day 10

Hello old friends,

Today finds us on St Kitts, the sun was already hot as Kathy and I boarded a power boat for a ride to a reef, for a snorkel. The half hour ride took us out into the ocean where we saw green hills with houses perched here and there. Most of the houses by the sea were deserted and broken up, the result of a hurricane that tore through the area. We anchored just off the reef, and began our swim. We had to be aware of the surge as the reef was shallow and if we got too close we could be pushed into the coral, and this did happen to Kathy as her knee looked like she rubbed a grater over it. Just a small wound, but still a notice to pay attention to the surroundings. Unfortunately the hurricane had done it's damage and the reef was just starting to recover, so not too much to see, and no big marine life. The brochure promised turtles and sting rays, to no avail. After a 45 min. snorkel we loaded back onto the boat and moved a short distance to swim on an old Spanish galleon that had sunk in 10ft. of water. The water was turbid and visibility was 5 to 8ft. at best, eventually the guides found the remains of the wreck and we snorkeled over it, I dove down and got a few shots of cannon, laying on the bottom of the bay, but the quality of the photo's is not very good. I also got a photo of the wood deck where it lay since the 1400 hundreds. I took a photo of what I thought was the stove, but it turned out to be an old engine block, from more recent times. This trip on the whole was a disappointment, but how can one complain about swimming in 81 deg. water under a hot hot sun, so we both enjoyed the moment for what it was. Back on shore, we walked through a newly built market, unlike the open markets this one was built with air conditioned stores with a central plaza, giving the area a more American look. The prices were OK but we later found out that most of the stores were owned by one east Indian family, with aunts and uncles running the business. A small area was set up open air style so we spent some time there, with the locals however most of the merchandise was the same as all the other islands, with only the names changed. I saw very little in local crafts, so we settled in the central area for beers / water after meeting most of our cruise group. Security was tight as we passed the gate to our ship, with many security persons checking our sea passes as well as photo ID. Back on board we got ready for another great dinner, mixed emotions clashed as we revered in the luxury of our trip, but slowly acknowledging that it was almost at an end........Andy