Donyaye Kuchak

The stay in St. Kitts and Nevis lasted 11 days and we had a great experience. All locals that we crossed paths with were nice and hospitable. They took care of us like we were one of them. Ultimately all humans are the same, we come from the same source and are returning to the same place. Helping and loving one another is one of our basic purposes in life.
Finding good calm anchorages can become difficult sometimes. Pinney’s Beach in Nevis is open, big and a relatively protected anchorage from swells. There are 30 moorings available free of charge for visiting yachts. The charge is included in the check  in with port authority, and only costs $3. Pinney’s beach stretches a few miles long and you rarely see anybody on it. Mostly yachties and guests from the four seasons resort are the only people enjoying it. The locals don’t lay down or sunbathe on the beach, they hang out at the beach bars and drink Skol (beer made in Kitts and Nevis). That’s how we met Chevy at Chevy’s bar and Pat at Pat’s bar along with their patrons. I certainly enjoy getting to know new people from different countries and cultures. We meet locals that have never been outside their own little island.

Von, Kelly & I by Pat's beach b

Many have only been as far as the closest neighboring island. Some have lived in different places like the U.K or the U.S. Most show an interest to know where we are from. That can mean a few different things, like, what was the last port, or where did the sailing journey start,  or where do “I” as a person come from? So I answer, with the places we have been, that I sailed from Chicago and my Persian-Swedish-American background. By this time we have covered half of the world and it all sounds like a dream! We come from worlds so diverse and far from each other but beyond everything, we are all Earthlings.
The cruising community is so small sometimes. If you’ve been in the Caribbean for a year or so, the chances of running into the same cruisers is very high. Especially when we do our best to exchange boat cards and/or emails. When we were in the rolly anchorage by Port Zante in Basseterre, a dinghy from a nearby cruiser stopped by. They remembered seeing us in George Town, Bahamas last year! Mike introduced himself and what a small world, he is on the catamaran “Zero To Cruising”. We have been following their blog since before we met and have many common “cruising” friends.
Currently, we are anchored in Hermitage Bay, in Antigua and just a couple hundred yards from us is Zero to Cruising. Last night we had drinks aboard ZTC and tonight Mike and Rebecca will join us for dinner on Earthling. Our dinner recipe will be posted in the Earthling Menu tomorrow.
So far Antigua looks like another piece of paradise and we can’t wait to explore it further in the next couple of weeks.

Love from Donyaye Kuchak

Donyaye Kuchak Farsi translation to English Small World
See photos of St. Kitts and Nevis on earthling sailors fb page
   

Monkey World

I was wondering to myself, wouldn’t it be crazy to have a monkey as a pet on the boat?  I’ve seen it in movies and that’s how the African Green Vervet monkeys originally came to St. Kitts and Nevis. There are more monkeys than human beings in these two islands. Everywhere we go, in the forest hiking or biking, we see monkeys. You don’t see many of them freely in town, Basseterre or Charlestown, but as soon as you enter the nature, there is no way to miss them. Many locals even have monkeys as pets and we have seen some in cages, but majority live freely. We get so excited every time we see monkey families out in the forest. They are fearful of humans, as soon as they see you are walking towards them, they run away and hide. The trick is to stand still as soon as you get sight of them, keep your voice down and move very slowly. It feels like being in an Indiana Jones movie.

Monkey’s are somehow taking over these islands, they are destroying crops and vegetables. This is a major problem and the representatives don’t know how to control the monkey population. Our good friend Christian in St. Kitts said; put them on the menu! Which is a joke but not completely! There are people that eat monkeys and I probably would too in a survival situation.
The Monkey jokes started the first day we got to Basseterre, St. Kitts at the check in. I said to the lady at the immigration, I’ve heard there are lots of monkey’s here! She replied, yes many, there is actually one in the office right now! I thought she had her pet with her but I realized she was referring to her colleague. So I said, there is a white and a brown monkey here too, referring to Kelly and myself! We all started laughing, calling each other monkeys. Since then we have been pointing out our monkey characteristics and gestures. Monkeys are very stubborn and funny, so is Kelly. They climb trees and are happy, and so am I!

Tangerine Tours

Everywhere we go, we find amazing people. Earthling has been in St. Kitts and Nevis the past week and we’ve met some great people, like Christian. We met him by the dinghy dock along White House Bay where we were taking pictures of the sunset. We found each other being at the same energy level and it didn’t take long before we made plans for the following day. Christian or “Trinny” is a hospitable person that was generous since the first sight. The next day, we biked from White House Bay to Basseterre, up and down the hills (75min) to go and meet Christian by the cruise ship dock. From there we started our tour around the Island along with 14 British tourists from the cruise ship. In Basseterre, there are enormous cruise ships coming in  every morning and leaving at sunset. During the day the Island is full of tourists and after sunset you see mostly just locals. Christian runs his own tour bus called Tangerine Tours. He is very knowledgeable of the Island. He is well spoken, kind and respectful. He offers all his passengers complimentary rum drinks, beer, and soda. We had an excellent tour of St. Kitts and Christian is the best guide you can have. Trinny is a very colorful man and can’t be missed. If you ever come here, try to see him. Our tour day ended with Christian and his friend Dr. Gonzales aboard Earthling for a perfect sunset and drinks. During the whole day, Christian did not allow us to pay for anything, including his tour, lunch, or all the beverages we consumed on his bus, he actually brought some goodies with him to the boat.         
Love from Monkey World