Chronicles of a Shoemaker's Daughter

In January, I found myself feeling a little lost and unfocussed.  The end of my grad school journey was somehow anti-climactic and downright depressing. Mostly because I kept waking up each morning programmed to research, proof-read, type, read, process, analyze, churn out reports ... well, you get the drift.  I was struggling to shake off the invisible yoke that had me in a choke-hold for almost 2 years, and unable to really move forward, because I didn't have a full-time job to slide back into, as most of my classmates did.   Moving forward was what I had yearned for so many long months, but it seems it was, and still is, hampered by the fact that the actual graduation ceremony is not until June 14th of this year.  That's a long time to wait, especially when a big celebration is in order.  Getting my Masters Degree after all this time, is indeed cause to celebrate in my book.  So, debt worries aside, I found a way to combine work and travel.  In ...

These photos were taken around my cottage at Oualie Beach Resort - not so much a resort, but more a collection of ginger-bread cottages on a nice stretch of beach with shallow, warm waters, a pier for boating and water-sport activities, an in-house sea-creature attraction-educational facility-"turtle-camp", and a terrifically laid-back and funky, yet decidedly, old-world Caribbean restaurant and bar. On day one, check-in was early and I decided to forego the plans to tour around Nevis for the day and drop in on old friends around Pinney's Beach, because I could not tear myself away from this place and the haunting view of St. Kitts's South East Peninsula across the narrows!  It seems like a long time ago now, but it was spring, 2009!  Much has changed in my life since then, and this is still where I'd rather be!

... is how I would describe my all too brief stay in Nevis this year. Photos to follow, but today, I think I will post this text, more as a habit-builder, as I promised I would post an update once a week, Not sure if adding photos later counts as an update ... but there you have it ... the photos are arriving later. When I think of my few days on that little sombrero-shaped island with the crown of clouds that dominates its mountain-peak, all I can think is: Nevis, ah Nevis! How do I love thee? Let me count the ways ... you are the yang to St. Kitts' yin. The calming antidote to the excitement that St. Kitts offers visitors. Pretty, confident, sleepy and serene ... I had secured 2 rooms at Oualie Beach for a 3 night stay in Nevis. The goal was total R&R ... and an opportunity to get to know Nevis a bit better. I ended up checking out a day early so that my friend "Vincent" could spend his last night on St. Kitts before catching his plane back north on...