With that title I’m tempted to end this post right there, but it would not be fair to the valiant little island of Saba which definitely merits a full description. ‘Saba’ refers to the Biblical queen of Sheba. Christopher Columbus sighted the island in 1493, but he did not land, probably because the coast is so treacherous. In 1632 a group of shipwrecked Englishmen managed to land and during the next 200 years the island passed from English to French and eventually to Dutch hands in 1816. It has been a pirate and smuggler’s haven, a manufacturer of sugar and rum and more recently a home to fishermen, lace-makers and medical students from the American University of Saba.
To say that Saba is an island unlike any other Caribbean island is an understatement. Everything about it is extreme. It’s the smallest municipality of the Netherlands (5.019 sq miles 13 km²) with a population of 1800, but has that country’s highest point: the potentially active volcano called Mount Scenery.
No fancy resorts or sandy beaches here. In fact, no beaches whatsoever, just massive cliffs plunging down into the sea on all sides. Our anchorage in Ladder Bay was the most spectacular one we’ve ever known and gave us a taste of what we think it might be like to sail in southern Argentina.
To say that Saba is an island unlike any other Caribbean island is an understatement. Everything about it is extreme. It’s the smallest municipality of the Netherlands (5.019 sq miles 13 km²) with a population of 1800, but has that country’s highest point: the potentially active volcano called Mount Scenery.
No fancy resorts or sandy beaches here. In fact, no beaches whatsoever, just massive cliffs plunging down into the sea on all sides. Our anchorage in Ladder Bay was the most spectacular one we’ve ever known and gave us a taste of what we think it might be like to sail in southern Argentina.
The 'Ladder'
To get ashore we took our dinghy about 2 miles over to Fort Bay where there is a small man-made harbor for which we were extremely grateful as prior to its construction the only way onto the island was by climbing the 800 steps carved from stone that reach from Ladder Bay to the settlement known as The Bottom (which is actually at the top of the steps!). Until the late 20th century, everything that was brought to the island was carried by hand up these steps including a piano and a Bishop! Queen Beatrice is reputed to have made the trip several times to visit a close friend on the island.
Fort Bay.
After clearing customs in Fort Bay, we took the easy way and hired a taxi to take us from the harbor on a tour of the island via the only road on the island aptly named ‘The Road.’ The Road was built against all odds and expert opinion by the determined Josephus Lambert Hassell who took a correspondence course in civil engineering and started building the road by hand with a few locals in 1938. It took 4 years to complete the first section up to The Bottom and another 16 years to bring it to the town at the other end of the island known as Hell’s Gate.
The spunky Sabans didn’t rest after this accomplishment. Determined to have not only a road, but an airport as well, they flattened a hill at the bottom of Hell’s Gate and found a pilot crazy enough to fly in and test the landing strip--a scant 400 meters long (about the size of an aircraft carrier). He was successful and the island now boasts the smallest commercial airport in the world with four flights a day. You gotta love the gumption of these people!
Admittedly it was with some trepidation that we asked Wilhelm, our taxi driver to drive us on ‘The Road to Hell’s Gate’ and although we made it safely there and back, it was a wild ride skirting some ridiculously steep cliffs and gave new meaning to term ‘hair pin curve’ (even driving in Paris is nothing compared to this!). Despite the crazy drive, we managed to have a good look at the charming villages whose decor is determined by national decree--only white, green and red may be used, which may seem extreme, but is actually very attractive to the eye. Perhaps not so attractive is the local custom to bury the dead in one’s own backyard.... I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt that it has more to do with a shortage of land than anything else...
By the end of Wilhelm’s taxi tour, the sun was low on the horizon, so we headed back to the boat with all intentions of coming back the next day to hike up Mount Scenery and explore a bit more, but our anchorage proved to be far too uncomfortable for us to spend more than one night. In fact, it was rolling so much, we high-tailed it out of there at first light. So it was a short stop, but we will be back.
Next stop: Sint Eustastius (Statia)
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