Brimstone Hill Fortress

The fortress was built on a hill that is a solid hill of lava brought up from volcanic activity under the ocean, overtime and many submersions under water a limestone shell formed on the hill.  From the resources the hill provided the slaves were able to build Brimstone Hill Fortress in 1690's. The conservation commites of the world and on St. Kitts are restoring the site and gave a real good presentation of the little history that is know about the fortress. It was misting and then raining when I was up there so excuse some of the blur of the photos.

There is a very steap, narrow, bumpy road with two switch backs with narrow arches that leads to the fortress.  When we went through the arches first it took Mr. Rogers (our orientation groups taxi driver for the week) a few corrections to even have a chance to make it through the arches with out adding to teh rub marks already made by not as patient drivers. 

Here is the gift shop area and parking inbetween both sides of the armed fortress.

In the distance (of the picture) you can see a broken down fort that had some beautiful views.

To the right of the first picture you see this out cropping of cannons ready to fire!

The fort above us!



The steep, incredibly slippery long treck up to the fort above! My calves were feeling the HEAT!

A little history...

A beautiful view from the top!

Facing the west side of the fort

Cannons everywhere.

I rang the bell like the obnoxious kid that I am!

The storm and the fortress just made for a spookie visit! Thank's Natasha for taking the picture.

The St. Kitts flag flying high on the highest point of the highest structure.

 

My Apartment

The five cats that greet my roommate and I every morning and evening.  Some one around here feeds them, I haven't found out who!

Front door...porch..

Living room with nice wood framed furniture...the cushions are FOAM and the bottoms are wide straps.  When you sit down the foam flattens and you feel the straps!  Needless to say they are for looks not comfort.  There is an ancient TV and cable box that I am still waiting to get set up. The curtains are white lace. which is pretty but ineffective for privacy, so again the living room is for looks not use. The entire apartment floor is white tile.

The kitchen looked awesome, just big enough for the two of us...and then I looked in the cabinets.  They are open spaces with no shelves...The are as big as your everyday cabinet and should have at least one shelf...but no...they don't.  Even the bottom cabinets don't have any shelving!  On the bright side I am not able to acquire as much as I did in Tulare because I have no where to put it! 

The dinning table and chairs are sturdy but again the cushions have little in the way of support so they are more for decor then function! 

The bathroom is as clean as possible with the years of students renting these apartments and hard water. The water heater has a switch to turn it on which was a hard lesson the first night when I wanted a shower and had to take a cold one!  I found the switch in my exploration the next day.  You also get a sneak peak of my roommates bedroom, she has two walls with windows and a larger desk than I do but it is apart of the wall and there are no electrical outlets near it. 

My bedroom has one window and a smaller desk but I get more furniture to put books and stuff.  My bed also had a foot and head board so the bed doesn't creak half as bad as Natasha's (roommate).  The curtains are solid brown with a little design and some what effective against the sun, all the windows with the exception of two have security bars.  All of the doors that lead to outside have four locking mechanisms of different kinds.  Trying to leave the house fast is not an option especially now that we have to get in the habit of locking ourselves in when we come home.  Both bedrooms have A/C but it is expensive to run so students try to get by with a little as possible.

The room gets a lot of light but if it is dark all I get is a wall lamp on the wall above my bed and the dresser across the room.  The closet is big and has more room than I know what to do with.

My balcony view.  Jealous?  Don't be, there is a strip of locals that have wild dogs that come home every night and bark all night long.  Yeah...at least during the day it isn't so bad.  During Carnival...their Week long New years and Christmas celebration every night until 4am the houses would bump all kinds of reggae music and such.  The down town area would be packed with Kitticians and Jamaicans with HUGE speakers in the streets BLASTING DEAFENING music.  It wasn't like it was a big dance hall on the street either.  Everyone stood around swaying (high as a kite) around their BBQ's enjoying the company.  We got a lot of looks being the sore thumbs in the crowd, but once you smiled they smiled. You just had to turn real quick before they thought you wanted to talk.  It has taken a week but I am beginning to understand more and more of their broken English.  YEah, even though the native language is English they don't speak it.  Everyone thinks I speak low and fast (yeah, I do) they are WAY worse.

