NEARER TO NEVIS ........................

Now you may not have heard this but, .............. Lord Horatio Nelson, that famous British Admiral of the High Seas, got married on NEVIS .............. As good a place as any I guess, and here is where it really gets intrigueing, for he carried on an affair of the heart shortly after that with 'Emma', (Lady Hamilton) for the rest of his natural life ...... At least until he was shot by a French sniper during the Napoleonic war in the Battle of Trafalgar ............. I just thought you should know all that ............ We contemplated all that, as we stood before Hamilton House ............. Our arrival at Nevis is far less noteworthy ............ We picked up one of a hundred nice white mooring buoys and went ashore without 'bugle or whistle' and investigated the historic town of CHARLESTOWN ...............



CHARLESTOWN is fillled with historic volcanic-andesite stone buildings, built during the same slavery period as on St. Kitts when 'sugar cane was King' .............. The streets are narrow and the buildings are placed at all angles ............. The streets were completely empty, it being Sunday morning 10am ............. Church time ....... And all the local fishing boats were tied up at the government dock ........... Those that do not attend church play dominoes in the park and both groups are equally loud .............Although we noticed that dominoes is played without singing ............



We are slowly getting used to being anchored beneath a large volcano with its black sandy beaches and the incessant rolling swell .............. (Do a double-click on any of the photos to enlarge them and to see things more clearly) ...........



You can see how deserted the streets are on this mid-morning Sunday ....... Even the Police Station is shut, but that all changes once Church is out ............ Everybody hits the little "BEST BUY" supermarket and we ourselves bought some 'saltfish and Johnny cakes' from Gwynneth Browne, at her road side stall ... Straight out of the home cooked pots .....Tasted good too, when we ate it in the park .........



The island of NEVIS has been devastated by hurricanes in the past, one of which, Hurricane OMAR, inundated the 'FOUR SEASONS HOTEL' complex which did not have hurricane insurance coverage, and it went 'belly up', thereby putting more than 600 people out of a job ..... The morgage bank several years later contracted to have the 'FOUR SEASONS GROUP' manage the complex once again, and it is slowly getting back on its feet ........ But to add to its woes, when the complex was built they imported a whole lot of coconut palm trees for the gardens, which carried a killer fungus disease ........... With the result that, all the original coconut palm trees on the island and especially on the various plantations died, and the fungus disease then spread to neighbouring St. Kitts ................. The hotel complex was able to keep its trees alive and healthy by giving them "Twice yearly injections of antibiotics" .............. No kidding .............See the photos of both places (above) ........ Nobody is screaming because they all have jobs again, and in any case no-one was really working the coconuts ........... This is called " LOCAL LOGIC" .........



This then is "HAMILTON HOUSE" ..... Not sure if Lady Hamilton resided here and thereby 'first laid eyes on Horatio', but we do know that Alexander Hamilton was born here, who subsequently rose to fame to become the founder of the United States National Bank .............. From humble beginnings on Low Street to end up sitting on a huge pile of money ............ Oh, well, someone has to do it ............



Thus with so many derelict accommodation buildings lining the waterfront as a result of Hurricane OMAR's damage, the occupancy rate is now being taken over by the 'FOUR LEGGED GROUP' which have these buildings, more or less, under active management .......

A local architect may also be involved in this project.....