Introduction
On the morning of our aerial tour of St. Martin and excursion to Anguilla, we took the opportunity while at Juliana to purchase tickets from Winair for a subsequent trip to Saba. We previously had tried unsuccessfully a number of times by telephone to reach Winair to make reservations, but there was always either no answer or busy signals.
Fortunately, there was no one else in line at the Winair ticket window because it took just over 20 minutes to have our tickets issued with two agents participating in that task. It was one of the worst displays of outright incompetence and inefficiency we have ever experienced! It really was beyond belief.
We requested and finally received tickets for the 7:10am flight departing Juliana on June 6.
The Trip
We were up promptly at 5am as our various alarms sounded and began preparing for our Saba adventure. Sandra even arose quickly without extra coaxing and began moving about with unusual early morning speed. We consumed several cups of coffee, dressed and organized the cameras and film we would use that day.
The drive to Juliana at that early hour actually was pleasant with very little in the way of traffic. We did have some anxious moments when we found the main road just beyond the turnoff to Philipsburg impassable with men and heavy equipment engaged in destroying a section of it. We were obliged to turn at the large "detour" sign which was the last of its type that we saw (no further directions). Consequently, we meandered along secondary streets, none of which seemed to run exactly parallel to our primary route, hoping we weren't inadvertently headed back in the direction of Marigot. But we succeeded in rejoining the main thoroughfare and even with that diversion arrived at Juliana before 6:30am.
We quickly deposited our car in the lot in front
of the terminal and hurried inside. We found the terminal very
deserted. At the Winair counter a nice young lady looked over our tickets,
did some checking on a computer and then informed us we were way too
early to check in. How could that be, if we were to 
catch the 7:10am
flight? The agent responded that even though our tickets indicated
otherwise, we really were booked on a later flight that departed at
8:20am. Absolutely unbelievable! There was nothing to do but wait as
we watched other passengers check in for the earlier flight we had
reserved. We found ourselves wondering what their tickets indicated and if
perhaps they had been scheduled to depart on the last flight the previous day.
Once again, we found ourselves on the wood benches outside the terminal
entrance, smoking cigarettes and making friends with the long line of taxi
drivers who had no customers.
Finally, as we neared our new departure time, we made our way to the boarding area and discovered we weren't going directly to Saba. Instead, the flight would first go to St. Eustatius and then to Saba. As you've probably guessed, no one previously had deemed it necessary to share that little secret with us - not a word from any of the agents nor any indication on our tickets or itinerary that suggested anything other than a nonstop flight. To say that Winair needs to get its act together and try to operate in a more professional manner, probably would be the understatement of the year.
Our plane was a DeHavilland Twin Otter - a pretty
standard workhorse in the Caribbean. The interior of this particular one
was in very rough shape - perhaps its last passengers had been a rowdy rock
group. The seats were the smallest we've ever encountered. The
inside of the plane also was very, very hot, even at that early hour. The
flight was smooth and, sure enough, we saw Saba off to our right as we flew by
on the way to St. Eustatius. The turnaround was fairly quick and we soon
made our way back 
to our intended destination. The airport on Saba is
advertised as having the shortest commercial runway in the world. It
certainly looked that as we made our approach and saw it perched on the side of
a mountain with the sea below. However, it didn't seem nearly as harrowing
as the one on St. Barths, because in this case, if the pilot "missed," it
appeared to be a matter of simply swinging around and trying again. But,
that wasn't necessary because the Twin Otter neatly touched down and stopped on
what seemed only a few hundred feet of the runway.
also a
several year stint helping to construct the road system. In turn,
Sylvester quickly realized we were very serious about wanting to make
photographs of all manner of things, including much more than just the official
scenic overlooks. He was quite cooperative and helpful. He seemed,
in fact, very pleased that we were studying everything in detail and that our
eyes were quick to notice unusual things, while all the while asking lots of
questions. Among the unusual and somewhat rarely appearing flora we
spotted was a plant that Sylvester called "Snake Eyes." The
fruit looked like 
an amorphous orange lump with irregular red berries scattered
across it - quite ugly, actually. Sylvester said it was a staple for
treating blood pressure and diabetes problems. He made sure we saw the
"Suriname Berries" which looked like miniscule pumpkins growing on a
bush. While he happily ate them we desisted after a bite or two because of
the very pungent flavor. Another bit of interesting information dealt with
the cashew trees which were seen with some frequency. The residents of
Saba find the cashew "nut" too much of a problem to prepare for eating
and consequently discard them. But they relish the cherry like fruit from
which the cashew protrudes and, in fact, call the trees "Cherry
Trees."
