Part Seven: New Castle and the Mighty Yaris

We are big fans of renting a car while on vacation. I know some folks would prefer to get comfortable at the resort and not move for a week, but we like to get about a bit. Renting a car is the only way to see local sites and really get out and meet the people of the island. Before flying to Nevis, I had read about New Castle Pottery, which fires its pottery in a big wood fire on the property, and I was determined to see it. On the first couple drives around the island, I had missed it. This day, instead of driving counterclockwise around the island, we left the Four Season and drove clockwise, knowing that if we hit Nisbet Plantation, we had gone too far. As we drove past the airport, however, we came upon a hazard more common than monkeys crossing your path, a pothole. This was a good one. It was large enough and deep enough to take out two tires on our little Toyota Yaris.

With only one spare, my husband set out to the nearby airport to get assistance, and practically insisted that we walk down to the beach bar which was visible from the road. After watching a few planes take off and land, we walked to the road at the end of the runway and found a gem, Sunrise Beach Bar.

The people at Sunrise were very welcoming, quite familiar with the hazards of the pothole. The beer was cold, they had a great view, and a comfortable atmosphere. This was officially a happy accident.

Well, the Thrifty rental guys were super fast. Before my Carib was finished, we were on our way. We managed to find New Castle without any problem. It’s just past the airport on the mountain side of the road.

They weren’t firing any pottery the afternoon we were there, as it was too hot. However, the woman working at the shop was painting a piece of pottery. There were so many different designs to choose from.

My daughter took many more shots than I did of the different creations, and the following shots are hers. I was busy paying for her choices!

We ended up taking home a few ornaments, a small church, and a turtle bowl. There was a gorgeous piece at the back of the studio which was not for sale. It was explained to us that this was a historic building on Nevis which had been torn down, but it was preserved in clay.