CaribEthnoExp. Part III. Saint Kitts and Nevis

March 14 ... April 5, 2014

Some people come here for the birds.

Some come here for the bottles.

And some come here for the citizenship. Saint Kitts and Nevis passports are available for sale for four hundred thousand dollars. They’re a big hit among Central Russian sausage factory directors and nationals of various Arab states: the passport lets you go to Europe without a visa.

The license plates are nondescript.

But the registration stickers, which have to be displayed on the windshield, are so beautiful and diverse that many drivers like to collect them all.

Post boxes. It’s interesting that although St. Kitts and Nevis is the smallest and least populated country in the Western Hemisphere, the two islands actively dislike each other. That’s why post offices on St. Kitts sell stamps that say “St. Kitts” and the ones on Nevis sell stamps that say “Nevis.” The islands are just two kilometers apart, but Nevis feels like it’s getting cheated and wants to secede. This is exactly why every island in the Caribbean is its own nation.

Falling rocks.

Cows.

Schoolchildren walking off into the woods.

A curious “Do Not Enter” sign.

Basseterre (Saint Kitts)

There’s nothing to see downtown except an old church and a British-style telephone box.

The city is animated but dull.

A policewoman.

The storm drainage system is interesting: the metal gutter looks more like the cable slot for cable cars in San Francisco.

Many buildings have unfinished upper floors (like in Anguilla, Albania or Bolivia).

A trash dumpster on the road (like the ones in the British Virgin Islands, only painted the colors of the Russian Railways).

Charlestown (Nevis)

Normal people take the ferry to get here, but we have our own plane.

It’s quiet and laid-back here.

Old cannons rust on the ground instead of in a museum.

Charlestown is a surprisingly pleasant town. By Caribbean standards, it’s practically Paris. Because most Caribbean cities are... How can I put this? Not exactly cities. But Charlestown is charming.

There are touches of urban decay.

They seem to be skimping on paint here: all the road markings and arrows are extremely skinny.

Streams and ditches that pass under a road are marked with yellow concrete blocks on both sides.

The sugar plantations-turned-hotels are the nicest thing on the island. Plantation owners’ houses have been converted into luxurious rooms; former sugar mills now serve as dining halls.

There’s nothing but nature here.

Views of the sea.

And total peace.

Nevis is one of the few places in the Caribbean to which I’d gladly return.