Orienteering exercise brings Scandinavians to SK shores

By Terresa McCall
Reporter-SKNVibes.com

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – YESTERDAY (Nov. 19), downtown Basseterre was bustling with usual mid-week activities when, suddenly, it was interspersed with a group of foreigners running through the streets.

Bright and early that morning, persons on their way to school and work observed a number of individuals – who appeared to be tourists – running through the streets of Basseterre obviously in search of something.

SKNVibes journeyed to Port Zante to make inquiries concerning what some described as “strange happenings” and discovered that that location was both the start and finish points for an orienteering exercise.

A female participant, Bente Landmark, spoke with SKNVibes and explained that the group hails from countries including Sweden, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia and Denmark and that St. Kitts was the sixth stop in a Caribbean-wide orienteering exercise.

The exercise ended just before noon and the competitors, who arrived on the island aboard the Royal Clipper Luxemburg, were engaged in a number of fun-filled excursions before embarking the vessel and heading to the next Caribbean destination.

The exercise stretches across Antigua, Barbados, St. Kitts, Tobago, Dominica, Venezuela, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada and Guadeloupe.

At each stop, Landmark explained, the competitors were given maps and compasses and were required to find each numbered check point where they were to “check in” as evidence that they were actually at that stop. 

Bearing in mind that the goal was to conclude the exercise in as little time as possible, Landmark said the participants, having “checked in” at various points along their route, had to hurry to the finish line where the final check point was positioned.

She further explained that there are different prizes for the winners including bottles of rum, bandanas and diplomas, but expressed that the purpose of the exercise “is to visit and expose ourselves to other countries”.

Speaking of her impression of St. Kitts, Landmark said, “It’s a very clean place. It’s nice. It seems to be a place where people live and work. It also has a big harbour where big cruise ships come in.”

The orienteering exercise was organised by Park World Tour Travel, internationally known as PWT Travel.