Wells Bay, Saba to Oranjestat, St. Eustatia (Statia)
The morning revealed the boat that came in in the middle of the night. It was a dive boat, called the Caribbean Explorer II. After breakfast, we dropped the mooring and headed around Saba to the harbour to check in and take a tour of the island. There is one road on the island, called Impossible Road, because everyone in the know about road building said that it couldn't be built. However, Josephus Lambert Hassell, determined to build a road, took a correspondence course in engineering, and with the labor of local farmers, built this incredible road by hand. It took 20 years to complete it. You can read a tribute to the road builders here.
Our taxi driver was Vincent and he did an excellent job of explaining the island. It was very hot in th harbour, but as we climbed up te mountain, it became much cooler. Saba is beautiful and the people are very friendly. There is an abundance of mangoes, jackfruit, almonds, papaya, knips, and other fruits on the island. Not to mention the wild goats, which seem to be almost as plentiful as the whitetail deer back home.
We visited a shop where needle lace is made and I purchased a little bun warmer from one of the women who ran the shop. It takes many hours to finish a piece and if they make a mistake cutting the linen, the piece is ruined. They use Irish linen, which is very expensive indeed.
You can read more about Saba lace here.
There is one airport on the island and you can see it from the lace shop. It has the shortest commercial runway in the world.
We spent a little time in one of the villages, then it was back to the harbour and onto the boat, where we made way to Statia.
We made Statia in good time, even though we left Saba later than we planned. We paid for the mooring and tried to check in, but the harbour master's office closed as we were walking over there. We grabbed a drink at a little bar on the lower road, then dinghied back to the boat. There was much debate as to when we should leave the next day. Do we stay until we check in or do we leave before the harbour master's office opens?
After a little swim around the boat (the water felt wonderful), I watched a flock of egrets roost in trees on the hill.
There was also a fort on the hill, which looked like it would be interesting to explore, but unfortunately, there wasn't enough time. Besides, it was brutally hot on shore.
After dinner, we played two games of Mexican Train dominoes. Carolyn won a game and I won the other. Tom a bit perturbed that he didn't win, but he had won both games the night before.
The captain decided to head out early to avoid the harbour master, so it was early to bed. St. Kitts is tomorrow's destination.
Our taxi driver was Vincent and he did an excellent job of explaining the island. It was very hot in th harbour, but as we climbed up te mountain, it became much cooler. Saba is beautiful and the people are very friendly. There is an abundance of mangoes, jackfruit, almonds, papaya, knips, and other fruits on the island. Not to mention the wild goats, which seem to be almost as plentiful as the whitetail deer back home.
We visited a shop where needle lace is made and I purchased a little bun warmer from one of the women who ran the shop. It takes many hours to finish a piece and if they make a mistake cutting the linen, the piece is ruined. They use Irish linen, which is very expensive indeed.
You can read more about Saba lace here.
There is one airport on the island and you can see it from the lace shop. It has the shortest commercial runway in the world.
We spent a little time in one of the villages, then it was back to the harbour and onto the boat, where we made way to Statia.
We made Statia in good time, even though we left Saba later than we planned. We paid for the mooring and tried to check in, but the harbour master's office closed as we were walking over there. We grabbed a drink at a little bar on the lower road, then dinghied back to the boat. There was much debate as to when we should leave the next day. Do we stay until we check in or do we leave before the harbour master's office opens?
After a little swim around the boat (the water felt wonderful), I watched a flock of egrets roost in trees on the hill.
There was also a fort on the hill, which looked like it would be interesting to explore, but unfortunately, there wasn't enough time. Besides, it was brutally hot on shore.
After dinner, we played two games of Mexican Train dominoes. Carolyn won a game and I won the other. Tom a bit perturbed that he didn't win, but he had won both games the night before.
The captain decided to head out early to avoid the harbour master, so it was early to bed. St. Kitts is tomorrow's destination.
posted by Teri S. at 8:53 PM
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