Exploring the giant’s Salad Bowl and other unusual pleasures on the island of St. Kitts

By Robin Soslow Special to The Roanoke Times
People from worldwide flock to the Caribbean for beautiful beaches, balmy breezes and a laid-back vibe. But if you also like hiking, head for the island graced with a geological formation resembling a gargantuan salad bowl.
And that’s just one of many amazing places you’ll find in St. Kitts.
Populated with native peoples when Christopher Columbus spotted it in 1493, St. Kitts wasn’t colonized by Europeans until the British arrived in 1623. After that, it became a hotspot for sugar production and trade. Originally named St. Christopher, the Caribbean isle’s casual nickname St. Kitts took hold.
War and peace
Once dubbed the Gibraltar of the West Indies for its role in 18th-century battles, St. Kitts shares that chapter of its past at Brimstone Hill Fortress and National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At this living museum, you can wander grounds crowning a 800-foot hill, steeping yourself in history with a view. The structures reflect the savvy of British military engineers and the fine skills of slaves who built and maintained over decades. The walls of the structures are made of stone fashioned from the hill’s hard volcanic rock.
Construction took a century beginning in the 1690s, resulting in a remarkable military command center. Its grounds overlook forested mountains, farmed acreage and neighboring English, Dutch and French islands.
Today the island is all about peace, not war. Kittitians place a priority on relaxing, which they call limin’ — and have plenty of ways to do it. Snorkel alongside brilliant fish at Reggae Beach on the southeast peninsula. Do yoga and crunches on the sand as trade winds rustle palm fronds and propel kite-boarders across the blue Atlantic to the east. Ride the St. Kitts Scenic Railway on a three-hour excursion on 18 miles of narrow gauge train track and 12 miles on buses. Built between 1912 and 1926 to transport sugar cane from plantations to the sugar factory in the capital city of Basseterre, it’s known as the “Last Railway in the West Indies.”

Then there’s my favorite to go limin’: trek to the top of 3,792 foot Mount Liamuiga, where the 360 degree views can’t be beat.
A natural high
Liamuiga, which means “fertile land,” is the dormant volcano hovering dreamlike beyond villages and sugar cane fields planted after the British established a colony in 1624. It makes a rousing and beautiful day hike.
Since 1987, Greg Pereira has led “Volcano Safaris” up vine-and-rock-strewn trails through the lush rainforest leading to Liamuiga’s rim. The fifth-generation Kittitian spent his youth in these mountains.
During the hour-long coastline drive between the St. Kitts Marriott Resort and the volcano trail head, Pereira stops at Black Rocks park, giving us a few minutes to clamber among remnants of past explosions, when the volcano’s superheated rim melted and flowed to the sea’s edge. Some believe that’s why Liamuiga was once dubbed “Mount Misery.”
The road passes by stone quarries, seaside shanties, families trucking juicy palm-size guavas, bushmen hoisting bunches of herbs used for medicinal teas and shack-like bars where patrons shoot the morning breeze.
Painting-perfect landscapes
At the base of one mountain is the church where slave ship doctor-turned-pastor James Ramsay preached for abolition of slavery, inspiring the song “Amazing Grace.”
A brief detour leads to the island’s interior, where sugar plantations held sway until two decades ago. Now land has been set aside for preservation and tourism. One inn’s views include a path to a windmill set against lush vegetation and painting-perfect clouded skies.
“Twenty-four percent of St. Kitts is protected reserve,” says Pereira. “It’s among the few places in the world where rainforest is expanding.”
Trekking an eco-wonderland
Mount Liamuiga Volcano Crater Trail ascends natural staircases of packed earth, rocks and entwined roots. Between the elevation and ocean breezes, he explains, mosquitoes and flies aren’t a problem. Sit on a toppled tree and you might get an ant bite, no big deal. The tropical canopy also shades hikers from intense sun.
Along the seven-hour round trip trek, Pereira points to vines used as aphrodisiacs, plants harvested by voodoo men, and floating kapok seed pods. Believed to bestow good luck, they inspired the “Avatar” seeds of Eywa.
Huge buttressed roots bolster trees, some up to 150 feet high and 300 years old. “Trees grow these roots to stabilize on slopes, enduring winds and storms,” explains Pereira.
Staying quiet, we spy St. Christopher Bullfinches, thumbnail-sized frogs chirping outsized mating calls and a few petite vervet monkeys foraging walnut-size mangoes. A bit later, we meet hikers heading back with a handsome backpack-strapped mixed Labrador retriever named Brody.
“Hear the hammer hitting an anvil? That’s the mountain blacksmith cricket,” says Pereira during stops for earth science lessons, rest and water. As with any serious hike, pack water — not soda — to hydrate along the way.
Cloud level on the volcano’s rim
At cloud forest level, the volcano’s rim rewards hikers with spectacular views in every direction. Tipped off about a secret overlook, I climb to the base of the aptly named Devil’s Tooth rock formation to gaze upon shimmering sea, pure skies and cottony clouds. Mist-ringed St. Eustatius rises in the distance like a mystic vision.
A rocky perch faces the mile-wide crater. Soil from lava flows enriches a patchwork quilt of greenery rolling down to the crater floor, which is why it’s called the Giant’s Salad Bowl. We sit on the perch and eat veggie-laden sandwiches. “The last verified eruptions from the volcano were 1,600 years ago,” says Pereira.
After descending to the volcano’s base, Pereira breaks out a bottle of fresh-squeezed guava juice from his Land Rover. Sunbeams cross picture-book blue skies to dance on ocean waves further downhill.
I raise my juice cup in a toast to limin’.
Robin Soslow is an award-winning writer-photographer who explores on foot and bike. Reach her at [email protected]

IMAGES:
Photos by Robin Soslow | Special to The Roanoke Times
(Black Rocks beach coast) On the way to the volcano hiking excursion, stop at dramatic Black Rocks seaside formation on the island’s northeastern coast.
In this historic church, slave-ship doctor-turned-pastor James Ramsay preached for abolition, inspiring the song “Amazing Grace.”
(Frigate Bay closer) Find great hotels, views and recreation at Frigate Bay, located southeast of Basseterre, the capital of St. Kitts.
After hiking the volcano named Mount Liamuiga, take in breathtaking views at the Devil’s Tooth rock formation.
Village volcano) Peaceful villages and farms appear on the way to Mount Liamuiga, a dormant volcano where you can hike through rainforest habitat.
Mount Liamuiga, a dormant volcano, is nicknamed the Giant’s Salad Bowl for its greenery.
For more on this story go to: http://www.roanoke.com/life/travel/exploring-the-giant-s-salad-bowl-and-other-unusual-pleasures/article_3cd7bcf8-ebcb-58bf-aa8f-bd521eb202ab.html