Emily’s Musings

A few days ago, Hannah and I were driving into Windwardside (the main shopping village). She was in the front seat by me wearing an all pink outfit in her pink car seat. I am one of the “safe” parents that actually has a car seat for their kid. Most people just let their little ones roll around in the back seat. As I was driving around one of the many steep and curvy turns, I saw this decrepit old lady (who had to be at least 106) hitching a ride into town. Because hitch hiking is common and highly encouraged on the island, I pulled over to give her a lift, as I have done for many, many other people.

As she got in the car, I recognized her immediately. I had given her rides from Lower Hells Gate (where we both live) to Upper Hells Gate (where she likes to be dropped off) many times before. The walk to Upper Hells Gate is a lot like its namesake . . . Hell. It is exhausting for anyone to walk that distance up such a steep and curvy road. She got into the back seat, and looked at Hannah in front of her. “A little boy?” she asked. A LITTLE BOY??? Are you color blind? She is in ALL PINK and in a PINK car seat none the less! I proceeded to tell her, “No! She is a girl! Would I dress a boy in ALL PINK and put him in a PINK cars seat?” She then said, “Well, it looks like a boy to me.” I was fuming with anger at this point. Didn’t I rescue her from having to hike up the treacherous road to Upper Hells Gate? Wasn’t I doing her a favor? I said, “Well, she is entirely too beautiful to be a boy. Look at her eyelashes!” Again, she said, “I think she looks like a boy.”

Fortunately for her, we were at her stop by this time. As she got out, I decided to blame her socially inept personalty on being a crabby old lady who obviously doesn’t have a car. That alone would make me crabby! She is also native of the island and probably hasn’t been off the island much. Maybe I’ll just blame her mother for teaching her such bad manners! See if I ever pick her up again . . .

Do these fat cheeks look like they belong to a little boy? Come on!!!

I love the big coconut tree in our yard. Not only is it beautiful (and very photogenic), it produces great coconuts! There is something so manly about my husband climbing up the tree with a machete to chop down some coconuts for us to eat. Getting the coconuts down is the easy part. They are a lot of work to chop open for such a little fruit. But what do I care? My job is to sit and watch the “hunter” at work. Speaking of the “hunter”, he is out fishing tonight. Hopefully he brings home a good catch like Grouper or Red Snapper and not some other nasty fish. I look forward to hearing his “fish stories” tonight.

A freshly chopped coconut from our tree. Yum . . .

I had a full body massage and facial yesterday. Need I say more? For two solid hours, I didn’t have a care in the world. I came home quite tired and I wanted a nap. It’s exhausting to lie on a table, motionless, while someone else puts all their energy and strength into your muscles! I know what I want for Christmas: A full body massage and facial on the beach (Shoal Bay Beach on Anguilla to be exact) under a white satin canopy listening to the ocean. Hot rocks and everything . . . David, are you taking notes?

We were one of the “lucky” islands that got to experience “Hurricane Dean” last week. Our friends, Daniel and Lydia, were on Saba to experience this with us. The island took serious precautions, enough to make me seriously think that we should flee. Unfortunately, that was not a possibility because the only airline that flies to our tiny island was unable to fly planes in and our of here due to the strength and directional change of the wind. We could have taken a boat to get off the island if we really wanted to get off, but I have to say that I would rather experience a hurricane than take a ride on one of the ferries from Saba. Lets just say that I would prefer to be blown around on my patio than have my brain racked up and down in my head to ultimately end up heaving all of my guts out. I’m sure you get the point.

The day before the hurricane hit, the ocean was unusually calm. It was like lake water. We decided to take advantage of the calm ocean and we went to the beach. Hannah loved it. David took her into the water with him and she was floating, playing and waving. She is a professional “waver”. What a difference a day can make! The following day, the rains came down (sort of, for like 10 minutes) and the winds were ready to blow our house down! The ocean was heaping waves upon the rocks and any boat that was on the water was swallowed up into the depths of the ocean, I’m sure. The wind was only 65 MPH, but it felt like 200 MPH. To say we were EXTREMELY BORED would be an understatement. The power was turned of as a precaution, so we hung out in the house, ALL DAY LONG, without any power. This really wasn’t so bad, we just had NOTHING to do and going outside was not that inviting. The wind would blow my little one over in a second! When the power is out, you can’t watch TV, there is no internet, and opening the fridge is kept to a minimum. Lets just say that we have eaten better meals. The air conditioner could not be turned on, and it was literally “blowin’ the hurricane” (as my landlord puts it) when you opened the windows to allow fresh air to circulate. We sat inside, breathing each others hot recycled breath all day long. We got to know each other in ways we didn’t think possible.

