August 2011    Download the Entire Issue (PDF)

Vol. 26, No. 8   What's this?

Sea Saba, Juliana’s Hotel, Saba, Caribbean

unexpected gems on King Kong’s island

from the August, 2011 issue of Undercurrent  

Subscriber Content Preview
Only active subscribers can view the whole article

Dear Fellow Diver:

My expectations were modest as I slowly descended on my first dive off Saba. We'd been briefed that, like other volcanic islands, Saba's underwater geology was primarily algae-covered volcanic rock. Coral would be scarce. Furthermore, this checkout dive at Babylon allowed Dick and Briar to assess us in an unchallenging environment. But frankly, the issue for me was more technical: Would my new Nikon D7000 in its Aquatica housing work as I hoped?

So I didn't care that the first fishes I saw and snapped were a familiar yellow-tailed damsel, a little blue chromis and a coney. The pressure to take perfect pictures of rare fish was off. I stalked yellowhead jawfish rising from their holes in the sand and shot banded butterfly fish, blackbar soldierfish, redband parrotfish, black durgon, blue tang, honeycomb cowfish, bar jack -- all in the first 10 minutes. And I also experienced the unexpected: a bubbling, golden, warm, sandy bottom heated by Saba's somewhat dormant but active volcanic foundations. My allpurpose 60mm macro lens was fine for the reef fish and flamingo tongues, but couldn't capture the nurse shark and large sponges. I didn't need my Sub-Sea 10x diopter. Surfacing after more than an hour in the 81-degree water, we went on to our second dive, where it was much the same, yet my impressions were positive, in the manner of a nice vanilla ice cream cone. Better still, Sea Saba was true to its word about letting experienced divers dive their own profiles.

An unexpected new chapter on Saba began that night. My partner dined at Eden, where tables overlooked the lush outdoors which was lit by torches. My first surprise occurred when I asked what dark ales they served, expecting a Negra Modelo or some such. Instead, our waitress brought a bottle of Leffe Brune Dark Abbey from Belgium, a bittersweet, toffee-colored, malt brew from heaven. By night's end, we had split a wonderful grilled fish in a wine-based lobster sauce, a side of delightful sauerkraut mixed with grilled bacon and apple bits, and enjoyed more Leffe Brune. I was not shocked that the bill was about $110 with tip, considering what the food's transportation costs must have been....