Sleepy St. Kitts Countryside
My first stop today was at Romney Manor (a 17th century sugar plantation) and its lush botanical gardens. A 300+ year-old salmon tree greeted us as we arrived (okay, it didn’t actually say, “Hello, and welcome to Romney Manor,” but it did open its arms up wide, and I’m pretty sure some of the branches were waving in a very welcoming manner). The site has since been converted into Caribelle Batik, a studio specializing in the creation of…you guessed it…batik. There was a brief demonstration explaining the batik process, which consists of placing wax on cloth, dipping it in dye, removing the wax and applying it to other areas, repeating the process, and so on until you have a beautifully dyed piece of fabric.
The Ancient Salmon Tree Says, “Hello!” (Note the park bench at the bottom of the photo to get a sense of the tree’s massive size.)
Romney Manor Botanical Gardens
Caribelle Batik
The bulk of my time on the island was spent hiking through the rainforest above Romney Manor, stopping periodically to listen to the guide discuss some of the local flora and fauna. Many of the plants were (and still are) used by Kittitians for medicinal purposes.
Most of the fruits from the trees were absent, as the island’s monkey residents outnumber the humans on the island, and them’s a bunch of hungry, hungry monkeys.
Soaking wet from a rainstorm during the latter half of the hike, I climbed over giant tree roots and did the limbo under branches overhead, reflecting upon the similarities between these past two weeks of vacation and the two plus weeks of internship interviews. Both took me away from Chicago and my responsibilities there for two weeks or more. Both cost a nice handful of coin. Both involved removing all my metal and going through security scanners nearly every day. Both involved a new (yet increasingly predictable) daily adventure at a new destination. Just like internship sites, some islands wowed me, whereas others are not locations I plan to return to in the future. Both involved some nausea and headaches. Both involved culinary adventures, some good, some not. Both are tied to the same singular event: internship.
Some differences exist between the two. Regrettably, I didn’t have the opportunity to spend time with friends or family during this trip, although I hope to share a slice of it with them through this blog. Although California was really warm, the Caribbean is much warmer. I’m not traveling by plane much on this trip; instead, I sleep while my transport rocks me back and forth across the sea. And, perhaps most unexpected of all, my deep down insides…my soul…grew substantially during the internship process, whereas the only thing that has grown throughout the cruise has been my waistline. Flub. Chub. A-dub-a-dub.
Most of the fruits from the trees were absent, as the island’s monkey residents outnumber the humans on the island, and them’s a bunch of hungry, hungry monkeys.
Soaking wet from a rainstorm during the latter half of the hike, I climbed over giant tree roots and did the limbo under branches overhead, reflecting upon the similarities between these past two weeks of vacation and the two plus weeks of internship interviews. Both took me away from Chicago and my responsibilities there for two weeks or more. Both cost a nice handful of coin. Both involved removing all my metal and going through security scanners nearly every day. Both involved a new (yet increasingly predictable) daily adventure at a new destination. Just like internship sites, some islands wowed me, whereas others are not locations I plan to return to in the future. Both involved some nausea and headaches. Both involved culinary adventures, some good, some not. Both are tied to the same singular event: internship.
Some differences exist between the two. Regrettably, I didn’t have the opportunity to spend time with friends or family during this trip, although I hope to share a slice of it with them through this blog. Although California was really warm, the Caribbean is much warmer. I’m not traveling by plane much on this trip; instead, I sleep while my transport rocks me back and forth across the sea. And, perhaps most unexpected of all, my deep down insides…my soul…grew substantially during the internship process, whereas the only thing that has grown throughout the cruise has been my waistline. Flub. Chub. A-dub-a-dub.
Office Plants Gone Wild: Ficus!
Nature’s Soprano
Drip Drop
Wee Flowers
A quick stroll through Basseterre, the capital of St. Kitts, took me past the Immaculate Conception Cathedral (open), St. George’s Anglican Church (closed), and a hint of the British Commonwealth influence: a red telephone booth. Pip pip, Cheerio!
Immaculate Conception Cathedral
Beloved
Dinner was a special treat tonight. Skip and I ordered frog legs; he because he liked them, I because I’d never had them before. As the saying goes, they “taste like chicken.” A few minutes later, our waiter, Helmi, brought a plate with a metal lid to the table and said, “Some extra frog legs for you all.” The grumpy red-faced German guy (whose name I thought was something like Herman, but Sue says it’s Jack) opened the lid and there was a live frog sitting on the plate. Okay, it wasn’t a live frog, but it sure looked like it with the dim lighting. It gave us all a good laugh.
Toward the end of the evening, Cruise Director John Grantham (who, according to my daily edition of “Celebrity Today!” was a Hollywood stuntman) introduced the kitchen staff and all the waiters paraded around the dining room as the band piped a fanfare and the guests waived their white linen napkins in the air. Each waiter was holding a tray of Baked Alaska and a tin of fire. Then we all held hands and sang “Auld Lang Syne.” It was particularly moving given that many of the crew may not be transferring to other ships when the Galaxy ends its run in a couple of weeks.
Toward the end of the evening, Cruise Director John Grantham (who, according to my daily edition of “Celebrity Today!” was a Hollywood stuntman) introduced the kitchen staff and all the waiters paraded around the dining room as the band piped a fanfare and the guests waived their white linen napkins in the air. Each waiter was holding a tray of Baked Alaska and a tin of fire. Then we all held hands and sang “Auld Lang Syne.” It was particularly moving given that many of the crew may not be transferring to other ships when the Galaxy ends its run in a couple of weeks.
Skip and Sue
Helmi and Enrique
Food of the Day: Frog Legs & Baked Alaska
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