It’s taken me long enough, but I can finally sit down and document our fantastic vacation to St. Kitts. Turning 40 isn’t easy, but we planned this trip as a means of ringing in my 40th year in style.
I had never heard of St. Kitts before. It wasn’t until being back in the USA and swapping travel stories with friends that I learned of this small Caribbean island. When searching for accommodations, we found a gorgeous setting in the Park Hyatt St. Kitts and booked immediately.
This trip, we left Tilly with family so we could spend a few kid-free days in the sun and sand. Aside from a birthday celebration, it doubled as a mental and emotional vacation given the passing of my mother-in-law a few weeks earlier. Tony and I, and especially Tony, really benefitted from the calm and quiet. It brought us both that sense of peace we had been searching for through the grief.
St. Kitts is one of the smallest of the Caribbean islands and is located quite far south. We first traveled to Miami and then flew for another 3 hours over the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea before arriving.
The scenery outside of my airplane window was something out of a dream. We flew past a variety of other islands, and the water was the turquoise blue that looks fake. It was like looking at someone’s computer screen saver and saying “where is that?” but never actually knowing. Well, I am here to tell you, those photos are ALLLLL from islands in the Caribbean.
We had started our journey very early in the day (i.e. a 5:00am flight from ORD – MIA) and we arrived to our hotel by 3:00pm. In the hotel entry way, we were greeted by huge koi fish before being led to reception. The hotel has an open air concept, so before turning left to check-in, our eyes got a taste of what was to come.
Talk about “wow” factor. We were served a very delicious welcome drink that tasted of island life called Narrows Way and were soon on our way to our room. They had us situated right near the “adults only” pool. After a long day of travel, we needed a snooze. We opened up the sliding door to hear the nearby sea waves while we rested before dinner.
The next morning, I awoke to my 40th birthday. After a quick shower, we threw on our swim gear and headed down to breakfast. We sat outside and listened to the waves while we ordered decadent breakfast items and slowly sipped on cool fresh-pressed juices. I was already in Heaven and knew we had made the right choice in coming to St. Kitts.
After breakfast, we spent the entire day poolside. We sipped cocktails. Swam. Went to the adult pool and napped. Got more drinks. Dipped in the pool again. The hours went by so slowly and the sun and cool water felt amazing on my skin. I never drink rum but for some reason it tasted so good and perfectly fit our surroundings. It was exactly how I wanted to ring in my 40th year.
By that evening, we were quite sun-kissed and ready to eat. The hotel had arranged for us to join a lobster fry down the beach at Reggae Beach. It was about a 20 minute walk from the hotel along the shoreline. We could hear the restaurant before we could see it. Live music was pulsing from the spot, and I could feel myself start to dance as we got closer.
With a motto of “Rush Slowly”, we couldn’t wait to chow down. Rum punch was swiftly handed to us while we chose our meat options – lobster (obviously). We were able to fill up with a variety of sides while we waited, such as rice, corn, and grilled potatoes. The punch itself hit us quickly. Our dehydration from being in the sun all day didn’t help. By the time our food arrived we were feeling fine and ready to dance.
The next morning, we were back at it. We slept in, wore swimsuits to breakfast, and spent the day sunning, eating and drinking. The hours once again passed slowly, and we quietly enjoyed each other’s company. That evening, we treated ourselves to the hotel’s fine dining restaurant for dinner. We got dressed up and took the time to really reflect on and celebrate 12 years of marriage.
Our final full day in St. Kitts, we had an adventure in a catamaran. Again, the hotel helped us in booking the excursion. We went out for the day on this gorgeous boat with about 20 other people. Departing at 11:00, the rum drinks started flowing right away. I made sure to pace myself as this trip included snorkeling and a beach stop. I wanted to be “present” for all of it!
We spent the morning riding towards Nevis. St. Kitts is officially part of the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, meaning two small islands make up this amazing country. It was one of the first Caribbean islands to be colonized by Europe and is where Alexander Hamilton was born. It brought a whole new meaning to the lyrics:
“How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore
And a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot
In the Caribbean by providence impoverished
In squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?”
Once we were closer to Nevis, it was time to bust out the snorkeling gear. I have never snorkeled before, so this was a new experience for me. However, I took to it immediately. It was another one of those amazingly humbling moments. I was floating with my face in the water, and the only sound I could hear was my own breathing inside the tube. Below me were gorgeous, colorful fish – hundreds of them! – floating along and doing their fishy business. They were all shapes and sizes and it was such a wonder and a miracle to realize how insignificant I was when floating atop their space.
And of course, I looked wicked awesome.
It was then a short jaunt to Sunshine Beach on Nevis, which was well known for their Killer Bee drinks.
Now, we had been warned about these drinks by everybody. And I mean, EVERYBODY. All the staff at the hotel and all of the guys on the boat told us to be careful with how many of these things we drank. Tony and I ordered one each and cautiously took our first sips. They were quite delicious rum drinks with a spicy rim. Yet we took our time sipping because we were so scared. While we slowly drank them, we picked up a game of bags with some of the local children. They were so adorable!!!!
But the time we lost a game of bags to the kids, we were ready for a second round of Killer Bees. At this point, I asked the bartender what they were made of and what made them so dangerous. All he would tell me is that they were his grandmother’s secret recipe. The second round went down much faster. They definitely made me happy but not in a dangerous way. Maybe my 40 year old tolerance is too high….
We got back on the boat and started our return towards St. Kitts. The music was bumping, more rum drinks were flowing, and all of a sudden….BARRACUDA! That’s right – the ship had a fishing line trailing from it the whole time and on our way back they caught this humungous fish!
I could not believe it. They immediately poured rum down its throat to disinfect it and then placed it in a huge cooler. I have never been that close to a fish like that before. It was wild!
The time to disembark the catamaran arrived too soon. As we got off the boat, daytime was easing into dusk. During the ride back to the hotel, I realized how ready I was to wind down and start saying our good-byes to this gorgeous location.
I cannot recommend St. Kitts enough for a vacation. It supplied everything we wanted, including something we didn’t even know we needed – peace. We got to spend quality time together in a gorgeous, serene location. The people were fantastic, the drinks were divine, and the island has made its mark on my heart. I can’t think of a better place to celebrate 40 years on this earth.
Until next time….
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