Doing my first load of laundry, I  hope the fabric softener helps my clothes not feel like cardboard...but I suppose even this task is going to be a learning experience.

I get a beautiful sunset every night, not that I am going to have the time to appreciate them after this week!

My Apartment!

Alright, for an apartment in a developing country that recently changed from a agrarian driven economy to a tourist driven by apartment is AWESOME! Here is a sneak peak, but the photo's don't do the place justice.

My West Farm Apartment Complex.

Airport Adventures Part IV

December 31 2010 (New Years Eve)

            Made it to breakfast, and a bite, the taxis were ready to go and got us to the airport around 8:30am.

Sixth line to stand in Ah…ah…AH

                Checked luggage.  They didn't make us pay a second over weight fee either which I wasn't expecting, but very nice.

Seventh line to stand in Ah…ah…AH

Went through security.  This time I remembered to take my laptop out of the cover and the attendant said I didn't have to! What! ARG!!

Eighth line to stand in Ah…ah…AH

Boarded plane.

Ninth line to stand in Ah…ah…AH

Got off plane in ST. Kitts!

Tenth line to stand in Ah…ah…AH

Customs check with only four stands available for our whole flight and then some!

Eleventh line to stand in Ah…ah…AH

Baggage claim…the carousel got full fast because it was so tiny for all the luggage and the bottle neck was the customs officials taking their time with all the students paperwork. So an attendant came around and began pulling random luggage off the carousel which made it particularly difficult to find your baggage! So not only did you have to keep an eye on all the bags that look alike you have to keep an eye on the lady pulling off random bags!  I don’t care how many foofy or bright color whatever’s on your luggage after a long flight it all still looks the same.

Twelfth line to stand in Ah…ah…AH

                Waited for the agent at declarations to go through my bag or at least quiz me. I was so nervous because I wasn’t really sure what this was going to cost me or what they are going to want to see.  Luckily I went through with just a few questions and he stamped my declaration paper and was finally done with AIRPORTS! YEAHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHA.  The warm sun felt good and as I panned the crowd holding signs for their respective schools I saw the smiling faces of Ross Vet.  Adele hugged me, gave me water and a granola bar and called my orientation leader over to me.  I finally made it…and yet still had to stand in lines and wait for the rest of our group to make it through.

Airport Adventures Part III

December 30 2010(Continued)       

        We sat around until about 6pm when finally we heard an announcement about our flight, “The weather seems to be clearing and the runway is drying so we are going to try another attempt at St. Kitts.” We began boarding and around 6:30 lift off.  The whole plane was taking bets as to whether or not the pilot was going to land, and if he did what we were all (all of us students especially) going to do.  We were positive that hotels and food venues were closed on the island and we were unsure whether or not our greeters would be at the airport.  We all waited to feel the sinking feeling in the pits of our stomach when another lovely announcement came, “It seems that the weather is still too poor for landing purposes.  St. Kitts has a short runway that doesn’t drain water properly and we have to have a perfect runway for the weight of the plane.  So we are going to fly to San Juan, Puerto Rico give you vouchers for dinner, breakfast, taxis, hotel, and rebook your flight for 10:00am in the morning.”

The frustration on the plane was palpable because it would be another hour on the plane and he didn’t even try to land.  It was obvious he had no intention of landing on St. Kitts that third time and his intentions were to go to San Juan.  We probably would have stayed in St. Maarten if there was anything open but the island went to bed right as we got there that second landing.

                We all got off the plane, went to baggage claim and pickup up all our bags and when I say picked up our bags there were girls that had 5-8 bags with them.  Can you imagine what they paid in fees! Those girls had parents, I had two over weight bags with no help and I was a WIDE load. Imagine a train of students, parents, vacationers, and businessmen rushing to get through customs trying to get there first and be that much closer to BED!

