Nevis

Nevis is a 15 minute journey from St Kitts by water taxi. While there is an airport, flights are minimal and generally private planes. This has kept Nevis quiet. Although there are signs of more development, at the same time there are derelict and half built hotels and apartments, making it hard to tell whether the island will become more of less of a tourist destination. Aside from some private villas and apartments, there is a Four Seasons hotel, recently purchased by Bill Gates, and a number of former plantation hotels. John Cleese recently became a resident.

We stayed in the former plantation home of Fanny Nisbet, the wife of Nelson. They met on Nevis when Nelson was seeking to stop illegal trade with the US. The most famous person born on Nevis was Alexander Hamilton. We visited his birthplace which is now a museum for both Nevis and his life story (accompanied by music from the musical).

The landscape is dominated by Mount Nevis, often shrouded in cloud, which is the backdrop to the botanical gardens, a recent addition to the island. The gardens were set up by an eccentric British music producer and writer heavily influenced by the east, especially Thailand.