April Break Part II - SABA Day 1

Mt Scenery - only clouds in the sky were right on the summit all day

Leaving St Maarten

 

 

 

Coming in alongside the mountain in Saba

During the break we spent an overnight on the neighboring island of Saba. We can see this island on most days from where we live, so we definitely wanted to check it out. Saba is known for its hiking and diving, with some of the top dive sites in the world. This trip we focused on the hiking as I am not yet scuba certified, though we plan to return for diving soon.

We decided to take the plane over instead of the ferry. We've been told it's worth the extra money for the experience and it definitely was!  As you can see from the pictures, the runway is very short and has cliffs into the water at both edges, so the breaks definitely need to work. After landing safely we checked into our hotel and dropped our stuff off. The hotel is about half way up the island. We decided to summit that day. We made a few detours to other lookout points along the way and had some amazing views. Unfortunately the summit was covered in a cloud, so we couldn't see anything by the time we got there. It was still cool though and kind of eery. After having a snack at the summit we headed back down. The whole trip took about 3 hours (added time for a sprained ankle). We then spent the rest of the day relaxing by the pool, resting the ankle, taking full advatange of hot showers and cable tv!! It really is the little things at this point. So that was day one. Look for day two soon! Enjoy the many pictures.

Saba's Cliffs

Coming in for the landing, quite the experience!

Lots of different flowers

Much more tropical then St Maarten

Huge leaves all over the hike

Rock walls with moss all over too

View from half way of one of only three towns on the whole island

Half way up the mountain photo op

View of our Hotel from half way

Reflective Moments

St Eustatius

Views from the hike

Summit Photo Op

Most of the hike was like this

Owen with the stats on the climb

View from lunch at our hotel

April Break Part I

Beautiful Sky

For the semester break we decided to stay on island and enjoy what it has to offer. It is a much different place when you can vacation like a tourist and not have to study all the time. It was also a very relaxing time and gave us a chance to really spend time together having fun. We had some friends that stayed too that we got to hang out with. I'm very glad we stayed this break, I think everyone should take some time to really enjoy the island.

Here are some highlights from our break (Saba will be another post). We said goodbye to some friends who were heading back for clinicals. These sunset pictures of from their deck the last night. Next set of pictures are from the fish market held every Saturday in the French capital, Marigot. This was our first trip and it was very cool to see all the fish, fruits, spices, etc. The last bunch of pictures are from a boat cruise we took from the nearby harbour to Philipsburg to watch the Carnival parade. It was an interesting experience with a lot of feathers. Our last big highlight was a "discover" scuba dive. This was a test run for me to see if I could do it and possibly get certified, Owen already is. Unfortunately we don't have any pictures from the dives since we have yet to get an underwater camera, but definitely by next time we will! It was a great time, we saw 3 sting rays (1 was huge!), 2 green sea turtles which were beautiful, a moray eel, and lots of different types of fish. I will now be getting certified in the coming months, hopefully so we can return to Saba for diving a few of the top spots in the world!

Royal Caribbean in the backgroud, sorry it's so dark

Overall it was a great break. We got to experience a lot of different things, as well as relax on some different beaches. We also got to do some shopping in Philipsburg, catch up on household projects, and spend Easter with a friend and her parents. Though we missed everyone back home, it was a much needed few weeks which has allowed us to appreciate the island even more and go into the new semester refreshed. You should all start planning your trips now! Stay tuned for pictures from our trip to Saba in the next post.

Beautiful colors in the sunset that night

On the way to the fish market at 5:45am, a rare time we're up for sunrise!

Marigot Harbour

We bought one of these for dinner with friends (no I did not eat it)

Most fruit I've seen on the island yet

Tons of local spice blends, sauces, etc.

On the boat to Philipsburg, the wind was crazy

More feathers than I can even say, but very colorful and interesting at Carnival

Boat cruise home with friends

Daily Life

"Front" of AUC

I've been promising pictures of our apartment and AUC for a long time now. The AUC pictures are all from Christmas time, though the only thing that gives that away is the tree in the rotunda. I finally took some pictures of our apartment so I can share them with you (sorry they're a little dark, lighting in here can be tricky). It's not very big but we've tried to make it cozy and welcoming. Of course putting these up doesn't mean you don't have to come visit now ;) 

We have been staying busy lately, Owen's semester has been winding down and he's been studying a lot. They have the last set of exams and then finals within a week of each other so it's a lot of work to end the semester. I have been busy reorganizing the spouses group as the new VP and making sure we start off strong. I'm excited for the changes we're making and think it will be a great semester. I also recently attended a conference on Autism and Learning Disabilities in Young Children. It was hosted at the local university (St Martin, not AUC) and there were visitors from nearby islands attending as well. It was a very interesting day and a great chance to learn about the resources and needs for children in this country. I also was able to do some networking and am hoping to have some great opportunities come out of it. 

Anyway Owen is in the middle of finals as I write this, he will be on vacation by 4pm tonight! We'll be staying on island for the two week break, doing some snorkeling, exploring, diving (Owen), and hopefully a little getaway to a neighboring island or two. I'm sure we'll have lots of fun things to tell about after the break as well as an update from Owen now that he'll actually have a little time to write on here. We hope you are all doing well, keep in touch!

View of the Lagoon from AUC

Rotunda (at Christmas)

Owen's classroom

The real front of AUC, this is what we see when entering

Our Apartment Building (32 apts)

The door to our apartment, the laundry room is just around the corner

Our amazing car

From our front door, all 495sq ft of it

Living "room"

Kitchen

little bathroom but huge shower

Bedroom with balcony  

Another view of the bedroom

Life on an Island

Another update with mostly pictures (since I know that's what people are most interested in). But first things going on down here. Owen had another set of exams, he now has 2 left in 4 weeks and then a 2 week break (yay!!). He just started Introduction to Clinical Medicince, which focuses on patient interviewing and histories. I continue to tutor and will be Vice President on the board for the spouses group for the next couple semesters. We will be staying here over the April break and hopefully doing some island hopping. We also are officially going to South Africa over the August break for a medical missions trip, details to follow soon in a post from Owen. That's about all that's happening here. Onto the fun part, pictures!

from the regatta, notice the Heineken bottle

The first handful are from our favorite hike on the island, really one of the only hikes there are. It follows the coast line on the northwestern side of the island and brings you to a secluded beach, Petite Caye, only accessible from the hike. The next bunch are from the 31st Heineken Regatta, held the first weekend of March. We went to a nearby beach to watch the boats pass. The last are from a sunset recently, we often get beautiful sunsets from that beach. So over all, life on an island isn't too bad. We get to enjoy all the beautiful scenery and experiences. 

Titamare in the background, an island of St Martin

most of the hike is on coral, this is the only dirt section

The secluded beach

Cool piece of drift wood (and us)

Cacti on the hike, it's very arid on that side of the island

Cotton grows all over the island too

View from our apartment building

Airplane coming in for landing, just over the boats

Spinnaker (a sail boat with the this style front sail)

the beach/cliffs we watched from

Saba in the background