The Unspoiled Queen- A Guest Post (with pictures!)

The Unspoiled Queen

What a remarkable gift I received this month!  At my daughter's bidding, she flew me to the Saba Dutch Netherlands - the Unspoiled Queen of the Caribbean - to see their island home and spend time with her family.  What an adventure!  It was the farthest I have ever been from my home in Idaho, and it was the first time I have left the country in 40 years! (I travelled to Eastern Canada as a teen.) There's so much to tell!

Transportation

I had been forewarned about the airplane landing. But it was still thrilling, and the passengers actually applauded when we rolled to a stop. In the smallest commercial aircraft available, perhaps 18 of us watched the aircraft head straight for the volcanic slopes of the little 5-square-mile island. Then, when it seemed that we would all have to parachute out, the pilot turned parallel to the runway. There was not time or room to descend gradually to this, the shortest commercial runway in the world. A strong crosswind came from the sea into the land, perpendicular to the short, flat strip - the only place on the island that is level enough for an airport. It seems more like a heliport than a place for a twin engine plane.

With a little bit of yawing, the plane side-slipped toward the ground, and just as the stall indicator began to squeal, the wheels touched the pavement!  We disembarked to a terminal that was reminiscent of the train stations of the late 19th century: a platform where loved ones awaited, a window where a uniformed officer scanned passports, a single room outfitted with a bench or two, and a front porch where drinks were being served and a few taxi drivers loitered, hoping for a passenger or two.

I knew the island is hilly, and that The Road is narrow. That is understated. The Road was nothing more than a track for porters to cross with supplies on their head until after 1930. By 1950, this single conveyor from one end of the island to the other was completed, but at that time, there were still only 6 cars on the island.  Walled on either side to keep the hillside from slipping away in the heavy rains, the road is literally two narrow lanes with little to no shoulder in many places. As for steepness, it is comparable to Lombardi Street in San Francisco in many places, or the S Curves in canyons leading to ski resorts along the Wasatch Front.

If you can pay a taxi, there are plenty on call at any time of day. But if not, anyone on the island who happens to own a car and has room is happy to stop when you stick your thumb out. Since there's only one path between the little establishments, you don't need to give directions to where you're headed. You're either going west toward The Bottoms, or east toward Zion's Hill and the airport, with Winwardside and St. John's in between. During my stay, I rode with old Dutch Belongers, whose families have inhabited the island since its early colonization, and with young Islanders, who have moved from other parts of the Caribbean to work in construction, in teaching (at the med school or public school), or in various service jobs across the island. All were equally accepting and friendly. No matter your accent, or skin color, there is no judgement. If you are on Saba, you are one of them.

The Bottoms

My first day after arriving, we explored to the west. We traipsed  to the divide between St. John's and The Bottoms and scurried onto the Crispeen Track, a trail that shortcuts down the mountainside toward the medical school, avoiding the switchbacks that the cars have to wind through. Whereas St John's is breezy because it stands on a point where the wind comes off the ocean, The Bottoms is muggy because the sun beats into the little valley all afternoon. As soon as we crossed the top of the hill and started down the track, we could feel the change in the air. But that didn't deter the little hikers, aged 2 1/2 and 4, for whom this walk became a feat of endurance and muscle power that took them 40 minutes to complete. Along our way, there were turtles, hermit crabs, and lizards.

Once we reached the med school, there was a footpath lined with mango trees that we took to the library and beyond to a park - a fenced area with a pavilion and a walkway where the children could run and play. We also explored an "exercise park," that the children delightfully considered their playground, since one of the only other places on the island that I'm aware of that allows the children freedom to romp without tumbling off a porch onto the steep hillsides is the public school grounds.

Flora and Fauna

In addition to lizards and crabs, there are also iguanas on the island, seemingly as big as weasels. What really delighted me were the tiny Caribbean tree frogs that started peeping as soon as the sun went down at 7 p.m. and continued their rhythmic, "digital-sounding" cry, like an egg timer, until 5 a.m., when the sky lightened and the wild roosters - originally brought by the Dutch- began waking up the island with their back-and-forth contest for Best Crower. But it was the donkey that really served as my alarm clock! Put to pasture in a field 50 yards from my window, his bray started like a trumpet call, followed the punctuated haw-hee-haw that no other animal can mimic.

Then there were the goats, as prolific as the lizards! Originally domesticated, they now roam freely from the tops of the hills to the shores of the sea, wild and nimble. Their cry of "Ma, ma, ma," added to the morning symphony that woke the island and sent everyone scurrying to their jobs by 7 a.m.

The children relish the opportunity to visit the pens where a few animals are kept by Islanders. We gazed at goats, sheep and pigs! Of course, there were hens and chicks, too!

With many different ecosystems within the limited square footage of the island, you can feel as if you are in a jungle when you are at the foot of Mount Scenery, then within five minutes, it may seem as if you have travelled to Jane Eyre's heath, where the moist air from the sea leaves salty traces on the plant-life and stunts their growth.

Sadie's Birthday

With her hand still wrapped from her encounter with a hot oven door the week before, Sadie was a champ at pulling the wrapping off her birthday presents. She was tickled with her new sparkly beads and her touchy-feely book that allows her to finger the textures of goat fur, rooster cocks, and donkey hide! She'll be a pro at island life in no time!

With a new booster seat that attaches to the bar (the table only seats two), she was initiated to cake! Given her own piece to sample, she learned quickly that the sweetness was near ecstasy when grabbed by the fistful and stuffed into the mouth!

