A little trivia: the smallest nation in the western hemisphere is actually a federation of two Caribbean islands — Saint Kitts and Nevis.
We visited Basseterre, the capital of the two-island nation via a Caribbean cruise on the Seabourn Pride.
In Basseterre, our ship shared the dock with two other cruise ships: the 3,114-passenger Adventure of the Seas and the 204-guest Seabourn Spirit, a sister ship to the Pride.
Quite a dramatic difference, as this side-by-side photo shows.
Christopher Columbus discovered St. Kitts in 1493 and named it Saint Christopher Island after himself and his patron saint. Sir Thomas Warner landed on the island in 1623 and shortened the name to St. Kitts.
Walking out of the port area requires walking through a throng of people trying to sell you tours of the island. St. Kitts and Nevis are one of the few countries in the Caribbean where agriculture is still a larger part of the economy than tourism. Many cruise visitors hire taxis for round-the-island tours that drive through sugar cane and cotton plantations.
Another popular tour is via the St. Kitts Scenic Railway, a narrow-gauge train originally built to transport sugar cane from the field to the factory.
We were looking for a lazy day: walk around Basseterre, by and send some postcards, and find a cool spot with internet to catch up on email.
Just a few blocks from the port we arrived at the Circus square (really, more of a roundabout) with a Victorian clock tower.
Before the Circus we stopped by the post office, which has internet for hire via some computers but no Wi-Fi to use with your own devices.
Later we happened upon Rituals Coffee where we enjoyed ice cold mocha “chillers” and accessed the free Wi-Fi for customers.
The National Museum looked interesting but the nearby shops enticed us to shop for a few things we were missing.
Pirana Joe offers distinctive t-shirts and other clothing.
On our way back to our ship, we stopped for a quick photo.
We noticed how discolored the aft-end of the Pride looked compared to the Spirit.
Obviously, the ship’s officers noticed also because the next day the Pride sported a new coat of paint.
Sunset during sail away from Basseterre was spectacular.
Have you visited St. Kitts? What’s did you do there? Please share in comments. We might need some ideas if we visit again.
Read more posts about our cruise on the Seabourn Pride:
- Exploring “The Baths” of Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands via a Seabourn Shore Excursion
- Views from the Seabourn Pride
- A Peek Inside the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port Hotel
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