cardzard
Contributor
Ok so we are a little late posting a trip report SORRY but we have been very busy.
First we would like to say that we had GREAT time with all members on this trip. Many of you were old and dear friends but the new friends we made felt like old friends.
This trip was filled with stories and memories that will last for years.
First stop was the Royal Turtle hotel where we passed the day drinking and chatting in the pool which was later followed by a very nice dinner and some guy covered in feathers. You had to be there to understand the feather guy. The rooms were nice and everyone got a good nights sleep expect for 1 UNNAMED member that joined the feather guy in karaoke and was later seen naked in the pool retrieving Joyce's bracelet. The hotel changed the breakfast starting time so we missed out on that but the cab arrived early and we headed to the ferry which took 2 trips for 8 people and our luggage. Think we packed enough stuff ?
The Edge ferry
We arrived early and waited, welcome to the islands but the ride over to Saba so incredibly smooth compared to the report we had heard from past trips we felt like we were on the wrong boat. We passed the 1hr 15 min ride talking to a young couple who's family had lived on Saba since the 1700's. They were the glad to share many facts and history of the island with us which was a real treat. The view as we approached the island was SPECTACULAR to say the least. Primeval would be the best way to describe the island with its crown of clouds. We said goodbye to the young couple as we docked and were soon standing on the dock and our luggage was getting unloaded.
We were met at the dock by the owner of Sea Saba John, who loaded all our luggage and had van to take is to our hotel. This was the first hint at the service which his dive op provided to our entire group throughout the week. The ride from the dock to the hotel was a true E ticket ride and we enjoyed the spectacular view. The road from the dock was a winding 1500' climb to our hotel "Juliana's" which is located in the town called Windwardside. The road itself is a true piece of engineering which took 25 years to build and according to (Peddy our taxi diver) they will never stop working on some part of it. It was in spots VERY steep and VERY narrow but we soon learned to we had the best taxi drivers on the island.This was a trip we repeated everyday to dive. We all took turns in the front seat to enjoy the views and by the end of the week even Marvel was ready to ride shotgun. THANK YOU Gravis & Peddy
Juliana's hotel
We arrived at the hotel and were met by Johanna & Karen and the staff who quickly guided us to our rooms and gave us a welcome package with 2 free drinks and lots of information about the island. Once we got settled into our room we took time to enjoy the INCREDIBLE view which this resort has in every direction. The entire town is very picturesque with almost every building having a red roof, white walls, green trim and gingerbread details, they were spreadout throughout the slopes and valleys. Our room was very clean, comfortable had A/C and the water was hot, our bed was big and comfortable. Who could ask for more ? We ate breakfast every morning at the Tropics which was included in our package. They had a large selection and the food was always good. They even opened the restaurant early at 5:30 am on our departure day to send us on the trip home with a full belly.Whether it was the group dinner and party or movie night everything went off flawlessly. The level of service that Wim & Johanna and their staff & dogs provided to our group was awesome. We would stay there again in a heartbeat and enjoyed every minute spent there.
Mt Scenery
Our group of 6 (Mike,Joyce,Duke,Judy,Roxanne and myself) decided they we should climb the mountain before diving to avoid any issue with DCS. The trip up the mountain was long and filled with many rest breaks but was something that we are very proud of that we completed. This hike is tough(altitude and steep grade) but the fact we fought thru it and reached the summit was awesome. Although the clouds did not clear while we were at the top that did not dampen our celebration. We all did the Adventures salute and a loud KONGALUSH while soaking in the fact we were walking in the clouds.
Sea Saba
I must say this is a dive op that understands divers. From the time we were met on the dock until we said our last goodbyes these folks had all the bases covered. The boat was large enough for our group of 16 without any crowding and had multiple exit points and a fins on ladder to get back into the boat. The boat staff Tom,Kat,Troy,Kelly were always ontop of everything happening on the boat and never to busy to help or just chat. I don't think that you could ask for a finer crew. The dive briefings were very thorough and diver counts were preformed at the dock and after every dive. The crew took turns leading dive for those who wished to follow but let those who wished to do their own thing the freedom to do so. Almost all dives were NDL timelimits they just asked you to be back on the boat with 500 psi. The diving was some of the best we have ever done and the coral IMO is by far in the best shape we have EVER seen in the Caribbean.
