Visiting Saba, the Caribbean Netherlands
🏖 Visiting Saba 🏖
The Caribbean Netherlands
By: Farina Dewan
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| Overlooking Saba's mountains and cities |
Hello! Have you ever noticed the most astonishing architecture in the Netherlands? The Netherlands is widely known for its Dutch architecture with a mixture of mini Imagine that, plus a vast mountainous greenery surrounding the island, a breathtaking volcano, in a luxurious, tropical climate! An amazing environment like this would make the perfect getaway!
Brief History
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| Map of Saba |
In addition to its favorable niche, this island also has a diverse culture linked to its Dutch, French, and Spanish roots. This island was home to a few indigenous groups called the Ciboney people, Arawak, and Amerindian tribes. However, the groups were driven out after Christoper Columbus discovered it in 1493.
During the colonization in the mid-fifteenth century, European settlers began settling in here and Sint Eustatius, a nearby island.
Places to Visit
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| Saba's beautiful cities surrounded by lush greenery! |
Saba is known for its tropical climate and exotic environment, which makes this island a paradise for someone who is an avid for adventurous activities! However, the downside for some will be that there are no beaches. The beaches aren't often used for swimming, because of the rocky shorelines and it has been protected to be a marine park. Fortunately, this brings opportunities for once in a lifetime opportunities such as wall diving with the sea turtles and humpback whales! Make sure you visit during the cooler months!😄
After spending all morning at the beach, taking a hike around the rain forests in the mountains are a great way to spend the evening overlooking the sea and cities! There are marked trails for visitors hiking up the mountains. If you don't quite feel confident exploring alone, then fear not! There will always be tourist guides and simpler trails in the rain forests. When you reach your destination, you'll get to relax in the tide pools and visit the historic ruins.
Specialty Foods and Drinks to Try!
Saba's cuisine are quite unique and is known for its guest houses and public restaurants. The two most known restaurants are: Brigadoon, a Mediterranean-influenced restaurant, and Swinging Doors, which is a steak house. This island also has some deserts and fruits that have quite uncommon names! They have foods such as Calaloo soup, which is a green soup with a thick consistency that is traditionally made from dasheen leaves, curried goat, soursop ice cream, breadfruit, and exotic fruits! Some of the fruits that are grown are mangoes, papayas, figs and bananas. For my folks twenty-one and above, you would definitely wouldn't want to miss trying Saba's very own rum brand, Saba Spice! This is made from unique ingredients such as: rum, aniseed, cinnamon, orange peel, cloves, nutmeg, spice bush, and brown sugar
It is also very important to not that the bills at restaurants and guest houses usually have surcharge of 20%, which covers the government taxes and services.
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| This is a Calaloo Soup made by Joanne! |
Cultures and Languages
One would definitely describe as Saba having diverse cultural background according to the different languages and people of different backgrounds. Since this island has ties to the Netherlands, the Dutch customs are followed in the former Netherlands Antilles.The official language is Dutch, and Papiamento, which is a blend of Portuguese, African, Spanish, Dutch, and English, is a commonly used "lingua franca". Because of the tourism, the US has had a great influence, especially considering the great number of US- owned businesses. Since the climate here is quite humid and warm, people are advised to wear comfortable, lightweight cotton.
Additional Resources
Ott, Sherry. "Google Image Result for Https://i0.wp.com/www.ottsworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/saba-island-00813.jpg?fit=900%2C600&ssl=1." Google Image Result for Https://i0.wp.com/www.ottsworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/saba-island-00813.jpg?fit=900%2C600&ssl=1. 23 Dec. 2020. Web.
"Explore Saba." World Travel Guide. 26 May 2019. Web. 03 Feb. 2021.
Harris, Jo Anne. "Saba." The Virtual Caribbean Library. Web. 03 Feb. 2021.
Perelman, Britton. "9 Experiences to Have on Saba Island." Passion Passport. 25 Feb. 2018. Web.
Rappos, Joanne. "Callaloo Soup - Joanne Style • Olive & Mango." Olive & Mango. 14 Mar. 2017. Web. 03 Feb. 2021.
Hello Farina, I just want to say that I love the detail and effort that you used in the presenting of your post. The post is well organized and is sectioned quite perfectly. As someone that has choose Saba Island as well I can tell that the information you present is in fact accurate and I will say the one thing that still suprises me is how many times the island changed over from Dutch, to French, to English,and Spanish rule so many times over the centuries. That is one of the reasons why the culture is so diverse because of all the different countries that have owned and settled on that island. It is also one of the reason why there are so many languages present on the Island.
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