THE LEEWARD ISLANDS, “CARIBBEAN UNPLUGGED”

SABA, “THE UNSPOILED QUEEN”

BY CLAY LARROY

Do you feel like it is time for a short vacation? The Caribbean is a wonderful vacation destination. Once you decide to travel, how good you plan the trip will help you feel comfortable and be comfortable at your destination. Not only will you feel less anxiety before the trip, but you can rest assured that once you arrive where you're going you will have a good understanding of what's going on there.  When you need to plan a vacation contact me!

Saba sits majestically at the peak of a submerged extinct volcano. As such, the island abounds with stunning vistas of dramatic cliff faces and spectacular rocky shorelines. With only one road ('The Road') and a population of less than 1,500, Saba is the most unspoiled island of the former Netherlands Antilles, and the superb preservation of the island's unique ecosystem has earned it the nickname of 'The Unspoiled Queen'.

In fact, until 50 years ago, Saba was a secluded oasis, having neither an airport nor a sheltered harbor. There are four villages, which until recently were only connected by thousands of steps cut into the rock. A road now links the airport with the island's capital, The Bottom. The Bottom is situated 250m (820ft) above the ocean on a plateau surrounded by volcanic domes.

Saba, a special municipality of The Netherlands, was a member of the Netherland Antilles until it was dissolved on 10 October 2010.

Saba was sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1493, by Sir Francis Drake in 1595 and by two Dutch expeditions in the 1620s. In 1632, a party of Englishmen was shipwrecked on the tiny island and found it uninhabited, although there were traces of Carib occupation. Permanent settlement by Europeans did not occur until the second half of the 17th century, when the Dutch were consolidating their Caribbean empire, based on Curaçao. The settlers founded an agricultural economy with sugar and indigo as the key crops. The decline in these markets forced the population to maintain their modest prosperity through fishing and embroidery which, together with low-key tourism, remain the major sources of income. 

The island changed hands 12 times between 1632 and 1816, when it was finally confirmed as a Dutch possession. As part of the Netherlands Antilles, Saba gained partial independence from The Netherlands in 1954. The issue of the Antilles' constitutional status never left the political agenda, however, and was the subject of a referendum on the three Windward Islands in 1994. All three voted to remain within the Antilles but Saba registered the largest majority of 91 per cent.

The socialist Frente Obrero Liberashon (Workers' Liberation Front) won the largest number of seats in the 2002 general election, but was excluded from office by a four-party centre-right coalition led by the Partido Antia Restruktura (PAR, Party for the Restructured Antilles). The PAR, based on the island of Curaçao, dominated Antilles' politics since its formation a decade ago.

After the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, Saba became a special municipality of The Netherlands and is under the direct administration of the European country. Saba adopted the U.S. dollar as its currency on 1 January 2011, replacing the Netherlands Antillian Guilder.

Getting There By Air

Airlines serving Saba include Winair ( www.fly-winair.com). The main airport is Juancho Yrausquin (SAB) at Cove Bay. The runway, at 400m (1,300ft) is one of the shortest in the world.

REFERENCE SITES

http://www.travelresearchonline.com/

            “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” 

                                                                       Gustave Flaubert

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