Nevis
No cruise ships, casinos or stoplights on the 36 square mile island of Nevis, and the only traffic jams are due to sheep or donkeys crossing the road. A leeward island in the Caribbean that along with St Kitts forms the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, it's southeast of Puerto Rico, west of Antigua and takes some effort to get to but that's what makes it so special.
We just returned from Nevis --- the week we were away coincided with the polar vortex that was blasting most of the US and Canada.
We managed to miss the whole thing!
I love exploring new places when I travel, however, I also appreciate the familiarity of returning to a favourite location and quickly slipping into a welcome routine. That’s what Nevis provides for me.
The main decisions revolve around where to eat dinner since it’s a puzzle of which restaurants are open which nights! Just about every night of the week you can find a West Indian BBQ and we are slowly making our way through all of them. We’ve enjoyed Nisbet Plantation’s Beach BBQ in the past. Last year we went to the buffet at Hermitage Plantation Inn and this year we loved the sunset BBQ on the beach put on by Montpelier Plantation & Beach.
I’ve been documenting the sunrise on the beach by Nisbet Plantation for many years and thankfully the three picturesque palm trees remain standing, making a beautiful silhouette for my early morning photos.
We always plan a hike with Reggie Douglas of Nevis Adventure Tours. He knows the island and the plant life incredibly well and always finds a new trail for us to explore.
This year he took us to the ruins at the Mount Pleasant Estate and dug up some roots that he uses to make tea and even found a few wild yams.
The only other decisions are when to walk the beach and what day should we go to Golden Rock for their lobster salad lunch. Golden Rock has a restaurant and inn designed around a sugar mill from the 1800’s with beautiful gardens and bold colours.
It’s a lazy week by design. And it never fails to rejuvenate.
Sun, sand and a slower pace work their magic on the island of Nevis.