While making many stops for photographs we
continued our climb towards Hell's Gate and then further along the road to its
end by the trail to the top of Mount Scenery. From there we retraced our
route until we intercepted the main road to Windwardside and after passing
through that lovely little town went on to St. John's and then The Bottom.
In The Bottom, which is by no means at the lowest elevation for a population
center on Saba, we traversed the streets and made stops at the Government
Administration Building and the Governor's house, which is not nearly as
impressive as one might envision. We next followed the road, which had
incredible hairpin and loop back turns, to Fort Bay where the ferry from St.
Martin docks. Along the way Sylvester explained there are no beaches per
se on Saba, though he laughingly told of a place the residents call
"Sometimes Beach" where, depending on the vagaries of wind and
current, there would sometimes be sand.
The driving tour and the many stops along the way
were utterly fascinating and we were quite happy that Sylvester's car moved
rather slowly as it labored along the tortuous road. We use the term
"tortuous" in 
the
context of winding, abrupt turns, steep inclines and equally steep
descents. To add to the fun of navigating the roads were frequent
encounters with goats and short haired sheep who clearly thought they had a
preferential right of way (we were visitors on their road). The
particularly interesting stretch between The Bottom and Fort Bay had giant
boulders resting on the high embankments adjoining the road and left one
wondering not if, but when they would someday come crashing down. Another
unusual feature of this section is the utility poles which protrude directly
from the road surface several feet from the edge, with no barriers. It's
as if they sprouted through the pavement. This stretch is definitely not
for the novice driver on Saba after dark and one or two too many
cocktails! Though the roads have amusement park ride twists and turns they
are surprisingly well maintained - the surfaces are in good condition.
Above all else, they are truly a tribute to human ingenuity and a tremendous
amount of hard work.
The topography of Saba seems very out of
character with most Caribbean islands - steep, craggy 
mountains
covered with the most lush foliage - palm trees, giant elephant ears, ferns,
mango trees and many, many varieties of other plants growing in great
abundance. The top of Mount Scenery - the highest point on the island -
stays in a perpetual fog like, shifting cloud cover. All over the island
cool, refreshing breezes come as an unexpectedly pleasant surprise. Very
simply and perhaps best stated - Saba is totally beautiful! We understand
the same can be said for the environs beneath the waters surrounding the island
which offer world class diving. The attraction in this latter respect is
evidenced by the dive shop operations we saw scattered across the island.
After walking the length of the quay at Fort Bay,
which shows a good bit of damage from a hurricane, we journeyed back to
Windwardside where Sylvester drove each of the streets, some with inclines
worthy of 
San
Francisco. On one particularly angled street, Ed casually remarked how
difficult it must be to navigate when it snows. Sylvester seemed taken
aback for a moment then laughed merrily as the little joke sank in. He
responded "Yes, the driving is awful when it snows here!" all the
while laughing about the thought. He then dropped us at the Swinging Doors
Bar in the center of town so we could explore for several hours on our
own. After a bit of refreshment there, we wandered down to the YIIK (Y2K)
Grill & Bakery, about which we had previously read.
At the YIIK we were greeted and waited upon by a
very cute waitress who was originally from Nevis. We had a Caesar and a
house salad with totally delicious grilled shrimp on both. The homemade
salad 
dressings,
one a Caesar with anchovy oil and the other a blue cheese, were
outstanding. If Ed had been in a completely gluttonous mood (the thought
did occur to him) he would have negotiated to have an additional large serving
of just the shrimp because they were so wonderful. Afterwards, we
congratulated the owners, Carl and Rudolf, on the very fine lunch and then
enjoyed just chatting with them. Of course, we had to ask "Why the
name YIIK?" Their answer was amazing in its simplicity: "No
significance, it's just something people remember." They sent us away
with ink pens and key chains as mementos, and wishes for a speedy return to Saba
and their restaurant. It was a very enjoyable experience and we highly
recommend it.
