St Eustatius (also known as “Statia”) and Saba, along with Bonaire make up the three municipalities of the Caribbean Netherlands. These two islands were some of our absolute favorites in the Eastern Caribbean. They are both very small in size (and population), but dramatic and wild with reef surrounding much of the area underwater. We enjoyed a quick whirlwind trip, complete with hiking, diving, and lots of violent rolling at night. Sleep not included.
Another island, another check-in
We both let out a sigh of relief after setting our anchor in 20 feet of clear water and sand. That was not a fun journey over. We made it though – that’s the important part. It’s about 3pm; one of those times where you don’t know whether it’s worth trying to check-in with customs and immigration today or just wait until tomorrow. When people operate on island time, 3pm is about the end of the workday. Given that there are approximately 5 boats in the anchorage (the ONLY anchorage on the island), it’s probably pretty easy to tell who the new kids on the block are. For this reason, I decide to launch the dinghy and at least attempt check-in procedures.
Guess what? The customs agent already left for the day. Since we only want to stay one night, though, and tomorrow is Saturday they have to call him back. Customs agents love being called back to work (not). The process ends up being relatively painless, though a bit strange. It’s customary that only one person go to shore to check in all individuals on the vessel. This time though I was asked why my crew (i.e. Matt) wasn’t with me. I offered to take the dinghy back to the large boat and pick him up, but by time we got back it’d really be closing time. The agent suggested that maybe someone should drive by our boat – to which I said absolutely, come on by. Apparently that was just a bluff, because he immediately retracted and said for this ONE time it would be okay. Good – I didn’t want them to notice a dog onboard anyways. Double bluff.
Next an agent asked me why we are visiting St. Eustatius. Thinking they were just making conversation, I go into a big spiel about how we want to visit as many countries as possible, and this is on our route north, and we heard the volcano hike is amazing, etc. etc. Apparently, they were looking for a short, more formal answer like “personal travel and leisure.” Ooops. That did seem to convince them, though, that I clearly mean no harm to the island and am just a tourist. I’m allowed to pay my fees and leave. This checking in and out of customs and immigration everywhere is pretty darn stressful.
Snorkeling the old wall
The old town wall that protected St Eustatius during the 17th century has since crumbled and receded into the sea. Today, you can enjoy snorkeling the remains – which happen to lie right at the front of the anchorage in 5-15 feet of water. After I get back from checking in, we suit up and slide into the water to check it out. Though not the prettiest reef in the world, it is quite nice and offers some good marine life. We spot lobster and turtles among the normal fish suspects.
We would really like to check out some of the dive sites around the island – diving is one of the main things St Eustatius is known for. Unfortunately, the waves are pretty rough out there. Plus we don’t have much spare time this evening before dark sets in.
Hiking the Quill volcano
My number one thing I want to do on Statia is hike to the crater of the Quill volcano. Many of the Eastern Caribbean islands have some sort of hike up a volcano, but this one stands out. The top of the volcano was blown off long ago, leaving a large crater indention behind. Today the crater is covered in large trees (many of them silk cotton trees) and lush flora. One of the more popular hikes at the Quill is actually going down into the crater (and then back up, of course). Being on a boat, we really hate having to put on socks and tennis shoes – but we’re making an exception today.
We take the dinghy into the town dock in anticipation of finding a taxi to drive us to the trail head. We spot a couple walking down the dock and politely ask them if they know where we might find a taxi. They inform us that we will definitely have to call one (they don’t just wait around), and suggest heading to the dive shop to get a phone number. Once at the dive shop they look at us like we are crazy to think we can just get a taxi at any time. There are only two on the island and they mostly work with the couple small hotels/villas on the island. So now what?
Luckily the dive shop crew point out that it’s only a mile or so walk to the trail head if you take the shortcut up to the upper town. Statia is a bit unique in that way – there is the lower town and upper town. The town is effectively built on the edge of a cliff; hence how you have two parts separated by very steep roads (and luckily for us – stairs). The “shortcut” is actually a second path for foot traffic (in addition to the stairs), directly behind the dive shop. It is similar to a wide hiking trail and actually very scenic winding through trees and lined with wild tropical flowers. It’s like the hike already started!
Once we make it to the upper town, we have a ways longer to walk along the paved streets before coming up on a large boulder confirming the Quill Trail is nearby. A short distance later is the actual trail head with a map. We wave to a small group of hikers huddled around the map and continue on, Monster leading the way. Already we’re enjoying the wildlife, having spotted goats, cows, and lots of hermit crabs.
After a couple miles we reach the edge of the crater. We evaluate the map and note that most people continue on down the crater from here, but we’re intriqued by the Panoramic Trail which continues up the side of the volcano and is said to offer spectacular panoramic views (i.e. the name). The Panoramic Trail turns out to be a bit tougher than we bargain for, but really, really fun. In a couple places, the trail is so steep that there are ropes for you to grab and pull yourself up with. In other areas, you are literally scrambling and climbing over boulders. Monster’s little legs are too short for much of the trail, but she’s content to be along for the ride in her bag. Once we arrive at the top, we are awarded for all the hard work. The views really are breathtaking.
