I hadn’t actually agreed to allow this guy’s monkey to hop on me, but monkeys don’t care about such things. He had found a willing tourist who loves animals. This was in St. Kitts, during a brief stop at a lookout point in the skinny south of the island where you can view both the Caribbean and Atlantic coasts. I hadn’t had a monkey jump on me in ages—Thailand? Bali?—and it had been too long.
My visit to St. Kitts occurred during a Windstar cruise; St. Kitts had not been on the original itinerary—it replaced St. Barts when the conditions had proved too rough at the latter. But St. Kitts was a great discovery: On previous trips, I’d landed on the island as a way to get to the Four Seasons in Nevis, but had never lingered. The sister islands are uniquely lush, mountainous and gorgeous (they actually evoke the South Pacific) and this time I had the chance to check out Carambola Beach Club (all arranged by Windstar—they take care of everything), a stunning, barely touched spot on Friar’s Bay.
The experience made me want to return to the islands. I haven’t been to the Four Seasons Resort Nevis since the renovation of the property in 2019, but the resort remains in my memory as one of the most luxurious in the Caribbean, commanding 350 beachfront acres, including the private villa where I stayed, which boasted its own plunge pool. Next time, I’ll order a monkey to go with my Kendie’s Kick (rum, vanilla rum, passion fruit, tamarind, lime), a house specialty. It’s time to book now while the season is still in full swing for another month or two.
