Photographs of Saba

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Saba is a small island just off St Martin. It is the peak of a submerged extinct volcano (Mount Scenery (888 m)), and is the highest point of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. With only one road ('The Road') and a population of less than 1500, Saba is the most unspoilt of The Netherlands Antilles. The inhabitants claim that visitors are so few that each one is something of a celebrity and I agree (especially when you go out of season, like I did).
The runway is cut into the side of the cliff and landing here is a little like I would image landing on an aircraft carrier to be - with a need to stop suddenly before you fall off the end. It is the shortest commercial runway in the world.
Usually the villages and towns on Caribbean Islands have been gathered together along the shore line or in a valley. Here there isn't any shoreline suitable for housing (just steep cliffs into the sea). The houses were perched on the hillside by the side of the road. Windwardside is a village nestling in the dip. All the houses are painted white with red roofs. The green trees on the higher slopes and the brown scrub and rocks leading down to the bright blue sea contrast strongly with the red roofs and white paint of the houses. It is very colourful.