As I mentioned in my last blog where we are staying is a visitor attraction (it is actually a UNESCO Heritage site unlike Liverpool who lost their status this year), no cars are allowed (except ours and other guests) so once all the day trippers have go home it is very quite.
The area is called English Harbour, a very sheltered series of bays with narrow entrances which the British used as their West Indies Naval base during the 17th and 18th Centuries. With a few big cannons covering the way in it was an ideal safe anchorage. The only violent death suffered during the harbours history was when one Lieutenant shot another during a dispute over who should be in charge although many people died of typhoid and yellow fever.
In the centre of the harbour is what is now called Nelson's Dockyard, he was only here 3 years, long enough to marry an English woman who lived on Nevis and to upset the local plantation owners who were making money trading illegally with America which he stopped. It was a dockyard before he arrived and was expanded greatly after he left but has been rebranded.
The hotel was built as the timber storehouse (it is called the Copper and Lumber Store) and has prime position in the docks next to where some rather elegant super-yachts are moored. The wider super-yachts (more like ships) are round the corner in the next bay.
The picture shows Gill contemplating breakfast which like a lot of places we have eaten, takes a long time to arrive.
About half a mile away (outside the docks) there are a lot of restaurants and trendy watering holes which we are starting to explore. Because of the competition the choice and prices seem better than our last location in the north of the island despite our being surrounded by super-yachts. I guess the crews are not well paid and they would be the main customers, if you own a super-yacht you probably don’t mix with locals in town. We have to drive to the beach, it is only a mile but there is a hill in the way and it is hot, thats our excuse anyway.
Our morning and evening constitutionals are taken round the docks watching all the comings and goings of the crews, I will probably write a blog page on our favourite boats as well as a story about smuggling a Picasso, something for you to look forward to.