One line to stand in….AH…ah…AH

The organizer at the San Juan customs area was paying close attention to our flight and when he heard about the third attempt assumed that the plane would land. When he got the call that the plane was coming to San Juan he had to rush to get his staff ready for our arrival. There was a team of airport officials re-opening the customs boxes and girls passing out declaration papers to be filled out as we waited in line.  As I got up to the official I gave him my declaration paper and he asked me about the flight, I told him how we were going to get hotels and our flight re-booked and he mentioned not many hotels are open at this time.  My heart sank at the prospect of having to sleep on an airport floor, but we all have to experience it some time, as travelers.

                Two line to stand in…AH…ah…AH

At the kiosk where there were four American attendants ready and waiting to give us our vouchers.  Actually that was the fastest part of the whole excursion even with 5-8 bag groups to weave through.  At that point all of us students had bonded and were forming groups for dinner and such.  It got to the point where we were the only ones in the airport and some groups left luggage in piles so they didn’t have to carry it through the lines.  We survived the kiosk and then had to walk ¼ mile to the taxi area.

Three line to stand in…Ah…ah…AH

I piled in a taxi with four other people including Laura who was my neighbor and venting partner during the whole ordeal.  In no time we zoomed through traffic making all kinds of illegal moves and were piling out of the taxi.  Traveled to the front desk to…you guessed it.

Four line to stand in…AH…ah…AH

                Eventually got my room assignment at the ESJ hotels, set my alarm for 7:30 am and then got a call from Laura that her room had a large trail of ants on the wall and she wasn’t awake enough to care.  I invited her to sleep in the other bed in my room and around 10:30 we joined our group and headed to dinner at Chilies across the street to get a quick bite to eat…right.

                Fifth line to sit in…AH…ah…AH

                We sat for about 20mins before the one waitress came out and took our drink and dinner orders.  Another 35-40mins pass and Laura bugging the waitress a few times and we got 2 of our 3 fajitas orders and a poor looking New York strip steak .  Our drink refills never came even after we told four different people, and eventually the missing plate came but wasn’t what was ordered.  We laughed out of giddiness and pure not giving a hoot because it had been a long and unforgiving day.  After 15mins of scarfing don food we devised the best way of paying so that when we gave her the money we could just leave.  

                Laura and I arrived at our room, I took a shower, called some people while I still had reception on my phone, charged it and went to bed around 1:00am.

Airport Adventures Part II

December 30 2010

                Alright boarding the plane to leave for St. Kitts at 10:45am ended up being the EASY part!  I had the window seat with no one next to me and the woman that I saw at first talk with the Fighter Pilot Mike was in the third seat.  All the room in the world and a good neighbor I fell asleep like a baby and woke up to a woman giving me a customs sheet to fill out.  The plane was on time it was 2:30pm, 30mins from  St. Kitts, my home away from home, and we began circling when an announcement came over the intercom, “UH, okay passengers our plane is low on fuel so we need to make a stopover in St. Maarten and fuel up before heading back to St. Kitts. Thank you.”   Okay we were all confused about why the pilot wouldn’t have enough fuel to land but didn’t think anything of it.  After spending an hour and half in the plane at the St. Maarten airport we were in the air and about 30mins from St. Kitts.  My neighbor, Laura, and I were thirsty but didn’t worry because we would be landing soon…right…? 

                We begin our descent to the runway when all of a sudden the pilot pulls the plane gently back into the atmosphere! It was subtle but my neighbor and I looked at each other in wonder.  We were in the air again and an announcement came over the intercom, “Alright the weather on the island is poor and the runway is too wet to land so we are heading back to St. Maarten, to see if we can wait out the storm and let the runway dry. We will let those of you that want to walk around and we will let the owners of the dogs in cargo water and feed their animals.”  At this point all the students traveling to Ross Medical School in Nevis were wondering if they were going to be able to make their ferry, kids were cranky, and vacationers were disgruntled. Laura was visiting her boyfriend and his family for the New Year holiday in Nevis and had been traveling all day like me.  We were all trying to get a hold of family but not many of us could get service once we landed.

