Welcome to Saba
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Welcome to Saba
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The difference was instantly noticeable, as soon as I woke up. We were definitely somewhere else. The boat was no longer just gently rocking, but churning and heaving. This was a lot worse than on Monday, but I struggled from my cabin, forced myself through breakfast (omelets), and even managed to stand through all of Captain's Storytime, as the ship pitched and rolled underfoot. Everyone in my group was planning on scaling Mt Scenery, and I'd also signed up for the afternoon's snorkeling. I took Kristine's advice and was already wearing my bathing suit on. A crowd gathered at the quarter deck waiting for the first launches. I was among them, praying to get onto solid ground as soon as I could. No offense to Saba and its inhabitants, but I dreaded having to stay on the ship in these waters.The harbor town was not much more than a row of buildings, at the foot of a steep rocky incline. The owner of Sea Saba told the snorkelers and divers to leave our gear on his veranda, assuring us it would be safe. A line of taxis awaited us. The license plates named the island "Unspoiled Queen". We got separated from my uncle, but he promised to meet us on the first taxi that returned. Our vehicle climbed the winding and narrow road. It was awfully disconcerting to realize the only thing separating us from a terrible plunge was a few inches of brick curbing; and even more disturbing to realize the only thing between us and death was the mood of the driver!Our driver took us a third of the way up Mt Scenery, telling us we'd thank him later. A few of us went on ahead, a few waited for my uncle. A man drove up in a truck, with a mule standing in the bed. He let the mule out and it fed on the grass. After a while, I decided to start my climb...and dedicated a major portion of my day to the getting up to the top. |  |  |  |
The 1064 steps were not uniform, like an Incan pyramid, but unevenly spread out along a lengthy and somewhat steep path. I couldn't help singing, and very soon panting, the words to the recent Jimmy Buffett duet "A thousand steps to nowhere / that is all I see. / My heart is beating madly / Mine too won't let me be." But I stuck with it, even if it meant taking breaks after every other step. |  |  |  |
My cousin Jim had informed me this was a cloud forest rather than a rain forest since, being so high up, it got its precipitation from cloud cover. This became evident as I neared the top. The view became hazy and the rock steps began to get slick. One area, where the path actually sloped down, was as slippery as ice.I started meeting people coming the other way, down from the top. I heard I was only minutes away, but at my current pace this proved much longer. But eventually I rounded a bend in the path and saw the huge radio tower at the top of the mountain. Kristine, during Storytime, had urged us to continue to follow the path as it went behind the tower. From there we would get the best view. Supposedly you can see all of Saba plus other islands beyond. All I saw was the whiteness of a cloud's insides. |  |  |  |
I sat for several minutes, waiting for the clouds to part. Geckos and lizards darted about the rocks on which I sat. A yellow box containing some notebooks was tethered nearby. I added my name to all the others, "Mickey <gasp><wheeze> Asteriou <hack><cough>". |  |  |  |
Because of the slickness and steepness, coming down was more treacherous than going up. My cousin Don had found a walking stick, but every bough I found was sodden and hollow. So I had to climb down gingerly, step by step, taking even longer than before. My "radar" gave out on me once and I slipped, landing on my hind end and elbow, adding a scratch to the side of my camcorder. |  |  |  |
I finally made it down at around around two:o'clock. I can't remember when we started, but I think it was around ten or eleven. My uncle and my second cousin Bobby were waiting on the street. They had tried starting from the bottom (not waiting for a taxi) but had given up before they would've reached us. I missed lunch and I also was missing the start of the snorkeling. I went to the tourism office for my certificate, came close to buying an "I Climbed Mt Scenery" t-shirt at a nearby shop, and waited for a taxi to take us down.The taxi ride took a while. Some fellow passengers were with us and they talked the driver into taking quick shopping stops. If I hadn't been so completely exhausted this might've been frustrating. The launch was just leaving as we arrived, but I missed it since I had to stop at Sea Saba and look for my snorkeling gear. It was sitting, all by itself now, on the bench on the storefront's veranda. I walked around by the rocky shore and waited for the next launch to take me back to Polynesia. |  |  |  |
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