Mount Scenery

Matthew and I had the laborious joy of climbing every single one of the 1064 stairs that leads to the highest point on Saba, 3,000 feet above the runway at sea level. It amazes me that islanders placed every one of those stones in its concrete boot to mark the way to the scenic overlook. However, because the top is more often than not shrouded in mist, we did not get the vista we hoped for of the other islands. But here is a video to show you the views: http://www.sabatourism.com/hike.html.  True to its name, the cloud forest emerged as if from a fog, leaving the rocks mossy and slick. Down lower, a native was carving out a space to plant cassavas and sweet potatoes on the mountainside. Near there, we observed Tree Ferns and Elephant Ears, and in the meadow near the bottom, I felt I had entered an African Savannah. By the road, there were Prickly Pear bushes similar to a TexMex climate! One of the oddities of the island is the family cemetery plots that dot the island. We saw several along our hike.

 

Sunday

Though Valerie and Matthew are the only church members on the island, and it is too expensive to travel to St. Martin's every week, they made every effort to have a special Sabbath. With church music playing through Roku, and the living room transformed to a sort of chapel, with wooden chair "pews" and a bar stool "podium," we assembled in Sunday clothes with hair tamed from the wind and sun. The children wore shoes indoors for the first time since my arrival. We shared songs, prayers, and personal testimonies. Then, while the children lapped the house several times, Valerie moved the chairs into a semi-circle to simulate a classroom, and we held Primary. The children sang vigorously and participated raptly in their Sunbeam lesson that included pictures from the Gospel Library and figures drawn on a white board. Later, while they napped, we discussed the adult Sunday School topic about Eli, his sons, and the prophet Samuel's warning. Their Sunday service of picking up litter before dinner helped the kids contribute to the beauty of their island in their own way.

The Beach

Not like the aqua and cream stretches along the other islands, the beach at Saba is a pool-size area that has been walled off from the incoming waves by a man-made rock barricade so that children can wade waist-deep through the rocks and coarse salt-and-pepper, lava-rock sand to see tiny snails and baby hermit crabs clinging to the stones that are jutting from the water. The water is delightfully warm, and a shaded pavilion and public restroom equipped with shower make the spot a relaxing place to splash and spend the afternoon.  Even the baby grinned at the water lapping against her legs. The other two found the weight of the sand piled on their legs both playful and regenerating.

 

Winwardside

If The Bottoms is the Hawaiian Orchard of Saba, and The Beach is its Oregon Coast, then Winwardside is its Colonial Village. Here, we visited little souvenir shops, meandered through "alleys" leading to restaurants, museums, and banks, and strolled through another "park" where a single swing dangled from a tree branch and a few moms assembled to practice yoga on the grass. This is where the Dutch influence is most pronounced, and the sparse tourism is indulged with fresh-baked bread and coconut curry soup, served on open-air tables in the plaza where a couple of trikes are gratuitously placed for the children. It is in this little village that Valerie does her shopping on the day that the boat arrives with fresh produce. The largest of the two grocery stores is probably no bigger than the produce department at your local Walmart. A single aisle is dedicated to refrigerated and frozen products - all imported. Another single aisle is for "fresh" fruits and vegetables that have just arrived by sea freight. These are set in their boxes on top of crates near the front of the store so that customers are lured to see what appetizing offerings are available this week. The rest of the space is used for canned products. There is not even a butcher block! You pick your meat from chest freezers at the back of the store - or else you catch it and kill it yourself! I was surprised to not see a fish counter. I'm sure there are fishing boats around!

[After shopping at the local stores, the groceries were brought home in this Idaho Potatoes box...Can you believe it! Potatoes shipped all the way from Idaho Falls...only 45 minutes from our home town.]

With all of their food coming from distant lands, prices are quite prohibitive - but so are the grocery carts! Sized like miniature versions of our Costco carts, imagine being only able to pick 1/3 of the amount you are accustomed to - and still paying over $200 for it!

Water Supply

With water on the island provided by rain and caught in cisterns, conservation is key! Washing up is an interesting endeavor. Hygiene follows these rules: Only turn on the water long enough to wet yourself. Then shut it off and lather up. Rinse quickly; do not loiter. Flushing is allowed if the water is brown, but not if it's yellow. If you boil your food, save the cooking water to wash dishes in. Save the dish water to mop the floor.  When you do laundry, DO NOT drain the water between loads. Take out the whites, soaking wet, wring them, and set them aside while you agitate the darks. These, in turn, are removed, so that soiled diapers can be washed. Finally, the water is allowed to drain, clean rinse water is added, and the whites are once again put in the tub so that the process can be repeated with each of the loads. Thus, laundry day becomes a family affair, with the children playing on the deck just outside the washing room while mother oversees the process. We took deck chairs and made an imaginary airplane for the kids to fly while they waited. We drew with chalk all over the cement. And finally, we handed Valerie clothespins while she hung the clothes to dry in the open air. Imagine our dismay a few hours later, when we found Thomas with pants down, peeing off the edge of the porch, above the clotheslines one flight down! Luckily, all but a single pair of jeans had been piled into a basket and brought upstairs.

Return Home

The week went by way too fast! I could have stayed all summer in this suspended life that made me feel as if I had stepped back in time to a less harried era. Maybe there was a selfish reason why Gilligan, the Captain and all the shipmates never returned to civilization! (When I got back to New York City, I found my business card had been hacked in my absence!) Maybe I left more than a sliver of my heart in that little piece of paradise!

[Some last minute games with the grandkids before catching her taxi to the airport.]