step is a visit from the vet, and he/she has already taken off for the day. Matt agrees keeping the dog on-board would be fine, and the custom agent completes our paperwork. Nice! We don’t actually keep Monster on-board the whole time, but we’re pirates these days – no need to follow rules. (Note we have all necessary shots, Titer test, etc. for Monster and a valid health certificate, so we are confident we are not adding any risk to animals on the island)
A scenic spot
Matt returns from his trip ashore, happy to share the good news about Monster. We were prepared to sail away to another island at moments notice if necessary. His trip to immigration didn’t go quite as well, though. Since it was so close to closing time, the agent said he could do most of the paperwork, but that some had to be done online and then brought back in tomorrow. Oh, well.
We launch the dinghy to immediately take Monster ashore (shhh…). The sand beach here is fantastic (and huge!). We are looking forward to stretching our legs and letting the little dog run down the beach. She has a blast, and obliges us with a couple quick photo shoots.
Once back on-board, we head up to the trampoline to relax and take in the gorgeous setting in front of us. Nevis Peak rises up right in front of us. It is truly magnificent. A light sunset completes the view.
Monster and I paddle board back in the next morning for round 2 of beach time. It is such a great beach – and so few people! We have it almost all to ourselves.
Going bananas
The next day, we head back to Charlestown so that Matt can finish our immigration check-in. Monster and I wonder the streets killing time while he does that. After what seems like way too long, Matt finds us near the town bus stop. Short story – nothing else was done during his visit to immigration. We’re confused because the forms we completed online last night don’t seem to align with what the agent is saying we should have completed. Oh well, we’re pirates. We already have all the documentation saying we’re properly checked-in. Good enough.
We grab a taxi and ask to be dropped off at the Hamilton Plantation Estate – thinking this is where there is a preserved childhood home and museum of Alexander Hamilton. Upon arrival, we see there is a bit of old sugar mill plantation ruins and a small sign. That’s it. Not quite what we expected. Honestly – we aren’t even positive Alexander Hamilton lived at this plantation. We should do better research.
Tangent: Alexander Hamilton (yes, that Alexander Hamilton) was born on the small island of Nevis. He lived there for the first 7-9 years of his life (records vary), before moving to the island of St. Croix. From there he went to college in America and – well, the rest is history! Nevis definitely celebrates its connection with Alexander Hamilton, despite the short amount of his life he actually spent on the island.
As Matt is reading the single sign and taking photos, he suddenly yelps and starts swatting at his feet. He’s covered in fire ants! We run back to the road and I start swatting them off his flip flops (which he flung off), while he fights them off his feet. What a mess. We get them all off, though, and I only get a few bites in the process.
Next we decide to walk up to the nearby Bananas restaurant. Matt has a couple phone calls for work, so we’re hoping to find some internet and a place to relax. Best. Decision. Ever. We enter the grounds and are immediately blown away. The restaurant is set within a lush, tropical garden. As we enter, I spot a monkey sitting up in the tree curiously watching Monster. As we approach the small onsite boutique, we see a couple hummingbirds zooming by. After stopping in the boutique and purchasing a t-shirt, we pick out a table and take a seat. We’ve barely sat down, when I spot a huge orange caterpillar-like creature on one of the plants. Then the resident dog comes over to say hi. This place is an animal sanctuary.
Feeling a bit in awe at our gorgeous surroundings, we order a bottle of Sauivignon Blanc and an appetizer to share. Matt settles in to start his phone calls, while I take my glass of wine (and Monster) around to explore more of the grounds. This place is absolute paradise. Maybe we can just live here from now on.
Soaking in the hot springs
Eventually we decide we have to leave Bananas as we plan to walk back down to town and sunset is fast approaching. It’s a decent trek back, but luckily all down hill! As we are close to approaching the main town area, we make a short detour to find the natural hot spring that flows through Nevis. It’s a common highlight of the island, and one that I’ve been looking forward to.
We approach the springs, and are surprised to see only one car with a few tourists stopping by. Otherwise, the spring is full of locals who still use this as a place to bath and soak. There are several small “hot tub” like areas that have been carved out to create more privacy and areas to bath. There’s also the large open area where the hot spring flows through the town. I’m very surprised to see how shallow it is in most places, but definitely not disappointed at the level of “hot.” It’s really, really hot. We place our feet in, but decide that’s enough to experience it.
Cheeseburger in paradise
After taking in the hot springs, we continue our walk into and through Charlestown. There is a small museum (largely focused on Hamilton), that Matt wants to at least walk by. It’ll be closed by now, but we can grab a photo of the outside. Leading up towards the museum, along the water’s edge, is a row of flags from several different countries. These represent the countries from which visitors have come to Nevis. If you visit Nevis from a country that doesn’t have a flag flying, you can bring your country’s flag with you and ask that it be raised.
Next door to the museum is the Art Cafe. It is a local cafe that normally is only open for breakfast and lunch – largely drawing visitors from the museum. We are initially surprised to see a bunch of people sitting outside the cafe around picnic tables. Then I remember that I read one night a week, the cafe hosts burger night. We must have arrived on that night! It’s fate. We ask if they have room for us to join in for burgers – they do, despite normally being reservations only.
As we are deciding on our order, we learn that they accept cash only. Due to a broken credit card reader at Bananas, we are running a bit short on cash. The owner tells us not to worry, that we can always come back to pay our bill tomorrow. Small towns/islands definitely have advantages! We each get a beer, a burger, and a chili cheese fry to share. Everything is good, but it’s definitely more about the atmosphere and feeling like we’re part of the local community. When it comes time to pay our tab, we have enough for tax, tip and $2 to spare. Definitely time to refill the wallet!
As we ready to leave, it starts raining. Not good. Taking the dinghy in the rain is never fun. Especially ours which is permanently deflated nowadays. That little “fix” I mentioned during our time in St Martin definitely was not a fix. Pretty sure we have several leaks; not just one. Anyways – we wait out the worst of the rain before just sucking it up and heading back home.
Tomorrow we head to the larger sister island of St Kitts!
