Saba

February 6, 2007 - Saba

In the imagination there exists archetypal exotic locals: windswept desertscapes, sweeping forests, endless glaciers. Among the many places the mind's eye creates is one of a lush volcanic island, complete with a rain forest, rolling mists, eighty-three degrees days, and brilliant blue waters. It is the reason people seek out Hawaii or Bermuda or the Virgin Islands.

For those same reasons, I came to Saba. An island to the west of St. Maartin, in the Netherlands Antilles, Saba is nearly perfect in its climate and tranquility. Red roofed houses with white-washed walls dot the hill sides in villages with names like The Bottom, Upper Hell's Gate, and Saint John. Waist-high stone walls line the narrow streets. Trees hang low enough to pick your own bananas, breadfruit, oranges, and ugli fruit.

I stay in Windwardside, a community of perhaps three hundred, nestled beneath Mt. Scenery, the volcanic peak wreathed in clouds. If parts of the island look familiar, it's because it has been used in films a few times, notably as part of the lush mountains in Jurassic Park and in the original King Kong, when they see Skull Island for the first time - a mysterious island cloaked by mist and clouds.

It's 80-something here. I'm not entirely sure since I haven't seen a thermometer since I got here. But it's nearly perfect with life-enriching sun, a gentle breeze, and a breath-taking view at every turn.

A great black bumblebee has landed on an enormous flower near me. It knows to enjoy life day by day. It chose a great place to do it.