A Place To Retire To

St. Kitts is a place we keep telling ourselves we want to retire to. A dream that will probably never come true, but when you’re sailing around the island looking at it’s mountains, a New England girl can dream!

We’ve been to St. Kitts 3 times. Each time, we make our way by Shipwreck Beach. It was recommended to us years ago for its unique location. It sits on the black sand beach, with a steep hill that runs behind it. But it’s hidden secret is that they ring a bell at noon and feed the wild monkeys that scramble down that hill. It. Is. Wild. The monkeys literally come from the sky and feast on trays of leftovers. No composting here – just monkey food. Now, if that isn’t a sight itself – I’ll give you a secret. Monkeys love peanuts. And if you’re a young kid and the cook gives you a handful of peanuts – I highly recommend you toss them to the Monkeys! It is hilarious!

After the hurricane that wreaked havoc on St. Kitts, we decided to look into chartering a boat. With a wide variety of travelers on this trip with us, we had some special needs. After a lot of research, we booked Coastal View Charters. A fantastic gentleman who books private water trips on his pontoon boat. A pontoon boat is a flat boat with plush seating, a canopy, and a quiet motor that glides through the water. I couldn’t believe we got this pontoon boat to ourselves for the whole day. Relaxing as a family and watching the young kids jump into the water was such a nice and calming experience. They served us snacks and drinks and everyone we went with said it was one of the best things we’ve done as a family.

The next visit to St. Kitts was a few years later, and we of course, called Coastal View again. This time we opted for the larger boat with a water slide! Since the kids had grown a bit, they were looking for a bit more “adventure”. Watching them strap on the go-pro and splash off the slide was epic. Teenagers will try their best tricks! The boat offered shade as well as a large deck surface in the back. We had a ton of room, fantastic music, and an even better family photo.