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Saba
The tip of a volcano, rising out of the ocean over 3000 miles. Saba is one of the islands in the Caribbean that we were most looking forward to visiting, truly unique geography and thus interesting history and culture as well. It is a small island (a mere 5 square miles) surrounded by sheer cliffs and steep drop-offs, just the tip of a volcano that rises thousands of feet out of the ocean on the edge of the Caribbean shelf. It is incredibly difficult to anchor your boat here because the island continues its vertical drop down into the ocean depths just a few feet from the shoreline and there are no beaches to speak of in Saba. And because it is a circular island the ocean waves wrap around it and create quite a vicious swell, rolling your boat from side to side with rail in the water, making it one of the most notoriously uncomfortable anchorages in the Caribbean. The type of roll where you can forget sleeping, you are lucky if you can eat because you get sea-sick, and things start flying around your boat and breaking left and right. If the weather is bad then it becomes impossible to land your dinghy and go ashore, so many cruisers wait for
Cliffs
The cliffs of Saba, ranging in color from red to brown to black. days to actually step foot on this island. In fact, the only way to visit Saba is to go when the weather is super calm and there are no big ocean swells (which only happens a few times a year). Or you can do what we did- leave your boat in St. Martin and take the ferry over to visit Saba for the day instead.
Like many things in life, the harder the journey the better the reward. Thus Saba is definitely worth the trip and has earned the nickname of the Hidden Shangri-La in the Caribbean. Because of its inaccessibility the island is pristine, the cloud forest (which covers two thirds of the island) is full of wild-life and the snorkeling/ diving is among the best in the world. There are no large industries here; in fact most of the men of the island leave for work and return only to retire. It is inhabited by 1500 descendents of the original settlers, mainly Dutch fishermen, who are hard working people, unimpressed by obstacles (easily understood after looking at the verticalness of this island and what an accomplishment it was to build the houses and the roads here). In
Now That's A Lobster
The men of Saba are great fisherman, a tradition passed down thru the generations. fact due to the difficulty to land ships, this island has never been under attack. It has only changed hands a few times with various treaties, but never conquered. The only means of defense for Saba was a pile of boulders behind a wooden plank, which they would release and thus pummel the invaders as they hiked up the hillside (simple, but effective). The result is a peaceful, friendly island with a strong sense of community. The people of Saba are proud of their island and the 2 villages here, Windwardside and The Bottom, look very European with cobblestone streets, whitewashed cottages with red-roofs, and quaint gardens in full bloom. It is a picturesque island and we were excited to visit this hidden gem.
We had a great ferry ride over to Saba and enjoyed watching a pod of dolphins playing at the bow. As we approached the island we were impressed by the sheer cliffs, ranging in color from red to brown to black, and the cloud forest rising high above. The top of Saba is perpetually in the clouds, which gives the impression of a volcano eruption (a constant reminder that we are on the tip of
Driving in Saba
The road in Saba, built right into the side of the cliff. a volcano, but luckily this one is extinct). Once we landed in Saba we got a taxi driver to take us on a tour all around island. Billy, our taxi guide, has been living in Saba his whole life and was full of great information and personal antics. He showed us all the sights of Windwardside and The Bottom; historic churches where we bought some lacework from the local women, the airport with its very short runway (we hear it is a real thrill to land here), an art gallery specializing in glasswork, and even up to Willards, the 5 star hotel atop one of the cliffs. But the most impressive part of the tour was the road itself, built on the edge of cliffs with steep embankments and hair-pin turns creating dramatic vistas and breath-taking views as we rode along. And the road was so narrow that most cars could not pass and there were many times I feared that we could easily roll down to our demise with one false move. But luckily Billy was an excellent driver and knows these roads like the back of his hands- we were perfectly safe. After our tour, Billy dropped us
Vista
One of the panaromic views of Saba while on our tour with Billy, looking down the steep cliffs. This was taken from the road, to give you some perspective. off at Windwardside where we got to enjoy lunch and a stroll thru the town shops and galleries (there is quite an impressive artist community on the island). At the far end of town there is the hiking trail up to the summit of Saba, known as Mount Scenery. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to hike the 1064 stone steps to the very top but did go explore the trail for a bit, actually 64 steps to be precise. It was amazing because as soon as you started up the trail, all the noise from town disappeared and you were engulfed by the flora and fauna of this cloud forest. We saw so many amazing plants, flowers, and birds- not to mention all the lizards that would scurry by our feet as we passed. It is an exceptional hike with an amazing view at the summit, we hope to return and do it one day. At the bottom of the trail is the Saba Conservation Society and Trail Shop which will issue you a certificate after completing the hike to Mt. Scenery- how cool! But unfortunately we were running out of time and had to catch the ferry back to
The Bottom
The town of The Bottom, named because they are in the valley of Saba. St. Martin. So Billy took us back to the dock and we were whisked away on the fast cat. We feel like we got just a small taste of this amazing island, only enough to know that we want to return and certainly enough to understand why it is known as the Hidden Shangri-La of the Caribbean.
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margie
non-member comment
Volcanoes, flowers,churches, all island living
Hi, We are comparing Hawaii to Saba, very similar except no glass operation.We do have pineapples, shave ice and surfing.