I choo-choose to take the tourist route

New Yorkers are no stranger to the subway; indeed, for many of us the train system is an essential part of our daily lives.   In St Kitts, the public transportation system is not so diverse but that doesn't mean that you can't enjoy a fantastic rail journey to hit the high points of the island.

Tuesday - Rum punch, railways, and relaxation
After the long road trip around St Kitts on Monday you'd be forgiven for thinking that we had seen all that the island has to offer.  But you'd be totally wrong.

By this point in the holiday it warrants saying that I was well and truly decaffeinated.  Coffee in St Kitts is very much like coffee in Asia - hard to come by, and when you do encounter it, it's not always the best (by caffeine snob standards).  Cue a visit to Rituals, which is a total unapologetic rip-off of Starbucks but for those of us suffering caffeine withdrawals, we were willing to let any unflattering similarities slide.

Fortified by even semi-strength coffee, we bravely fronted up very early on Tuesday morning to ensure we were in time to catch the St Kitts Scenic Railway train.

Because we arrived a few minutes before take-off, and most tourists were already settled into their seats, I didn't get to sit next to Kitty and S-West for the journey; but at least we were in the same carriage and I got to sit just opposite them.  On the day we rode the train, the sun was beating down, so I can't tell you how beautiful it was to sit in the top of the carriage and enjoy the beautiful cross-breezes.

The good thing about the St Kitts Scenic Railway is that it is constantly narrated throughout the three-hour journey.  The guide sits up in the front carriage and his narration is broadcast through speakers in the following carriages.  He revealed himself to be enormously knowledgeable in all aspects of the island's history, politics, and geography.

Each carriage of the train also has its own waitress, and even though it was before 9am, we were all offered our choice of beverage.  Resorting to Aussie stereotype, I chose a cup of rum punch, and S-West had a tasty pina colada (bless her).  Why not, right?

As we tootled through the countryside, a three-person a capella choir worked its way from carriage to carriage, singing some lovely local songs - of course I was particularly taken with "Kingston Town" and "Rivers of Babylon", two songs I already knew very well.

The scenic railway journey takes you along the coast and also inland for about 3 hours, going over some amazing bridges that extend across really deep ravines.  The tour guide is really helpful at telling you how just how deep the ravines are.  But rather than waiting until you're safely across, he tells you just as you're about to head over the chasm.  GAH!  I started to understand the rationale for offering us rum punches!  Well, at least we knew when to have our cameras ready to get the best photographs.

What I liked the most about the journey was the reaction from the residents along the roads - they smiled and waved as our train went by.  Indeed, as we passed the primary schools, kids flocked to the windows, yelling and waving.  It was impossible not to wave back.

The scenic railway is only a one-way journey and once you reach the end, there are little mini-buses that pick you up to drive you back to the terminus.  The mini-bus tour is a narrated one too though, and our driver had an astonishing case of verbal diarrhea!  Why say 3 words when you can ramble 300 of them?!  But you know what?  That was totally okay too - I just stared out the window and listened to his stories.

Kitty's mum met us at the train station a little before noon, and we drove to a part of the Island we hadn't yet visited; an area known as "The Peninsula".

As its name suggests, it has some of the most beautiful swimming beaches in St Kitts and we called into one of the loveliest resorts for lunch.  The Carambola Beach Club is the sort of place you find a bunch of fat, white tourists - but its price tag guarantees a more refined, less embarrassing crowd.  After a delicious lunch under a massive beach umbrella, we noticed that some uniformed school kids had taken over the restaurant inside.  Believe it or not, they were being hosted by the Prime Minister of St Kitts and as Kitty has worked for the Foreign Ministry for years, he was kind enough to introduce us.  The PM was gallant enough to ignore my fat white tourist beach hair and my sunglasses tan.  Gold star.

At this point in our journey together I feel comfortable enough telling you that I didn't bring my bathing suit on this trip.  I don't have the body confidence to shoe-horn myself into bathers anymore, but that didn't stop me from hiking up my summer dress and wading out into the ocean to soak my feet and legs.  The water was so warm out there, almost like bathwater.  I could have stood in that spot, sinking into the soft sand, all day.

But all good things come to an end, and before long S-West and I were dashing up the scalding-hot beach to wash our feet off and get back into the car.  Flashbacks to our childhoods in Australia for sure.

The Peninsula area offers tourists a lot of different beach clubs catering to all tastes and budgets.  As we drove around, we visited a couple of them, including the very touristy Reggae Beach Bar.  Within two seconds of arriving in the carpark, I knew that this was the sort of place tourists come when they have no idea that other (better) options are available.  There is nothing wrong with the bar per se - I mean, it has cold beer and a lovely swimming beach, but it's also the sort of place that chartered taxis will bring you to sit alongside a bunch of other tourists for the day.  Not something I would want for my holiday.

Leaving that bar behind, we drove on a bit, to places that suited me much more.

We walked through the fantastically-modern Spice Mill restaurant and then drove over to the super-exclusive private development of Christophe Harbour Resort.  As rain started to fall (which felt AMAZING on my hot skin), me and S-West ran out onto the pier at the (closed) public events centre called The Beach House, but when we tried to drive up to the much fancier Pavillion Beach Club on the private estate, we were sadly denied entry.  Didn't they know who were are?!

The rain didn't last long though, and the heat never dissipated anyway, so after a little nap at home we were ready for our next feed (are you seeing a pattern here?).  

Kitty's mum and sister joined us for dinner on Tuesday evening, and we went to a great place called Buddies Beach Hut, another restaurant on "The Strip" at Frigate Bay.  I remedied my mango drought by enjoying a delicious mango margarita with my chicken wings (an excellent pairing), and when the night was over and we were back home, I fell into an other satisfying and deep sleep.