It was was rare to see and bleached or dead coral and I cant remember seeing any fungus or stripping. The only stressed coral was in the hot zone areas which was were you could stick you hand in the sand and feel the heat from activity below. The marine life was plentiful and the viz was 75'-150' depending on the site. The structure here is on a LARGE scale and one of the things we enjoyed the most. The pinnacles are only a small part and the wild side of the island has dramatic landscapes which continue underwater and into the abyss. Diving old lava flows in the sea and boulders bigger than you house was a real treat. Each dive site had something for you to talk about or just play over in your head. The underwater area of Saba is truly AMAZING.
Amazing is the perfect word for Lynn (Johns better half) she met us every morning and not only made sure our diving was going smooth but tipped us to the best places to eat and when. She was like your mom (in a good way) making sure we reservations at restaurants, checking planes,ferry's and making sure things could not be easier. I can honestly say this dive op knows how to pamper a diver. THANK YOU LYNN
Saba the island
Everywhere we went the people were friendly and the views were stunning. Although this island has changed from the first settlers it still has a charm and feel that make you understand why they settled here. A dormant volcano on the edge of the Atlantic ocean is like saying I live in paradise both above and below water.
The ferry DAWN 2
This was the only bad part of the trip for 2 reasons
Reason #1 they don't get it. They took payment from 10 of our group and then put their boat into dry dock. This left us without any way to reach Saba on day 1 and forced us to pay for a hotel in St Martian. Not only did this cost us money we also lost a day on Saba since all plane tickets and reservations had been made for months. I could understand if this was for emergency repairs but they did this for routine maintance.Taking money then giving us only a little over 30 days to find another way to reach the island is UNACCEPTABLE. They really could care less and I can only hope that kind of karma will return to them doubled.
Reason #2 Their boat is slow and rough and the crew could care less whether you were on the boat or not. They never talked to us or had a safety briefing but what else should I expect since their leadership could care less also. IMO avoid using this ferry if there is any way possible.
To our group
Hang on gang, Roxanne and I are slowly going thru all the pictures and should have something to make everyone smile soon.
summary
WE LOVED SABA AND WOULD RETURN IN A HEARTBEAT
First we would like to say that we had GREAT time with all members on this trip. Many of you were old and dear friends but the new friends we made felt like old friends.
This trip was filled with stories and memories that will last for years.
First stop was the Royal Turtle hotel where we passed the day drinking and chatting in the pool which was later followed by a very nice dinner and some guy covered in feathers. You had to be there to understand the feather guy. The rooms were nice and everyone got a good nights sleep expect for 1 UNNAMED member that joined the feather guy in karaoke and was later seen naked in the pool retrieving Joyce's bracelet. The hotel changed the breakfast starting time so we missed out on that but the cab arrived early and we headed to the ferry which took 2 trips for 8 people and our luggage. Think we packed enough stuff ?
The Edge ferry
We arrived early and waited, welcome to the islands but the ride over to Saba so incredibly smooth compared to the report we had heard from past trips we felt like we were on the wrong boat. We passed the 1hr 15 min ride talking to a young couple who's family had lived on Saba since the 1700's. They were the glad to share many facts and history of the island with us which was a real treat. The view as we approached the island was SPECTACULAR to say the least. Primeval would be the best way to describe the island with its crown of clouds. We said goodbye to the young couple as we docked and were soon standing on the dock and our luggage was getting unloaded.
We were met at the dock by the owner of Sea Saba John, who loaded all our luggage and had van to take is to our hotel. This was the first hint at the service which his dive op provided to our entire group throughout the week. The ride from the dock to the hotel was a true E ticket ride and we enjoyed the spectacular view. The road from the dock was a winding 1500' climb to our hotel "Juliana's" which is located in the town called Windwardside. The road itself is a true piece of engineering which took 25 years to build and according to (Peddy our taxi diver) they will never stop working on some part of it. It was in spots VERY steep and VERY narrow but we soon learned to we had the best taxi drivers on the island.This was a trip we repeated everyday to dive. We all took turns in the front seat to enjoy the views and by the end of the week even Marvel was ready to ride shotgun. THANK YOU Gravis & Peddy
Juliana's hotel
We arrived at the hotel and were met by Johanna & Karen and the staff who quickly guided us to our rooms and gave us a welcome package with 2 free drinks and lots of information about the island. Once we got settled into our room we took time to enjoy the INCREDIBLE view which this resort has in every direction. The entire town is very picturesque with almost every building having a red roof, white walls, green trim and gingerbread details, they were spreadout throughout the slopes and valleys. Our room was very clean, comfortable had A/C and the water was hot, our bed was big and comfortable. Who could ask for more ? We ate breakfast every morning at the Tropics which was included in our package. They had a large selection and the food was always good. They even opened the restaurant early at 5:30 am on our departure day to send us on the trip home with a full belly.Whether it was the group dinner and party or movie night everything went off flawlessly. The level of service that Wim & Johanna and their staff & dogs provided to our group was awesome. We would stay there again in a heartbeat and enjoyed every minute spent there.
