Beach Day!

I have been in St. Kitts for about two and a half months now (which, by the way, has absolutely flown by) and I realized there are two important highlights that I have yet to mention.  One entails the actual work that I do at the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF), which I will make a point to mention in some detail in an upcoming post, and two, I have neglected to share with you the most beautiful part of St. Kitts (in my opinion): its beaches!

I try to make it out to a different beach every couple of weeks or so, 1 - because I love to go swimming (and in St. Kitts you have the option of taking a dip in the Caribbean Sea on the west coast or the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast); 2 - because it's my favourite way to relax, reflect, and unwind in my own company; and 3 - if I return home without a respectable tan, I will have failed myself.

This Sunday I headed out to Cockleshell Beach, which is quite a distance from where I live, located out by the peninsula heading towards Nevis (St. Kitts' Twin Federation). Unfortunately buses do not run this far out of the city, but I have made a very gracious friend who often chauffers me around (out of the goodness of her heart).

On our way up, we paused on the hill to take a look (and some pictures) of the breathtaking view in the valley below.  We eventually made it to the beach around 2pm and the weather looked promising, as the day had started out hot and the sun shining bright,.  However, just as my friend dropped me off, the clouds rolled over and down came the rain.  Stranded without any way of getting home for the next couple hours, I huddled under one of the bars until the heavy rain eventually stopped and then went for a swim in the drizzle.  All-in-all, a good afternoon.

(Side note): I have to say, I have been surprised by how much it actually rains out here.  Right now it's hurricane season in the Caribbean, but I wasn't expecting the sort of terrential down pours that we have experienced.  The funny thing about rain in St. Kitts is that when it rains, everything shuts down.  People don't go to work, schools close, the power goes out, and essentially everything is put on hold until the sun comes back out.  As a Canadian who as a kid used to pray for snow days to cancel school, this makes me laugh.