On our way back down, we run into the group we spotted at the trail head earlier. A couple of them have decided to brave the Panoramic Trail as well. We spend several minutes chatting and swapping stories. The group is on an organized trip with their local scuba shop from New York, here for the main purpose of diving. Today is their last day (and no dives scheduled), so they decided to hike. We agree that we’d definitely return on a diving trip to this lovely island!
After bidding farewells, we continue on our way – Monster excited to running ahead again on a mostly smooth trail. We’re keeping a close eye out for wildlife. Both types we want to see (come out monkeys) and types we’d prefer to avoid (stay away tarantulas). I spot a bright blue flying inspect lazily pass in front of us and instantly know we’ve spotted the scary “blue wasp.” These things feed on tarantulas! We walk a little faster down the rest of the trail.
Tangent: The “blue wasp” is actually the “pepsis ruficornis wasp,” or more common name “tarantula hawk.” These wasps rely on tarantulas to survive and reproduce. After finding a tarantula, the wasp will sting it in the abdomen, which paralyzes the spider. Then the wasp lays an egg inside the spider. The egg hatches and then feasts on the spiders non-essential parts (the tarantula remains paralyzed).
The historical upper town
On our way back down from the Quill trail, we decide to extend our route a bit so that we can pass through the main part of the upper town. We are pleasantly surprised to find a collection of well-preserved historical buildings. It’s very quaint. We enjoy poking around and taking photos.
Eventually we find the “main stairs” which connect the upper town back to the lower town and the seaside. As we approach the stairs, we see they are blocked off by a gate. Initially, we wonder if we’re not supposed to use this route – but then, we spot a sign suggesting the gates are only to keep the goats out! We enjoy a quick laugh before continuing on our way.
No diving for us
Once in the dinghy on our way back home, we make a quick detour out to a couple of the nearby dive sites. We are just itching to get in the water here. All the sites are marked with mooring balls, which makes it so easy – (1) you can actually locate the site, which is the most difficult part, (2) you can tie up the boat. The water surface is really just too rough for us though, since we are going to snorkel and freedive. We decide we will have to pass and continue back to the boat. That’s okay, though, this will give us an earlier start towards Saba.
Tangent: In the 17th century, the local currency on Statia was blue beads. Yes – small, rounded glass beads, like you would use to make jewelry. Statia has a dark, rich history with slavery. It is considered by many to have been the epicenter of slavery in North America (and definitely the Caribbean) at one time. These blue beads were given as a type of reward to slaves by their owners for hard work. Slaves then used the blue beads as a type of currency to barter and trade. Throughout parts of history, it wasn’t just slaves that used the blue beads as currency. They were even used by the Europeans to purchase the slaves from Africa. The use of blue beads as currency spread throughout the Caribbean – Statia is thought to have the highest concentration since they were the center of the slave trade. Once slavery was admonished, the blue beads were too. It’s said that slaves flung their beads out into the ocean as a signal of freedom. Today you can search for remaining blue beads on the ocean floor. Legend has it that you don’t find blue beads, but rather they find you. If you’re fortunate enough to be found, you are allowed to keep the blue beads.
The dramatic Saba
We have a short, but bumpy, ride from Statia to Saba. As we approach the island, we are immediately engulfed by the dramatic, sharp cliff edges of the island. We’re also a bit confused how people travel around, and how in the world we are going to be able to safely stay on a mooring ball tonight. Saba – even more so than Statia – is known to be a very rolly place to be on a boat. The island is small and round, offering minimal protection from the wide open ocean waves and wind. We continue around the island to the designated mooring area and spot a handful of mooring balls; a couple of which already have vessels tied up to them.
We scout out the remaining moorings and choose one that we think *might* be more protected. These moorings are all in about 60 feet of water, so we’re at least thankful that some are open. I don’t know what you do if you show up and all moorings are full. On our boat at least we don’t carry enough chain to anchor in 60 feet of water!
I’m also not sure how we would be expected to get checked into customs and immigration from here. Online reviews suggest that you’re supposed to take your dinghy back around to the other side of the island (a couple mile journey) to where you can check-in. There is no way our poor dinghy could travel through these waves though. Fortunately, we don’t plan to check-in since it’s after hours and we’re only staying one night. Call us pirates.
A quick dive
We decide to use our last minutes of daylight getting at least a little time in the water. Saba has even better scuba diving than Statia, so it’s killing us a little inside to keep missing out. At least we can get in some freediving at one of the sites here. It’s not quite the same, but still amazing.
We tie up the dinghy to the dive site mooring and slide into the water. There are some sharp rocks sticking up past the surface, which help provide some protection from the oncoming waves. We enjoy a really nice dive/snorkel, spotting several nurse sharks and turtles. The sunset eventually chases us back out of the water.
Until next time
Over dinner we agree that one day we might try making it back to these gorgeous, remote islands – mostly for the diving. Though we’re a bit sad that our time visiting is so short, we’re mostly just thankful to have made it here at all. Majority of cruisers never make it to Saba or Statia, given how difficult the conditions are. We don’t have the *best* weather to be visiting either (still very strong trade winds), but thankfully we were able to make it work.
By morning, I’m kind of glad to just be getting out of here, though. It was such a rough night, and it’s pretty daunting to be facing out into open ocean. Fairly confident we can’t survive another night with no sleep, we stick to our original plan and continue on towards St. Croix.
Until next time, Saba.
