Day trip to Saba
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Saba is a Dutch island and is little more than a volcanic mound in the sea. It is so steep that the residents were told it was impossible to build a road up from the harbour and they should continue to transport everything over the rocky paths. But what an example of the Big Society in action! One of the inhabitants took a correspondence course in civil engineering and the islanders designed and built their own road. Later with some specialist help they also flattened a rocky bit of coastline and built a short airstrip as well. The 2 towns are called The Bottom (down by the harbour) and Windwardside, the capital (up the hill and on the other side of the island) There is very little by way of natural resources , (in fact one wonders why anyone thought it was a good idea to settle there in the first place!) and they are developing a bit of a niche with eco-tourism with hiking in the rain forest and diving. They have also managed to attract one of the ubiquitous private American Medical Schools. We didn’t have time to hike and don’t dive so we opted for a taxi tour. This amounted to little more than a taxi ride to Windwardside and slightly beyond and Peterson, our driver, took every opportunity to pick up other fares along the way. He dropped us for lunch at Scout’s Place (further along there was Guide’s Place but we never ascertained if they were linked or in friendly rivalry), where we had a great meal including a chocolate cake to die for, and then we visited the little museum and wandered about the “town” (the entire population of the island is only that of a medium sized village so it seems OTT to call it a town) before Peterson picked us up (he was passing with another fare!) and took us back to the ferry, via a wonderful shop selling beautiful glass jewellery and other artefacts made from glass. The swell had picked up a lot while we were there and it
was obvious why it was a good idea not to be there with the yacht. It was quite
exciting enough boarding the ferry which was surging and bouncing alongside the
jetty. On the return journey we were able to sit up front with Anke, the
captain, and get a good view of the controls. The ferry had two very slender
hulls driven by water jets rather than propellors and seemed to take a lot of
steering to keep it running straight in the waves and swell.
  First view of
Saba
The harbour, where the power plant is sited
  The road that couldn't be built. They call
the wall alongside it 'The great wall of Saba'
 Tribute to the self taught engineer. There are very view
families on the island and Hassell is a name that crops up
frequently
  Local fauna and flora. The flowers generally
were much brighter and more prolific than we have seen on the other islands this
time.
  There are an amazing number of churches
serving a small population. This one (Catholic) had this beautiful
ceiling
  The houses cling to the hillsides and the
rain forest is very dense and verdant
  The airstrip (apparently it's like landing on
an aircraft carrier) Windwardside - all the houses
on the island have red roofs and white walls
  lunch at Scout's
Place
It seems to be accepted to create a family graveyard in the back
garden
  For some reason the Venezuelans had donated a
memorial to Bolivar The Saba museum. Most of the
properties had a concrete water
storage
tank like the one seen here
 Pictures in the museum showing what life on the
island used to be like   Mustn't forget Saba is a Dutch
island
Lovely glass objects made on the island. There were turtles and
sea horses as well as jewellery
  View of the anchorage looking calmer than it
was (no
yachts)
Waves breaking on the harbour entrance
  The Edge - replacing Moorglade for the
day Casting
off. It was quite a big step up and down for
boarding
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