Sony NEX-6 – Page 2 – A Tangled Mind In Motion

The Knack Of Flying Lies In Learning How To Throw Yourself At The Ground And Miss

April 21, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged 747, airplanes, airport, aviation, Caribbean, clouds, jet planes, ocean, Ocean views, outdoors, panorama, photography, Saint Maarten, Sony NEX-6, transportation1 Comment

Many tourists on Sint Maarten like cram themselves into a small stretch of beach across the street from the airport landing strip, where large jet planes come in over the water and land dramatically. Moreover, it’s even crazier to see them line up to align with the jet wash from planes taking off, and get blown all over the sand and into the turquoise waters like human beach balls, kinda like that scene from the movie Pushing Tin, where Billy Bob Thornton entices John Cusack’s character to get thrown into the air by jet wash.

It was a stormy, overcast Easter day when I left Saba, which is a 12-15 minute prop flight over to Sint Maarten. Since i had a few hours before my plane took off, I walked over to this a beach cafe with the Canadians Ingrid and Harry (they come to Saba to help Crocodile James maintain the trails), who were also on their way home, and we sat back and watched the fun.

Living At Risk Is Jumping Off The Cliff And Building Your Wings On The Way Down

April 20, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, cliffs, cottage, cottages, flowers, Forest, jungle, Mountains, nature, ocean, Ocean views, outdoors, panorama, photography, plants, Saba, Sony NEX-6, WindwardsideLeave a comment

East Dropoff, Windwardside, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

Oh, I loves me the Ray Bradbury quote that makes up this blogpost subject line. I’d like to think that the four month sabbatical I took on Saba and the months around it comprise a crossroads of sorts, and after a few discussions with my closest friends, it certainly has that possibility.

It’s not that easy to get to the dropoff in this picture, due to the dense vegetation that surrounds the occupied core of Windwardside village. You have to ramble down the winding rolling Road until you get to the English Quarter (the eastern settlement side of Windwardside), where you can make some cut throughs or paths you can take OR you have to have friends in cottages perched on the tops of the cliffs, which are many, relative to the general population. Regardless, the views from virtually anywhere in Windwardside range from the benign to the spectacular, typical of this l’il island that could.

Subtract Color From The Rainbow Before You Wash Your Hands In That Gray Water

April 19, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, Fort Bay, outdoors, photography, power plant, Saba, Sony NEX-63 Comments

Saba’s power plant, looking like a relic from the dawn of the Industrial Age, up close and personal an desaturated to a grayish black and white, with the color of the cliffs behind it. It continues to chug along its diesel self, except when it doesn’t, and then the island goes eery black if its night time, or just a little quieter if its daytime. It works.

Your Heartbeat Is Music That Assures You Will Survive Even When The Whole World Leaves You Alone

April 18, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, cliffs, cottage, cottages, dutch caribbean, eddie hassell, flowers, nature, ocean, Ocean views, outdoors, photography, recollection, Saba, Sony NEX-6, St. John's, swinging doors, Thais Hill, The Bottom, views1 Comment

Victor and His House, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

Victor is a well known face to Saban locals, hitching rides back and forth between his house in St John’s (shown here), The Bottom, and Windwardside. He’s related to Eddie Hassell of Swinging Doors back through generations, and he has an fascinating history on Saba that’s a story in itself, tangled up in dark mystery and rumors, and a long stint in a mental home (he’s been out for many years). I got the sense that the island looks after Victor in a subtle way. In all my conversations with him–and there were many–I never found him the least bit violent, odd or strange. He’s a very low key fellow, smiling and generally happy, remarkably articulate in one on one conversation, friendly, and openly talks about his past if asked. The one memory he does continue to bring up is that of a lost love he had and was engaged to marry, only to have it dissolve through events out of his control. Of course, all of this is his recollection, but I tended to believe him, as he was remarkably consistent on the details. Victor’s house sits below Thais Hill, at the start of the switchbacks that descend to The Bottom. If you visit Saba, you are almost certain to run into him…wave and say hi, and he will wave back, as so many friendly Sabans will.

