A Perfect Day In: Saba
Hidden Treasure: Willard's of Saba
Sea Journeys by Will Johnson

A Perfect Day In: Saba

The "Unspoiled Queen of the Caribbean" is a five-square-mile jewel named one of Travel + Leisure's "World's Best" islands and nominated as a World Heritage site. A stunning dormant volcano rises 3,000 feet straight up from the sea; it's as green as Ireland and filled with magnificent, mind-blowing rain forest foliage. The architecture is storybook charming… sort of Swiss chalet meets tropical cottage. Even the roads in Saba are pretty spectacular. Check out www.jumbiedesign.com for a breathtaking "ride" on Saba's roller coaster roads.

Declared "unbuildable" by European engineers, "The Road" requires nerves and legs of steel to drive, so taxis are highly recommended. Just pick one up at the airport and keep it for the day. Saba's taxi drivers are also great guides. The Road runs through the mountains and towns of Saba including The Bottom, Windwardside plus the village of Hell's Gate.

If you are spending the night, try the charming Queen's Garden Resort, built in local style and providing stunning views. It's also a picturesque place for a wedding and honeymoon. The bar/restaurant is a convenient stop for a refreshing drink in the garden setting.

Saba is ecofriendly, great for outdoor sports and ranks among the worlds top 10 dive spots. Dive with Sea Saba, Saba Deep and Saba Divers. On land, experience the excellent hiking trails ranging from moderate to "you better be in amazing shape." Mount Scenery, one of Saba's most beautiful hiking spots, offers amazing views. For trail information, drop by the Saba Trail Shop. Or take a boat trip around the island. Check at the Tourism Office for details on the boat ride.

Saba has a rich culture for such a small place. Get a glimpse of the island's domestic history at the Harry L. Johnson Museum, a restored local cottage. Visit the Catholic Church in The Bottom to see a local artist's magical version of the Sistine Chapel where each angel is modeled after a Saban child. If shopping is your sport, pick up a bottle of Saba Spice liquor or a piece of Saba lace, a specialty from Venezuela brought to the island by Gertrude Johnson. Each piece is handmade by local women. Drop into JoBean's studio for lovely hand-crafted glass jewelry and decorative art.

The ultimate souvenir of Saba is a piece of this tranquil, exclusive paradise. Marlena McGrath of Saba Island Realty understands what appeals to discerning buyers. Born on Saba and having lived and worked in the United States, McGrath is happy to help you settle into the unique, Old World Caribbean Saban lifestyle by patiently answering the many endless questions that American and European potential buyers often ask, as most are not familiar with the peculiarities of buying in Saba. Her advice is both practical and professional. If you choose to build on Saba, Saba Island Realty offers construction management consulting services. The company understands how to construct a building that is sensitive to the ecosystem and climate of Saba utilizing high performance solar and energy conscious design. For more information, contact Saba Island Realty at www.sabaislandrealty.com or call 599-522-8899 or 599-416-2954.

For dining, locals love lunch at In Two Deep at Fort Bay. Stop by Swinging Doors Restaurant in Windward Side for open-air dining with a barbecue style menu. Grab lunch at Tropics at Juliana's Hotel and take a dip in the pool. For a more formal experience, reserve at My Kitchen, Brigadoon, Rainforest Restaurant or The Gate House. Up for karaoke aka Sabaoke? Try Scout's Place on Fridays.

Hidden Treasure: Queen's Gardens Resort

The Queen's Gardens is Saba's leading luxury resort and is an upscale, casually chic yet elegant hotel which features twelve spacious one and two-bedroom suites, each occupying a complete floor. Dramatic views, fine cuisine and a staff that offers highly personalized service has earned Queen's Gardens a guest list that includes dignitaries and royalty.

Grandly presiding over The Bottom, the capital of Saba, Queen's Gardens is located in the exclusive and semi-secluded area known as Troy Hill. The Resort's elevation (it is perched majestically at 1200 feet above sea level) keeps the property in a refreshing and wonderfully cool and comfortable state due to the constant breezes flowing from the sea and off the mountains.

All Queen's Gardens guest suites have a panoramic view of the area which offers magnificent vistas of the rain forest, the mountains and the sapphire Caribbean Sea. Early morning mists can be seen rolling off the nearby mountains. The resort's gardens offer a full array of mature flora, including 100-year old Mango trees and local Saba fauna (and absolutely no mosquitoes).

