guest free
jenna
Jim / Elaine Soens
Tue 20 Feb 2007 22:43
We stayed in St Martins till Monday I found it disappointing too American for my liking
heading for Saba a Dutch island.
This is amazing, unfortunately to-day the weather is like the lake district on a rainy day
we picked up a buoy off Ladder bay, to go ashore we could dinghy into the shore
and then climb 800 steps up-yes 800 or dinghy 2 miles to the harbour in a medium sea in the rain
Well as the steps where wet and may be slippy(don't want to do damage at our time in life!)
we opted out for the dinghy ride and apart from us all getting a little wet it was o.k.
after checking in, the harbour master rang us a taxi and we had a tour of the island.
The road from the harbour rises steeply up into the hills above, very much like the lake district
squashed in to a pint pot- mist on the hills as the rain clouds moved over the island-a very pretty place
quite unique.
Apparently in the 1940's the people got engineers from the Netherlands out to advise them on
building a road(before this everything had to be carried up the 800 steps!)they said it was impossible
anyway one islander decided it could be done and enrolled in a correspondence course on building roads
and they built it them selves. It'scalled The Road! not many in Saba only 2 villages and the airfield - apparently its
like landing on an aircraft carrier
The following day we on to St Eustatius another Dutch island not quite so dramatic as Saba but very nice. In the
harbour they had sunk cannons and the old town walls where submerged and made a wonderful place to snorkel
Then on to St Kitts we anchored in White House Bay. The snorkelling was excellent loads to see
rays, turtles, and all kind of reef fish in all sorts of corals. Then to Nevis which was disappointing for Doreen and myself as the botanic gardens where closed.
Then back to Antigua this time anchoring in Green Island. This is a small island just off mainland and surrounded by reefs and
quite a large expanse of protected water spent a few days here before going back to English Harbour to see our friends off
Now where waiting on Antigua rigging to install the new genoa before heading south..