Strong Heart And The Palm Tree That Shrugs And Smokes Ciggies

April 17, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, jungle, Mountains, Mt Scenery, nature, outdoors, photography, Saba, Sony NEX-6, Tropical1 Comment

Palm Tree, Mt Scenery, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

On the final jaunt up Mt Scenery before I left the island, rambling up Bud’s Mountain Trail on the way to Mt Scenery, there was a break in the canopy and a couple palm trees stark against the sky. Don’t ask me why I processed this in this color, probably desire for variety more than anything.

Toddling As Close To The Edge As You Can Without Falling Over

April 16, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, Fort Bay, ocean, Ocean views, outdoors, photography, Saba, Sony NEX-6, The EdgeLeave a comment

The Edge Docked At Fort Bay Harbor, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

Missed you, blog amigos, but I’ve got very few quality pictures left of Saba, so figuring out how to transition this to a general photo blog and archive off just the Saba pictures so they’re still accessible.

In the meantime, here then is The Edge, one of two ferries that shuttle folks between Saint Maarten and Saba.

Toodles!
Chaz

Duck Billed Platypus Slaps His Dancing Tail In Big Sky Country

April 12, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, cliffs, clouds, Giles Quarter, Hiking, Mountains, Mt Scenery, nature, outdoors, panorama, photography, plants, Saba, Sony NEX-6, views, WindwardsideLeave a comment

Looking Up Ridge Below Dancing Place Trail From Giles Quarter, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

This pic is from the bone dry days of early March in Saba, rambling along the Giles Quarter coastline and aiming the camera up past the ruins of the old beekeeper rocks, the cloud on the edge of Mt Scenery to the left, Peak Hill in the center, Booby Hill and The Level to the right. Note how very dry this is….it hardly even resembles the Caribbean.

Raincloud Horizon On A Saban Easter

April 10, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged airport, april showers, Caribbean, caribbean isle, clouds, cottage, cottages, dutch caribbean, Hells Gate, nature, ocean, Ocean views, outdoors, panorama, photography, rain, raincloud, rainclouds, Saba, Sony NEX-6, Tropical, views2 Comments

Raincloud Horizon, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

As readers of my blog know, Saba has been in a drought condition for quite a while. The day I left the island, it was raining steadily on Easter Sunday, as it had the day before, some respite to the parched little Caribbean isle. I snapped my last shots from the balcony of Tricia and Michael Chammaa’s apartments in Lower Hell’s Gate, and managed to get this gorgeous and dramatic horizon.

Here’s to many more rainy days like this for my Saban friends. April showers and all that good stuff.

The Blue Arc Of Insanity Kisses The Sea Of Disdain

April 9, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, clouds, El Momo, Forest, Mountains, nature, ocean, Ocean views, outdoors, photography, Saba, Sony NEX-6, views, Windwardside1 Comment

Daytime View From El Momo Cottages, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

The views from El Momo Cottages on Saba don’t suck, the price is right, it’s vegetarian fare for dinner in an Eco friendly setting. What else could you want for a vacation getaway? Maybe a cuddly penguin?

Leprechauns Are Redundant Rascals In The Emerald City

April 8, 2013July 2, 2016Posted in SabaTagged Caribbean, dutch caribbean, ferns plants, Flora, flowers, gaming, Hiking, jungle, Mt Scenery, nature, outdoors, panorama, photography, Saba, saturation, Sony NEX-6, stone walls, transportation, Tropical, views, Volcanic stone3 Comments

The Path To Mt Scenery, Saba, Dutch Caribbean

Generally speaking, for Saba jungle images I took while I was there, I have to reduce the saturation of the color green, because it’s so incredibly green on your way up, it tends to blow out your eyes ability to pick out detail. I let the green be in this picture, so you can really get a sense of the kinds of jungle flora around you, on trees, ferns, plants, and the man made volcanic stone walls that line some of the hike to Mt Scenery. It’s the most strenous official trail on Saba, and I summited ten times during my four months there. I always discovered something new and delightful.

For those of you who’ve summited Mt Scenery, this particular structure is very distinct and unique on the scenery path. Care to guess where on the path it is?