What Happens When the Oceans Meet?

The photo above was taken on the beautiful Caribbean island of St. Kitts (a.k.a. St. Christopher). St. Kitts was named after Christopher Columbus himself, as it was his favorite island. How neat would that be, to be able to name your favorite island after yourself. (Okay, that’s a little vain, but it would still be cool: St. Krystle… watch out world!) 😉

The morning that we arrived on St. Kitts the weather was gloomy; the sky was hazy and dark storm clouds loomed over the giant volcanic peaks near the capital city of Basseterre. We decided to have breakfast overlooking Port Zante’ and before we were able to completely devour our breakfast spread of fresh fruit, french toast, eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and more, the sky slowly began to clear. It was time to venture out and explore the island.

The plan was to spend the day on the southern end of St. Kitts. On our 25-minute drive to the beach, the taxi driver stopped to take our picture at this lookout. On the left side of the photo is the Atlantic Ocean, on the right is the calmer Caribbean Sea. I couldn’t help but wonder what happens when the two bodies of water meet–obviously nothing too fabulous, or else there would be breathtaking photos like this one taken in the Gulf of Alaska. I have seen many beautiful photos of the St. Kitts lookout on the internet, but to stand there and witness it with my own eyes was a different experience. It was beautiful.

The southern end of St. Kitts is experiencing a major development boom. We drove by many new construction sites, where five-star hotels and fancy resorts are being built as quickly as possible. In between the big construction developments were beautiful golf courses and luxury estates.

We arrived at Banana Beach, on the southern end of the St. Kitts Peninsula, to relax in the Caribbean sun for the day. We rented beach chairs and laid under umbrellas made from real palm leaves. I’ve always wanted to lay under a real palm umbrella. 🙂

Besides having the beautiful ocean as our view that day, we were able to view the majestic island of Nevis all day. Nevis is located just south of St. Kitts across the channel known as “The Narrows.” Before our trip, I never knew that Nevis is actually pronounced “Nay-vis” rather than “Nee-vis” as I was calling it. Oops!

The beach appeared to be one long stretch of white and black sand that glistened in the sun, however, I soon realized that there were a few different beaches along this one stretch of sand: Cockleshell beach, Reggae Beach, and Banana Beach. As we walked on the beach, it reminded me of the streets in Times Square (I know what you’re thinking–“How could a beach possibly remind you of one of the busiest areas in the U.S.?”–well, let me explain). From my trip to New York City many years ago, I remember that the sidewalks in Times Square are sparkly; I don’t know why, or how they get them that way, but they are. As I walked the shoreline of this beach, I was intrigued that the sand on this beach was also very sparkly. (I’ll admit that I was fascinated for probably longer than I should have been). 😉

The ocean was calm and as you ventured further out into the water there was a lot of sea grass, so the snorkeling at this beach wasn’t great. During the afternoon, a young boy found a starfish and was very excited about it, however, I was too busy drinking the Carib Beer to find any cool fish to swim with this time. 😉 Cockleshell, Reggae, Banana, whatever you decide to call this beach, the views are amazing, the water is warm, and the soft sand is inviting. It definitely was a great way to spend our day.