BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – QUITE recently I received a call that piqued my interest because, while it was for the scheduling of an interview, the circumstances were such that I had never experienced before.
I was informed of a couple who had travelled from Ottawa, Canada to celebrate their wedding anniversary on the beautiful island of St. Kitts.
The interesting part, however, is that the couple, Gregory and Marina, carries the last name St. Kitts.
St. Kitts couple visits St. Kitts
Gregory and Marina arrived in St. Kitts on Saturday, August 22 and stayed at the Palm Court Garden until their departure approximately one week later.
While on St. Kitts, they celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary on August 27, toured the island, experienced the hospitality, warmth and friendliness of the island and its people and endured two storms.
Why St. Kitts?
Of course, one of the main questions that was on my mind when I met with and interviewed the couple was: “Why did you choose St. Kitts as the destination for the celebration of your anniversary?”
And as was explained by Gregory, it was predominantly Marina’s idea.
“It has to do with our anniversary which was the 27th, and so Marina thought it would be great to come somewhere in the Caribbean for our anniversary. And this is something that my family and I have been talking about because they are from Guyana. So we have talked about these islands and St. Kitts comes up ever-so-often because of our name.”
So after much research to learn about the island and finding a suitable place to dwell for the duration of their stay, plans were made, flights were booked and the couple was off to the Caribbean island which is their namesake.
Any roots in St. Kitts?
In giving a very brief history of his family, Gregory informed that his roots are actually in Guyana.
“Both of my parents are from Guyana. My father’s father apparently came from Africa to Guyana with his brothers…I don’t know how long he was there but at some point he changed his name to St. Kitts. I don’t know where he got the name from though. The original name was Quashi, which seems to have come from Ghana, Africa, but we are not sure. But as far as we are aware, our roots are not in St. Kitts.
“When my father came to Guyana, he was one of nine children. My mother and father met in Guyana, had their first two children there then migrated to England, where they had two others which included myself. And then they migrated to Canada where they had the last two children.”
Gregory and Marina met in Canada and tied the knot two years after in that North American country. The union produced four children, including one male who would carry on the St. Kitts name.
Returning to St. Kitts?
Having experienced the hospitality and warmth of the people of the island, Gregory and Marina told SKNVibes they have no difficulty considering returning here. The next time, they might even want to make it a family affair and invite their children to experience the island with them. Only time will tell.
“We have four children and we are considering encouraging the entire family to come to St. Kitts,” Gregory said.
Both Gregory and Marina indicated that they were not happy to leave the island and would have had no difficulty extending their stay, but the Palm Court Gardens where they stayed was booked for accommodation, that being the only place they wanted to stay.
Hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, Gregory and Marina would be returning to St. Kitts with their relatives to explore more deeply the island which bears the same name as they do.
My namesake?
This interesting coincidence made me wonder if there were a place somewhere in the world with which I share my last name, and it has led me to do some research.
The results are breathtaking and I cannot help but wonder if sometime in the future this McCall would be visiting McCall in Idaho, USA.