For information, please call 599-41-634-94, or email info@queensaba.com. Visit the web site for full information, reservations and a complete album of images. Queen's Gardens

Sea Journeys by Will Johnson

As a boy growing up on Saba, I used to listen to the tales of the captains who had sailed the world and returned in their old age to spend their last days on the island. One of them, Captain Ernest Alfred Johnson, even wrote a much acclaimed manuscript of his adventures on the high seas.

Saba's maritime heritage goes back to the pirates who first settled the island. In 1629, the Spanish recaptured St. Kitts and dispersed the French and English settlers, who turned to piracy, and some settled on Saba. In 1665, Thomas Morgan (uncle of Sir Henry Morgan) with a group of the brethren of the coast from Port Royal, Jamaica captured St. Eustatius and Saba, and a good number of those pirates remained on Saba, as well.

Among the more well-known pirates who lived on Saba at one time or another were Henry Every (alias John Avery), Hiram Beaks (nephew of Governor Edward Beaks) and Daniel Johnson (also known as "Johnson The Terror" and someone I am compared to by my opposition from time to time). My father and grandfather were both named Daniel, a throwback to my pirate ancestor, and my great-great-grandmother Adrianna Every was the great-granddaughter of Henry Every. I tell people that I am in the same business as my ancestors. Most people look at politics as a modern day form of piracy at best.

After piracy was no longer fashionable, Sabeans continued their trade as captains of schooners, running goods to the rebellious colonies of North America. St. Eustatius was known as "The Golden Rock," and from there most of the trade with the colonies took place during the Revolutionary War. Even Benjamin Franklin wrote to a friend in London to send his mail via St. Eustatius as he would get it quicker that way.

Many captains from Saba forged links with shipbuilders in New England and became captains and part owners of many of the great square riggers, barkentines and schooners of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Schooners and other smaller craft were also built on Saba. Sir Frederick Treves (1908), like many other writers of the time, mistakenly assumed Sabeans were the descendants of Dutch settlers. The majority of the European part of the population were Irish, Scottish and English with a sprinkling of Dutch and French.

Sir Treves wrote: "Living aloft on their volcano, in a summit city called Bottom, these simple Dutch people who speak English reach the extreme of the improbable in the nature of their staple industry. They do not make balloons nor kites. They are not astronomers, nor are they engaged in extracting nitrogen from the atmosphere. They are, of all things in the world, shipbuilders, and shipbuilders of such merit that their boats and small craft are famous all over the Windward Islands."

Charles Kingsley (1871) wrote: "Saba rises sheer out of the sea some 3,000 feet or more, without flat ground, or even harbour. From a little landing-place to leeward a stair run up 800 feet into the bosom of the old volcano….They build boats up in the crater-the best boats in all the West Indies-and lower them down the cliff to the sea….."

It was in one of those boats-armed with the tales of the sea which I had heard from the old sea captains and the sea genes inherited from my pirate ancestors-that at the age of 13 I undertook my first sea voyage. The old sloop had no motor and we became becalmed and it took us some 28 hours to cover the 32 miles to St. Maarten/St. Martin.

We arrived there in the middle of the night and remained on board till the morning broke. Oh glorious morning when I beheld the lovely beach of Great Bay and the calm waters worshipping at the feet of the quaint little town known as Philipsburg. I have made many sea voyages since, but never one which stirred my imagination and wonder as much as that first one.

We are part of the natural world, and as island people, the sea has become part of us. Sabeans still make a living from the sea, supplying the lobster and red snapper the visitors of St. Maarten/St. Martin enjoy.

In ending, I would like to dedicate a poem by Elizabeth Clark Hardy to all those who will one day embark on that long final voyage to the place where the sea has an ending.

Some time at eve when the tide is low
I shall slip my moorings and sail away
With no response to the friendly hail
Of kindred craft in the busy bay
In the silent hush of the twilight pale,
When the night stoops down
to embrace the day
And the voices call in the waters flow
Some time at eve when the tide is low
I shall slip my moorings and sail away.

Through the purpling shadows
that darkly trail
O'er the ebbing tide of the unknown sea,
I shall fare me away with a dip of sail
And a ripple of water to tell the tale
Of a lonely voyager sailing away
To the mystic isle where at anchor lay
The craft of those who have sailed before
O'er the unknown sea to the unseen shore.

A few who have watched me sail away
Will miss away my craft from the busy bay
Some friendly barques
that were anchored near,
Some loving souls that my heart held dear
In silent sorrow will drop a tear,
But I shall have peacefully furled my sail
In mooring sheltered, from storm or gale,
And greeted friends who sailed before
O'er the unknown sea to the unseen shore.

To all those who come to our islands to enjoy the sea, I wish you Happy Sailing.

Queen's Gardens Resort
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