                The pilot let us deplane but warned us to stay close to the plane in case we needed to depart quickly.  The entire plane got up and walked off the plane up the long ramp to a small room with glass walls, then filtered down stairs to another small room where an employee was holding automatic doors open for us to go through.  Like a herd we all wondered into a cooler empty room adjacent to a security check point. After a few minutes a roomer spread and soon enough we realized that we had gone “too far” according to the pilots standard and to get back to the plane we had to go up to the departures area and wait at a gate to board the plane again. Some people didn’t bring their passports and things and we were all hungry and thirsty because the flight attendants stopped serving us water and food.  Out of desperation one by one we all filed through the checkpoint.  The three attendants were taking their time without expression and they only had five bins to rotate through the crowd so the process was a tedious one for all of us! Once up in the departures area there were only two stores open at all and they happened to have a few snacks and water but they were closing fast!  It was 5pm by the time the last people got to the food counter and the pickings were slim.  I grabbed a ham sandwich and bottle of water for 16$, but it was worth it.  Then I managed to call home and let them know I was alive just having plane problems!

Airport Adventures

December 29 2010

                Well there were a lot of tears and good advice, but Dan got me to the airport and checked in one hour before my flight and after I said, “See you later.” I headed toward my security check.  Waiting in line I finally made it to the “sort your stuff into bins according to our instruction” part when Dan surprised me by tapping me on my shoulder and gave me one last “See you later.” 

                I passed through security with a few minor hiccups such as, my belt setting off the metal detector or the TSA officer pulling the tub with my laptop in it and saying, “Your laptop needs to be in a bin by itself.”  I looked at the gentleman and then inside the bin and saw nothing but my laptop.  He saw that I was confused and began taking my laptop out of the carrying case….OH!….Well, no one ever mentioned that it has to be NAKED! So, I waited a few minutes and got all my belongings together and my shoes on and trudged to my gate! 

                I had 20 minutes to spare when I got to my gate all the seats were full or being used by luggage. It seems that everyone needs at least one seat between them and the next stranger, especially families, single people just talk on their phones and don’t care, like myself.  I sat on the floor, though, starring at my plane talking to Dan while he drove home to much needed rest.  I haven’t been letting him sleep the past few nights.  I have been tossing and turning out of nervousness. 

                I hung up with Dan after promising that I would text him when I landed, and after most of the plane boarded began my boarding process.  The line to board began inside the cold echo chamber that leads you to the plane and this was where I met Fighter Pilot Mike.  Mike is a 6’4”, bloodshot eyed, greasy gray haired, mustached, 65 year old man with a worn suit hanging on his body.  He began chit chatting with the woman in line in front of me and would eye me wondering if we were traveling together.  Most of his conversation was about how he lives in Paris and used to be a fighter pilot.  I thought nothing of it until I found my seat and it was right next to Mike the Fighter Pilot.  Thankfully I had the window seat so I had something to lean on when I slept…or tried to sleep.

                Mike rambled on about how after his tours through Vietnam he began a career as a Fed Ex commercial package flyer.  I asked a few questions, to my own demise, and I learned that he would regularly fly thoroughbred studs to Australia for breeding and then take them back to the states.  The clients would send 30 studs at a time and two veterinarians and handlers to maintain the herd on the PLANE!  I can’t even fathom what that cost!  He mentioned something about flying the original shark used in the Jaws movies to the east coast and how it made the plane smell like rotten fish for weeks afterward.  I figured all these stories hit big with his girlfriends, he was STUD…uh huh…his breath was terrible and he had to lean in to talk to me because of the hum of the plane.  Mike likes horses and has 400 acres in central California with some range cattle, but has homes in other countries as well as girlfriends!  I guess after learning about his wife, their children, their children’s children, and all of his romances and famous flights I finally convinced him that I needed to sleep.     

                I woke to the message of the pilot letting the crew know that they needed to prepare for landing.  Before I knew it I was at Miami International Airport and tired only getting three hours of sleep yesterday…The 29^th of December…and I lose one more hour I think when I head to St. Kitts.  Well, let’s see how well I function with little sleep.  Might as well start now because it is only going to get worse in veterinary school!

Good Morning, Good night and Good Day to everyone!

Kat Bellew