29 November 2013

Back in the U S A

     The trip to St Kitts had been hard on equipment.  I flooded the Intova and it is officially dead, dead, dead.  Not a major expense, but not cheap, either.  Wasn't a great camera, but it was handy to take with students or give to students to use and get pictures of them with turtles, moray eels and other sea life.  Suppose I need to replace it, but maybe not right now.

     I didn't take the Canon 5d Mk ii into the water, but I ended up shorting it out playing with the battery pack.  Sad.  I broke two cameras and only got one weeks worth of pictures during a 3 week trip to St. Kitts and Nevis.  I got no pictures of Nevis, which was the fairer of the two islands.

     Dropped the Canon off at the Camera Clinic.  Pete estimates he can repair it for $850.  I bought it new for just under $2,000.  Oh well.  I did order a Mk iii and housing, but I need to learn the camera before I take it into the water.

27 November 2013

Off to St Kitts and Nevis

     I learned that even divers suffering non-neurological decompression hits were well advised to stay out of the water for at least 60 days after suffering DCS, so I went on a 3-week trip to St Kitts to visit Gillian Harper and the Ocean Terrace Inn.  I took snorkel gear with me, but not my diving gear.  I should have stayed out of the water until at least the 22nd of November.

This is a composite of three pictures of the view of Basseterre, from Gillian's unit at the Ocean Terrace Inn.



 This is the view from the Bay Road back towards the Cenotaph and the Ocean Terrace Inn. The following are pictures of some of the more interesting buildings along the Bay Road, which is really Basseterre's harbor.

I was well advised to stick to the Bay Road and not venture the two blocks up to Irish Town, which was apparently the domain of Bad Boys and a place where tourists were likely to be accosted.  Too bad.







This picture is an open air fish market just South of the Bus and Ferry Terminals.










This picture is of the Clock in the large traffic circle called the Circus, which is the town center of Basseterre.

This London phone booth sits just behind the clock and can be seen in the previous picture.  It speaks to the Island's British heritage.










This is the National Museum, which separates the Circus from Port Zante.  If you walk through the opening you will be on the road to the Port.










During the 3 weeks I was on the island, there was almost always one cruise ship in port and frequently two.  The oft cited population of St Kitts is only 35,000 people, so two cruise ships bringing 2-3 thousand tourists, each, is a noteworthy event.






The Port is filled with T-shirt shops as well as duty-free shops selling primarily liquor, but also jewelry and some camera equipment.





At one end of the Port, there are booths reserved for local craftsmen to sell their goods.






   Below is another composite picture.  This one is a picture of the Ocean Terrace Inn taken from the breakwater visible in the composite picture at the beginning of this post.  The hotel is not a monolithic chain hotel, but was constructed in stages and is made up of several clusters of rooms sprawling over 3 acres. There are plenty of stairs but the gorgeous landscaping and spectacular views are worth the effort.  See the website for more information (oceanterraceinn.com) or check them out on facebook (Ocean Terrace Inn on facebook).



I was impressed enough with the two islands to list The Bridge @ Cordova Crew Hotel for sale.  If you are interested in buying a 20-room hotel on two city lots just off SE 17th Street in Fort Lauderdale, let me know.