We
then trudged along (working off the somewhat excessive, but wonderful lunch) to
various shops lining the streets. We made the imperative T-shirt purchase
and also sought to buy as souvenirs some of the colorful Saba stamps at the Post
Office. But, unfortunately, we learned the one in Windwardside only
operates in the mornings because the single post mistress goes to The Bottom in
the afternoons to provide service there. Our wanderings led us to a shop
where Sandra purchased some of the famous Saba lace products and also some of
the infamous Saba Spice. This latter commodity is an extraordinarily
potent mixture of 151 rum and various flavorings and spices. A number of
folk, during our visit, told us of some of the many uses of Saba Spice ranging
from "medicinal purposes" to a meat marinade, a Christmas pudding
ingredient, and a topping for ice cream. We found it certainly produced an
exhilarating impact on the bronchial passageways!
In
our explorations we took time to study closely the architecture of the shops and
houses and their immaculately groomed gardens. All of the pictures of the
red roofed buildings you may have seen are indeed very representative.
Everything was remarkably clean, neat, well maintained and picturesque.
Very much worth seeing and savoring.
As we neared the prearranged time for Sylvester to retrieve us, we walked back to the Swinging Doors and enjoyed additional refreshments. While there we chatted with the bartender, Angie, and much to our amazement we were told that the Swinging Doors is owned by Eddie Hassell who has a car dealership in the Raleigh, NC area. Ed feels like he knows or knows of Eddie, but so far hasn't been able to access the memory cells that would allow him to make the connection. Sometime later Sylvester arrived and we then had a pleasant drive to the airport where we generously tipped him for his patience and excellent service.
After
a bit of a wait and very little in the way of formalities, the Winair plane
arrived and we boarded. If we thought it was hot in the plane when we left
Juliana that morning, it was nothing compared to the searing, hellish heat we
now found onboard the craft. With no fear of exaggeration, we are
confident the temperature easily exceeded 100ºF and probably by a substantial
margin. Within moments of seating ourselves on the plane we both were
totally drenched with sweat and Ed thought Sandra was going to faint from the
furnace like heat. The other passengers, including those with experience
on that particular flight, also were greatly suffering. We asked one of
the Winair staff why there was no air conditioning. He answered honestly
by saying Winair didn't want to lose the 300 pounds of passenger and luggage
capacity an air conditioning unit would require. We were not in the least
sympathetic with that reasoning and are of the opinion that perhaps Winair might
change its mind after some passenger dies of heat stroke, if that hasn't already
happened.
By the time we arrived on St. Maarten, following another stop on St. Eustatius, we were exhibiting clear symptoms of heat exhaustion. To put this matter into perspective, we are both accustomed to working vigorously on our landscape in the 95ºF+ temperatures of Carolina summers, along with humidity almost as high, for hours on end and think nothing of it. The conditions onboard the Winair craft were outrageous and definitely not a nice way to end what had been a wonderful time on Saba.
Conclusion
We'll say again for added emphasis - Saba is beautiful and to us a very unique Caribbean island. We've seen hints of similar topography and flora in the higher elevations of St. Lucia and Guadeloupe, but nothing truly like Saba.
As the result of our visit, we have the perception there is little, if any, appreciable poverty and the island's infrastructure, created with great effort and even sacrifice, is impressive. The comparatively few permanent residents - approximately 1,500 - take understandable pride in their island home.
Other than for the avid diver, Saba conceivably could become boring after a very few days for those desiring lots of activities. It's very "laid back" and refreshingly tranquil. We most definitely would visit Saba again for a longer period of time, but preferably via some other means than Winair.
Best regards,
Ed and Sandra
EandS@carolina.rr.com
Pictures
There are additional pictures from our Saba trip at Saba photos
More Information
We found the following site to be a useful source of information about Saba: http://www.sabatourism.com/
