I have written about the “islands that kiss the clouds” before and that was mostly in anticipation of visiting those that qualify for that distinction. In order to be one of “those”, and they are mostly located south of Antigua, and island must have a mountain that is high enough, around 3,000′ tall, so that the trade winds, blowing out of the east, hit the side of the mountain, rise up, cool the air as it rises and then condense their moisture in the form of rain.
What makes these islands distinctive is that their summits are always crowned with clouds. It’s beautiful. 
This is Nevis, where we stopped today along the way to our planned destination of Montserrat. The winds are less than they have been for the last week but as we got underway today it turned out that it was still pretty windy, with gusts into the low 20s.
Bill, on Kalunamoo, had spoken to folks earlier in the day on the SSB radio and heard reports that that it was still pretty bumpy out there, so armed with that knowledge, we decided to just head the short 6 miles to Nevis and pick up a mooring. As holding can be challenging here, there are plenty of moorings to pickup.
Bill was the first to arrive and picked up a mooring only to have it float away with him attached, somehow no longer connected to the bottom. Not good. That doesn’t give me a lot of confidence. Anyway, after we picked up one ourselves, I dropped the dink and retrieved the “floater” and secured it to another mooring. I’ll enjoy talking about that when someone comes out later asking for payment for the use of the mooring. With a smile I’ll say “No problem, I’ll trade you a floating, no longer connected mooring for a free night. Oh yeah, and that applies to my friend Bill too, you know, the guy who almost floated out to see attached to your mooring”.
Anyway, here’s the view of the highest peak in Nevis, dead ahead, “kissing the clouds”.We enjoyed our visit on St Kitts if you don’t include the relentless wind that we put up with over the last week. However, a tour of the island, trips to the local bars and a few meals out made for a fun visit.
We also enjoyed seeing members of the local monkey population. They were shy but sometimes we were able to get pretty close. 300mm lens or not, this guy didn’t seem to concerned about us.
Last night our group went out for drinks at a nice bar. The sunset did not disappoint.
Yesterday afternoon this lovely little sloop anchored nearby. It’s home port is Rockport Maine. That’s a long way from home for a boat that looks like it’s under 30′ long. Beautiful. I would have enjoyed talking to the owner to learn more about the boat. I’ll bet he built it himself. 
Of course, with all that “mountains kissing the clouds thing” comes rain and rainbows. We saw plenty during our visit and again this morning as light showers washed over us. I guess after posting so many rainbow photos I have to find one that was a bit different. Looks like someone spray painted it on a cloud. 
Off of our bow here in Nevis is the Four Seasons Hotel, supposedly a first class spot. As Brenda’s birthday is tomorrow and we will likely be underway for Montserrat, perhaps we will go out for a drink there this afternoon.
It sure looks like a great spot and lush with a perfectly green golf course. Not many of the dryer islands can support a golf course. This island is pretty lush. 
Well, the day is young so I’d better head out and see what’s involved in getting ashore. Unfortunately, it’s Sunday and most everything is closed in these parts on the Sabbath so we probably won’t have much to choose from.
I wonder if I can track down a birthday cake for you know who? If I can I’ll bet that the islands that kiss the clouds won’t be the only ones getting kisses.
Pretty clever way to end the post? Perhaps not but it’s the best I can do on short notice. Wish me luck. Cake or die trying…
One response to “Nevis and the islands that kiss the clouds”