- They say good things come in small packages.
This might be the smallest nation in the Caribbean
in terms of both land area and population,
but it certainly leaves a big impression.
There are three things I wanna share with you
about my recent trip so...
welcome to Saint Kitts and Nevis.
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So I spent time in Saint Kitts and Nevis
just before the pandemic
and there's some things I want to share with you today
that go beyond the usual, 'top things' to do.
These are really reflections about this place.
But before that, it's worth saying that this island
is less than 100 kilometers away from St Martin.
And we mentioned in the previous video,
that tragedy struck in September 2017.
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Luckily for Saint Kitts and Nevis,
the impact was minor and life returned to normal
for most of the population right after the event.
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One of the conversation points,
when talking to locals was the concept of sweetness.
The Kittitians and Nevisians I met, had this expression,
"We are sweet like the sugarcane".
But I was wondering if this
was just a random local expression
or if there was something else behind.
So I figured out that
A) they're one of the nicest people
I've ever met in the Caribbean, for real.
Very helpful, kind, friendly, and humble.
They smile very often
and they are warm, welcoming people, truly.
So I guess, they can call themselves sweet,
because they are indeed, sweet people.
They have this local expression "Liming" which is the word
for hanging out, chilling on island time
or simply having a good time.
B) Saint Kitts was known as the sugarcane island.
In fact it was the richest
British colony per capita in the Caribbean,
for a long time.
And the world's leader in sugarcane cultivation.
An inspiration for the industrial revolution
in the process.
They had sugar production for more than 300 years,
before ending in 2005.
And today they're still known as the sugar city.
But actually, what's interesting is,
that this wasn't the first crop to be cultivated for export.
The first English Governor, Sir Thomas Warner,
started a tobacco plantation in 1624,
but soon moved to sugar, after facing stiff competition.
So there's a 17th century estate,
where we can still see tobacco plants growing.
Oh, by the way, this English Governor
also changed the name of the island,
originally it was named Saint Christopher,
as Christopher Columbus visited the island
on his second trip in 1493.
I think it's also worth mentioning
that Saint Kitts is the larger of the two islands.
And in fact it was formed by volcanoes,
all of them which are now dormant.
The natural landscape of the island
is absolutely impressive.
Literally, we can do any hiking trail we want.
The tallest volcano is around 1200 meters
and apparently erupted 200 years ago.
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Mount Lia, Liam, Liamuiga, Liamega,
I can't really pronounce it.
So the climb takes around four to six hours
but we didn't really have enough time.
If that's the case for you too,
then you can try to fly a drone.
And I know it's not the same,
but at least it can be a good way to get a flavor.
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So there's something truly special about time.
This is not just in Saints Kitts,
but I've seen it in few of the islands.
Perhaps I started to pay more attention in Saint Kitts.
Things just don't always happen
as quickly or as precisely as we might be used to.
Obviously this changes from island to island,
and it feels like they have their own unique set of clocks.
Potentially this can drive many visitors crazy
the first few days.
I can imagine that after rushing to put things in order
at work, running to the shop, packing,
and heading to the airport,
some of us might arrive to the island
in this sort of race mode.
So I think it's important
to understand and respect that people from the island
don't share the same sense of time pressure.
I've seen visitors becoming angry
if locals don't respond as quickly
or as efficiently as they want.
And there are really two ways to deal with the situation,
either adapt or fight it.
Yes, we all know that sometimes we have limited time
and we want to fit as much as we can
and enjoy every activity as much as possible.
I personally think the best thing
is to decompress from Western style living
and do nothing, the day of arrival,
except having something to drink, eat,
a little walk around and go to sleep early, that's it.
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So we should wake up in a much more relaxed mood
because the truth is,
that if we arrive tired and stay tired,
our holiday won't be very enjoyable
and we'll start blaming people for no reason.
What worked for me,
was to find what the time flow was, and go with it.
Let's say, things usually start 10 minutes late, fine.
Is the average closer to 20 to 30 minutes? fine as well,
let's go with it.
If we instead try to fight the system,
everything eventually, gets done anyway,
perhaps not in the way we expect,
but it eventually happens.
I don't recommend it,
because local people are used to impatient tourists,
they know how to answer and they're in a position of power,
that's the truth.
As one local explained to me how they work,
"Push, you don't get much,
take is easier, get much more".
And this is how we all quickly start saying, "No problem".
This becomes part of our vocabulary in the island.
This is the beginning of a happy time in the Caribbean.
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When we think of a Caribbean Island,
we might picture palm trees and white sand,
well, Saint Kitts is an exception to that stereotype.
While they do have all that, it's worth mentioning,
that not everything in Saint Kitts is like that.
In fact, Saint Kitts
and many other Caribbean islands are volcanic.
So the beaches are actually black sand beaches
or a mix of black and white sand.
We can go to the calm Caribbean Sea, on the South,
and the beautiful Atlantic Ocean,
on the North side of the island.
At the end of the trip, we spent some time on the beach.
I didn't want this to end,
as I was enjoying really everything about this island.
I personally learned a lot
from Saint Kitts and their culture.
In fact, it reminded me that there's nice people everywhere,
even more than we think.
It took me back centuries ago
and made me reflect about sugar production and slavery.
Because even though Saint Kitts was a rich colony,
the slaves had very harsh living and working conditions
and many of them couldn't survive.
This island also reminded me,
that optimizing time is not always the best choice
and sometimes it can even bring more stress.
We have the power to break stereotypes
and whatever useless rules that society puts on us.
At least for a moment,
let's be real.
Let's be us.
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If you liked this video,
you might also want to check this video over here,
about 3 things I learned in St Martin.
Thanks for watching.
And see you next time.
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