Andrew & Cristina

What a dreary day today is! Days like this are rare here on Saba and they really throw me off. I was totally unprepared for this when I left home so I wore flip-flops and jeans. Needless to say, my jeans are now soaked up to my ankle. Yes, I know, there’s the world’s tiniest violin playing the world’s saddest song. Just for me.

I was going to write yesterday to complain about how my car died, but I held off on announcing that to the world. My car’s now running again and all it needed was to have its battery recharged. That was the last thing I needed to do yesterday, you now with the house upside down and two day’s worth of dishes piling up in the sink, but we had no choice. We got in the car and went for a 30 minute drive around the island. In the end it wasn’t bad at all because we got out of our routine and the ride reminded me of the fact that Saba is a really beautiful island when I take the time to look around. I sometimes forget that.

For those of you searching the web for “Saba Island roads”, they’re tiny and forever winding. I think the top speed here is 30 miles per hour, though I’ve heard of people who have managed to go well above that speed on the few stretches of road that are relatively straight. I wouldn’t recommend it for many reasons. First of all, there have been a few people who crashed off the side of the island and you don’t want that to happen to you, do you? Secondly, if you do get into a crash and you need serious medical care, you’ll need to be flown off the island in a helicopter that comes from several islands away. From what I hear, the helicopter also has to make a stop to refuel. Lastly, no matter how good of a driver you think you are, there are others on this road who aren’t that great and you have to watch out for them too. The fact that the accident wasn’t your fault won’t be of much consolation to you if your car makes it off the edge of the cliff. Don’t do it.