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17.04 17:28.91N 62:59.43W
We came to Statia nearly 2 weeks
ago, intending to stay just long enough to go diving and hike up the
mountain, and yet we are still here! There's not a lot to Statia, and yet
it is very pretty. it's a really small island with not very many people on
it, and it is Dutch (not that you'd know - everyone speaks English. In
fact the only thing Dutch about it is the Gilders, which they don't even have in
Holland any more!!) But the diving is what everyone comes to see, and it
is sublime! Lovely dive sites, lots of natural coral reefs, lava flows now
covered in coral providing lots of ledges and nooks and crannies for fish to
hide in; and also several wrecks which have been purposely sunk in about 20m of
water to encourage coral gardens. Here's and extract:
Little itty-bitty baby Chromis fish!
Cute! "Hello" Chien
Tong - a Taiwanese vessel purposely sunk
for
fish to live in
a Spotted Drum fish - these waters are famous for
them.
Check out the colours of the coral - this spinney lobster almost
blends in!
We decided to do a Nitrox course which teaches you to
use a mixture of air enriched with extra oxygen. it's supposed to be
better for you, and I can tell ya, we did 2 dives in the morning, which would
ordinarily wipe me out for the rest of the day, but after nitrox I still
had the energy to scamper up to the top of the Quill! Yeah baby,
give me more of that stuff!!
Sorry.
The Quill as it is known amongst friends, is the
mountain at the southern end of the island. it is actually a dormant
volcano - we hiked up to the rim and looked in. Where as the outside is
hot, dry, scrub and small trees, home to snakes; hermit crabs; and the odd
itinerant chicken, the inside is lush rainforest with huge trees and monkeys
(apparently) and afforded a spectacular view.
A Red Bellied Racer - I don't think
they're
poisonous... Can't
see the wood for the trees. The view across the volcano
is
even more spectacular in real life.
The day before we were due to leave, we met 2 other ARC
boats: Rod and Laura on Lilly, and Wolfgang and Regina from Diva. We all
arranged to congregate on Lilly for a 'sundowner' and an evening of swapping
stories. So instead of leaving, we decided to stay another day, and
Wolfgang invited us to Diva the next evening. Well, we couldn't very well
leave after that could we, so on the third night, Little Blue became the party
boat!
L-R: Laura, Chris, Rod, Regina, and Wolfgang:
toasting the sunset. Teabreak on the rescue
course. They are all sitting comfortably
on
their buoyancy suits. Don't anybody drown just now!
Rod and Laura had decided to stay and do a rescue diver
course with the dive school, so Chris joined them. As you can see above
it's hard work: they spend their days studying books and heroically toeing
panicking divers out of danger while giving then the kiss of life. (It's
quite fun being a panicking diver you know). And in the mean time, Chris
and Carol with Philippides III have also come to join us, and it's been
lovely to catch up with them too. The rescuers have their exam this
afternoon, and after that we should finally be on our way tomorrow...!
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