Friday 22 Feb, Saba day 1: Ferry trip to Saba, scuba diving and TGIF at hotel’s pool bar.
Early alarm, and when it rings Glen is a bit confused why we have an alarm today. We are tourists today! For the entire weekend in fact, visiting and scuba diving in Saba.
So we jump out of bed, me straight for the coffee machine and Glen for his to do list: running the generator to top up batteries, program it to run once while we are away, switching on automatic bilge pump… and so on.
When we look out of the cockpit we find a Dutch yacht anchored ridiculously close to us. He must have anchored (badly) in the night. The slightest wind shift and for sure the two boats will touch. Glen shouts over and a very skinny guy emerges from the cabin. Glen makes it very clear that he has to up-anchor and move. And 5 minutes later he does just that. Good job because we have no time to hang around to argue with him. Before we know it, it’s time to lock up and head across the bay and into the lagoon.
We leave the dinghy on the dinghy dock of the yacht club in Simpson Bay, then walk across the lifting bridge towards the police station, where the Edge II ferry departs from.
Quite a few people are queuing for immigration, Saba must be a popular destination for day trips from St. Maarten. And sure enough, we get chatting to a Canadian couple who is indeed going for a day trip, then another Canadian couple and then another… Hmm, they must all be migrating to the warmth to have a break from their winter!
The ferry ride is surprisingly not bad at all. I was bracing myself for a very bumpy ride, but it felt no worse than sitting on a spinning washing machine. The journey took 1.5hrs and before we know it the ferry rounds the lee shore of Saba towards the port. It is a very interesting looking island, just a huge piece of rock sticking up from the sea with the top surrounded by clouds. And there are zero buildings around any of the shoreline. All the habitation is perched on top of the island.
We pass the yacht mooring buoys area and there are three yachts moored here in the choppy sea, pitching severely. And looking at them we congratulate ourselves for not having ventured here on Cloudy Bay. It wouldn’t have been a happy life onboard! I’m not even sure we could have launched the dinghy in such conditions.
Next to the moorings we see The Ladder, a long row of steps which used to be the main way up onto the island. Before they built the small harbour, everything needed by the islanders was hauled up these hundreds of steps by mule and donkey.
Once docked in the harbour, the check-in formalities are fairly quick and the taxi arranged by the diving center is readily waiting for us. The drive from the port up to Windwardside is on a very bendy road, with great views over the ocean and the villages as we pass them. First The Bottom and then St. John’s. Each small village has extremely narrow streets and all the building have red roofs, white walls and green windows. It’s so very clean and tidy after the mess of St. Martin.
We get dropped off in Windwardside at Juliana’s Hotel where we are booked for two nights, and since it’s still early and our room is not ready yet we start with a coffee break by the pool bar.
Then we walk to SeaSaba dive center to check in with them too and we are all set for our afternoon dive. As we wait for the taxi to take us back down to the port to join the diving boat, we comment on how it feels a lot cooler here in Saba compared to St. Martin or other islands. Probably because the village is at 500m elevation and the volcano peak is creating cloud cover. Needless to say, we are a bit chilly. We never thought to bring warmer clothes!
At the dive boat we get the equipment and a briefing on the Tent Reef dive site and in we go … all a little too quickly. That always seems to be the case when we are with a group of experienced divers. No messing around! The sea is rather rough, but once submerged under the water it’s all calm. There is just one dive instructor, or guide, for the 8 divers so we are very much on our own. Glen as usual has to help me get to the bottom. I always suffer from too much buoyancy it seems.
The visibility is really good and there is plenty of life around the rocky formations. On our way back towards the dive boat the guide takes us through a canyon containing lots of life, including a turtle that gently swims passed us, not the least bit bothered by our presence, and a large barracuda that doesn’t move even when Glen puts the GoPro directly in its face, asking for an interview!
After our safety stop at 5m we make our way back to the boat which is surging strongly in the swell. Jumping into the water was easy but getting out is a different affair altogether. I got a bit anxious trying to hold onto the ladder that was surging 1 meter up and down. But several hands, including Glen’s, were there to help me. A very interesting dive, but we are looking forward to the pinnacles, that’s why we came here.
The same taxi takes us back up to our hotel where we finally get our room. It’s a basic room with obvious signs of wear and really not up to a standard you might expect for the $200 per night price tag. The light in the shower is flickering, the light next to the bed is falling out of the wall, all metal items are rusty and the bed feels like it’s about to collapse. Glen pushes it hard against the wall so that it cannot move. Oh, and there is no door or curtain on the shower, so the bathroom gets soaked. So much for me hoping the room would come with a nice bath tub! Makes me appreciate Cloudy Bay’s comfortable accommodation.
For the evening’s entertainment we head to the social area of the hotel. The bar by the pool has a free wine hour which then launches into a TGIF session with cheap drinks and snacks. So before long it’s pretty crowded with both hotel guests and locals. We spend some time chatting to Josh, the captain of the dive boat, and his wife Sam. They want to buy a sailing yacht and take off cruising, like us. They seem to think they can pick up a cheap yacht in Florida. Fingers crossed they will find the right one for them.
Glen manages to down 2 glasses of wine in the free-wine-hour and seems quite happy with it … a bit too happy in fact 🙂
We then head up the steep hill to the quaint town of Windwardside and have an excellent pizza at one of the several bars and restaurants. And get chatting to an American lady, teacher at the medical university here on Saba. Just before we leave, the place gets flooded with young medical students. Yes, even this tiny island, with a population of just 1,200, has its American medical school established. In fact 1/3 of the population is related to this school. The theoretical course is 20 months, then the students head to USA to do their practical training in hospitals. Apparently it’s $200,000 fees for the 20 month course, and only 50% of the students actually pass at the end!
Back at the hotel we are both chilly and pretty tired. So we end up snugging for warmth in our wobbly bed by 9:30pm … trying not to move too much in case it either collapses or the squeaking is otherwise interpreted by our neighbours!