Mt Scenery
Our group of 6 (Mike,Joyce,Duke,Judy,Roxanne and myself) decided they we should climb the mountain before diving to avoid any issue with DCS. The trip up the mountain was long and filled with many rest breaks but was something that we are very proud of that we completed. This hike is tough(altitude and steep grade) but the fact we fought thru it and reached the summit was awesome. Although the clouds did not clear while we were at the top that did not dampen our celebration. We all did the Adventures salute and a loud KONGALUSH while soaking in the fact we were walking in the clouds.
Sea Saba
I must say this is a dive op that understands divers. From the time we were met on the dock until we said our last goodbyes these folks had all the bases covered. The boat was large enough for our group of 16 without any crowding and had multiple exit points and a fins on ladder to get back into the boat. The boat staff Tom,Kat,Troy,Kelly were always ontop of everything happening on the boat and never to busy to help or just chat. I don't think that you could ask for a finer crew. The dive briefings were very thorough and diver counts were preformed at the dock and after every dive. The crew took turns leading dive for those who wished to follow but let those who wished to do their own thing the freedom to do so. Almost all dives were NDL timelimits they just asked you to be back on the boat with 500 psi. The diving was some of the best we have ever done and the coral IMO is by far in the best shape we have EVER seen in the Caribbean.
It was was rare to see and bleached or dead coral and I cant remember seeing any fungus or stripping. The only stressed coral was in the hot zone areas which was were you could stick you hand in the sand and feel the heat from activity below. The marine life was plentiful and the viz was 75'-150' depending on the site. The structure here is on a LARGE scale and one of the things we enjoyed the most. The pinnacles are only a small part and the wild side of the island has dramatic landscapes which continue underwater and into the abyss. Diving old lava flows in the sea and boulders bigger than you house was a real treat. Each dive site had something for you to talk about or just play over in your head. The underwater area of Saba is truly AMAZING.
Amazing is the perfect word for Lynn (Johns better half) she met us every morning and not only made sure our diving was going smooth but tipped us to the best places to eat and when. She was like your mom (in a good way) making sure we reservations at restaurants, checking planes,ferry's and making sure things could not be easier. I can honestly say this dive op knows how to pamper a diver. THANK YOU LYNN
Saba the island
Everywhere we went the people were friendly and the views were stunning. Although this island has changed from the first settlers it still has a charm and feel that make you understand why they settled here. A dormant volcano on the edge of the Atlantic ocean is like saying I live in paradise both above and below water.
The ferry DAWN 2
This was the only bad part of the trip for 2 reasons
Reason #1 they don't get it. They took payment from 10 of our group and then put their boat into dry dock. This left us without any way to reach Saba on day 1 and forced us to pay for a hotel in St Martian. Not only did this cost us money we also lost a day on Saba since all plane tickets and reservations had been made for months. I could understand if this was for emergency repairs but they did this for routine maintance.Taking money then giving us only a little over 30 days to find another way to reach the island is UNACCEPTABLE. They really could care less and I can only hope that kind of karma will return to them doubled.
Reason #2 Their boat is slow and rough and the crew could care less whether you were on the boat or not. They never talked to us or had a safety briefing but what else should I expect since their leadership could care less also. IMO avoid using this ferry if there is any way possible.
To our group
Hang on gang, Roxanne and I are slowly going thru all the pictures and should have something to make everyone smile soon.
summary
WE LOVED SABA AND WOULD RETURN IN A HEARTBEAT
