Think Caribbean islands and you think about lazing on sunny, sandy beaches, sipping on exotic beverages with umbrellas and munching on fresh pineapple slices. The last things you want to think about are noses and grindstones. How do the locals get any work done? And yet, they do. On the island of St Christopher, the primary language is English and the literacy rate is 98 percent. The island is also home to a veterinary school and two schools of Medicine. Although the island is only 18 miles long and five miles across, one of the best ways to learn your way around is by taking advantage of welcome tours St Kitts (the informal, affectionate name of the island).
Apart from medical schools, what is it about the Sugar City that sets apart from other exotic islands in the Caribbean. The 45,000 residents, many of whom are of African descent, refer to themselves as Kittians. Warner Park Cricket Stadium hosted the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, the largest fortress in the eastern Caribbean, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Like many Caribbean islands, St Kitts is built on volcanoes. Here, there are three distinct volcanic mountain ranges. These are Mount Misery, where the highest peak of the volcanoes, Mount Liamuiga, is found, the Olivees, and the Verchilds.
Owing to dwindling profits, the government shut down the sugar cane industry in 2005. Since then, tourism has emerged as the largest sector of the island economy. The trend seems to be toward vacation homes, rather than resorts. This may be one reason why the tourist element is less crowded than it is on other exotic tropical islands. Other industries propping up the economy are construction, transportation, manufacturing and agriculture of things other than sugar cane.
In an effort to boost tourism, the Shak Shak Festival was held in 1996. Renamed the St. Kitts Music Festival, it is now an annual event held in June. The event has hosted such attractions as the Royaltiez Band, Better Band, and Machel Montano. The unit of currency on the island is the East Caribbean dollar, although American dollars are also welcome.
A major employer is the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport. Large enough to receive and handle commercial wide-bodied jumbo jets, it takes in flights from London (flight duration 11 hours), New York (flight time 6 hours), and Miami (duration 6 hours). Here, there are jobs for baggage handlers, customer services reps, and forklift drivers, among others.
Closer to the ground, there is a ferry service between the island and its neighbor, Nevis. A narrow-gauge railway encircles the island and caters to tourists more than it does the island residents. Built in 1912 to carry sugar cane from the farms to the factory, it now runs tours on specially converted open-air, double-decker carriages.
Famous names to arise out of the tiny island nation include singer Joan Armatrading, international footballer Keith Gumbs, and Felix Dexter, actor and comedian. The island provides an ideal for trainee runners, as evidenced from the number of sprinters that hail from St. Kitts. Among them are Kim Collins, Virgil Hodge, Desai Williams, and Tiandra Ponteen. Among the more notorious alumni of St. Kitts are George Astaphan, the doctor who doped Ben Johnson with steroids, and Bertil Fox, professional bodybuilder turned murderer.
Apart from medical schools, what is it about the Sugar City that sets apart from other exotic islands in the Caribbean. The 45,000 residents, many of whom are of African descent, refer to themselves as Kittians. Warner Park Cricket Stadium hosted the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, the largest fortress in the eastern Caribbean, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Like many Caribbean islands, St Kitts is built on volcanoes. Here, there are three distinct volcanic mountain ranges. These are Mount Misery, where the highest peak of the volcanoes, Mount Liamuiga, is found, the Olivees, and the Verchilds.
Owing to dwindling profits, the government shut down the sugar cane industry in 2005. Since then, tourism has emerged as the largest sector of the island economy. The trend seems to be toward vacation homes, rather than resorts. This may be one reason why the tourist element is less crowded than it is on other exotic tropical islands. Other industries propping up the economy are construction, transportation, manufacturing and agriculture of things other than sugar cane.
In an effort to boost tourism, the Shak Shak Festival was held in 1996. Renamed the St. Kitts Music Festival, it is now an annual event held in June. The event has hosted such attractions as the Royaltiez Band, Better Band, and Machel Montano. The unit of currency on the island is the East Caribbean dollar, although American dollars are also welcome.
A major employer is the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport. Large enough to receive and handle commercial wide-bodied jumbo jets, it takes in flights from London (flight duration 11 hours), New York (flight time 6 hours), and Miami (duration 6 hours). Here, there are jobs for baggage handlers, customer services reps, and forklift drivers, among others.
Closer to the ground, there is a ferry service between the island and its neighbor, Nevis. A narrow-gauge railway encircles the island and caters to tourists more than it does the island residents. Built in 1912 to carry sugar cane from the farms to the factory, it now runs tours on specially converted open-air, double-decker carriages.
Famous names to arise out of the tiny island nation include singer Joan Armatrading, international footballer Keith Gumbs, and Felix Dexter, actor and comedian. The island provides an ideal for trainee runners, as evidenced from the number of sprinters that hail from St. Kitts. Among them are Kim Collins, Virgil Hodge, Desai Williams, and Tiandra Ponteen. Among the more notorious alumni of St. Kitts are George Astaphan, the doctor who doped Ben Johnson with steroids, and Bertil Fox, professional bodybuilder turned murderer.
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