March 2013 – A Tangled Mind In Motion

The Winding Road Gathers Chess Playing Rock Rats

March 31, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged boats, Caribbean, diving, Fort Bay, Harbor, ocean, Ocean views, outdoors, photography, Saba, Sony NEX-6, Thais Hill, Tropical10 Comments

The Road Winds Down To Fort Bay, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

10am WinAir flight out on this sunny Easter Sunday, a fifteen minute jaunt over to Saint Maarten, where I’ll switch off to USAir, bop over to Charlotte, North Carolina, then across the expansive continental US, landing in San Francisco International Airport near midnight, a taxi to my brother’s place in Bernal Heights, a sleepover, then a BART train to the city, where I’ll walk a couple blocks to my loft, pick up my keys, drop my bags off, journey to Sacramento via Zipcar to retrieve my furry friends Snoopy and Lucy; they will meow the whole way back, no doubt, as they are unfond of car rides.

*Sigh* Exit island life, back to city life. Saba is an utterly lovely island. If you haven’t been, then go. You’ll see. If you have been, well, isn’t it about time you planned that return trip? In any case, put it on your bucket list, regardless, and find all the places I took my photos. See, a scavenger hunt challenge 😉

As for this blog, it probably transitions from a travel blog to a blog of adventures in SFO, though daily blogposts are unlikely to continue…that’s high commitment with regular life. But that’s ok, I imagine. One writer’s sojourn to the tropics becomes a traversal through quirky city life.

So long, and thanks for all the fish! See you in San Francisco…soon, I hope.

YACSCASOV: Trade You A Worthless Acronym For Your Boardwalk Deed

March 30, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, clouds, cottage, cottages, flowers, nature, ocean, Ocean views, outdoors, photography, Saba, sky, Sony NEX-6, Windwardside3 Comments

Windwardside House, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

Unfathomable acronyms, part IX. YACSCASOV – Hmm, this’un sounds almost Russian or Eastern European….but it stands for Yet Another Charming Saban Cottage And Stunning Ocean View. Well, drink it in, friends, ’cause I sure am. The time is nigh, I leave tomorrow morning for San Francisco, and I’ve cherished every great moment or conversation turn on this island. C’est la vie. Life moves ceaselessly forward, and I ride the train to wherever it’ll take me. I’ll be back, l’il island…don’t know when.

The Mountain God Shakes His Mighty Fist At The Shark That Nibbled On His Toes

March 29, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, cliffs, clouds, Fort Bay, nature, ocean, Ocean views, outdoors, panorama, photography, Saba, Sony NEX-6, Tent Reef1 Comment

Saba View From Tent Reef, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

One of the most stunning diving sites on the island of Saba lies literally in view of the harbor. A five minute boat jaunt out of Fort Bay gets you to Tent Reef, which has dynamic swim through channels, overhangs, deep walls, and abundant, brilliant beautiful reef and aquatic life. It remains a favorite of many of Saba’s dive instructors.

Saba itself shows its dry, rugged cliff sides from the Tent Reef dive boat; clicking to see the full sized picture, from left to right, you can see the triangular Tent Rock peaking above Great Hill, Paris Hill, Bunker Hill (the dominant foreground hill), a peak view of Thais Hill, the St John’s Flat with houses on the cliff, and finally, the lower Fort Hill above the harbor. You can also see the utility road that winds around from the harbor to the corner of the reef, the southwestern corner of the island. This is rugged, lovely country, constantly changing with the effects of wind, water, and other weather.

T-3 days, and not counting, honest. A final ramble up Mt Scenery via Bud’s Mountain Trail….it rained yesterday…a light long drizzle that didn’t fill cisterns, then harder last night, albeit a short rain. Bridge water until the rains of April, odds are.

Buddha Goes A Little Nuts Over Fiery Sunsets. Calm Down, Big Guy!

March 28, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, clouds, El Momo, nature, Ocean views, outdoors, photography, Saba, Sony NEX-6, sunset, views, WindwardsideLeave a comment

Sunset From The El Momo Cottages, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

Damn. I took this nice sunset photo from the desk of the main El Momo cottages office up on The Level, then saw the rug draped over the fence. Heck, it’s still a gorgeous view, let’s go wit’ it.

Wheels In Motion, So Is The Ocean, But The Clouds Go Kaput

March 27, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, clouds, cottage, cottages, outdoors, panorama, photography, Saba, Sony NEX-6, The Road, Windwardside3 Comments

The Road, Windwardside, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

T-5 and I’m headed home to San Francisco. 82 pages to the novel in progress. Scars from numerous hikes here….but happy to have’em. This cartoon-like picture of The Road leading to the English Quarter section of Windwardside has vehicles in it, which is usually a no no, but hey, it’s real life in Saba. As you can see, colors are vibrant in the village still, though they’re quite brown on the slopes, guts, and ridges below as a result of the drought. Even looking at my Dec-Jan photos of the island reminded me how dry it is here now vs how green it was in Dec. Brutal.

Damn The Torpedoes, Full Frigate On The Ocean Blue

March 26, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, clouds, Coast Guard, Fort Bay, Frigate, HMS Friesland, ocean, Ocean views, outdoors, panorama, photography, Saba, Sony NEX-61 Comment

The Dutch Coast Guard frigate HMS Friesland visited the island the past few days on a routine drug interdiction pass through the Caribbean Netherland islands; yesterday it dropped off around 40 hyper fit Marines to visit Saba, they all chose to walk or run up the steep road to Fort Bay, through The Bottom, St John’s, and into Windwardside.

On Being The Captain Of A Ship That Never Comes In

March 25, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged blue sky, Caribbean, clouds, Great Hill, Ladder Bay, nature, Ocean views, outdoors, panorama, photography, Saba, sailing, sea, Sony NEX-6, views2 Comments

Sailboat, Ladder Bay, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

Almost finished packing. Rounds of goodbye parties started. Rocked the Swinging Doors Open Mic night on Saturday. Not a bad weekend in Saba.

Bumper Boat And The Swellio Saba Sea

March 24, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, clouds, dive boats, Fort Bay, Harbor, ocean, Ocean views, outdoors, photography, Pier, Saba, Sony NEX-6Leave a comment

Fort Bay Pier Boat Bumper, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

At the end of Fort Bay harbor’s longest pier is this boat bumper, which I thought looked kinda cool, all the worse for its wear. Not all of my Saba photos are grandiose visions 😉

Cottage Cheese And The Pursuit Of Water Color

March 23, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, clouds, cottage, cottages, flowers, iPad, iPhoto, nature, outdoors, photography, plants, Saba, Sony NEX-6, Tropical, views, watercolor, WindwardsideLeave a comment

A simple picture (converted to watercolor) of three old Windwardside cottages, lined up neatly in a row in the foothills of Mt Scenery. Something so orderly and cool about the way these villages sit on top of the Auld Rock just appeals to me, call me crazy.

Life moves at its steady pace here on Saba as I start collecting boxes to pack, plan a few last hikes, finish up my remaining dives to say goodbye to the aquatic life, and of course, make the rounds to thank the locals, expats, and friends I’ve made along the way. Life is good.

The Winding Stairway Leads To A Gossiping Dodo Bird

March 22, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, jungle, nature, photography, plants, Saba, Sony NEX-6, stairs, views, Volcanic stone, WindwardsideLeave a comment

Volcanic Stone Stairway, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

Everywhere on Saba lie these ubiquitous stair steps made of volcanic rock hewn from the isle, including the Mt Scenery trail and countless other pathways in the four villages. Of course, they often lead to nowhere, formerly to terraced farms that have long since overgrown. C’est la vie. They are still uniquely Saban.