For those of you who are crazy enough to think that it would be “fun” to hang out during a hurricane when you are counseled to leave, you are an idiot. (Ahem . . . stubborn Hurricane Katrina victims that refused to leave) We only experienced Tropical Storm weather conditions, I would not want to experience worse! Who would willingly want to hang out without power? The boredom factor alone would force me to evacuate!

A day before the hurricane. Hannah loves the ocean she is waving to all of her people!

Hannah and her Daddy enjoying the calm ocean the day before Hurricane Dean hit our island.

Our coconut tree just blowin’ in the hurricane wind!

This is a view from our patio. The ocean did not look that inviting . . .

For those of you who think you might want to visit us, take a look at these photo’s. This is where we live! Why haven’t you come to visit us?

This is the sunrise the morning Lydia left. Daniel took this photo from our patio.

This is a view of the island of Sint Maarten (where Hannah was born) from the plane. Lydia took this great photo.

Lydia took this photo of a boat while flying just off the island of Sint Maarten.

This is the island of Saint Eustatius. This island, as well as St Kitts & Nevis, St. Barths, and Sint Maarten can be seen from our patio.

This rainbow was just beautiful! You can see sheets of rain behind it on the ocean. This photo was also taken from our patio. Can you see why we LOVE our view?

Here is our little family at the park in front of a “July Tree”. That is what the locals call this tree because it is in full bloom in July. Althought the tree is beautiful and green all year, it was much more vibrant in July. We just missed the peak bloom!

We got really ambitious and decided to hike both “The Ladder” and “Mount Scenery” while Daniel and Lydia were here. “The Ladder” consists of 503 steps (give or take a few, Lydia was counting them on the way up) from the Ocean to “The Bottom” (the capitol of Saba). These steps were the only way to get goods on to Saba before Fort Bay was built. I cannot imagine having to hike these steps on a regular basis, let alone carry stuff!

We also decided to hike Mount Scenery. The top of this mountain marks the highest point in the Netherlands. It was BEAUTIFUL!! It is 1041 steps to the top. It usually takes three hours to hike up and back down, but we took our time and ate lunch at the top and made the hike in four hours. Take a look a the scenery!

David carrying Hannah on his shoulders. What a dad!

We reached the top! Check out the cloud mist around us. We are literally in a cloud forest!

The top of Mount Scenery is usually covered in clouds. This day was no exception. Isn’t it beautiful?

It was very cool and the path was over grown with moss. Very slippery when wet!

This is the phone tower on the top. We made it!

This is a view of one of the Villages from the hike down.

Okay, I have not disappeared, or forgotten how to type. August has been an eventful month! Since I last posted, Daniel and Lydia came to visit, Lydia judged “Little Miss Saba”, (yes, I roped her into this one), the semester ended, my Saba friends, Michelle and Leah, left for good (to start clinical rotations in the USA) and I sprained my back. Yes SPRAINED my back. In my opinion, this this is possibly the worst thing that could happen to a person.

Lydia came to visit for a month. It was so great! She arrived on Tuesday July 24th and stayed until August 23rd. Two days after her arrival, I took her to the “Little Miss Saba Pageant”. I had been coaching the little girls (little meaning 8 to 10 year olds) and wanted her to attend the pageant with me. It was a lot of fun. Mostly crazy because this is the Caribbean and nothing EVER starts on time and nothing is EVER really that organized! The pageant was set to start at 8:00 PM (a little late in my opinion for little girls but whatever . . .) and it started at 9:30 PM! YIKES! To top it off, two out of the three judges backed out. This is where Lydia comes into the picture. Those of you who know Lydia, know that she is just about as familiar with pageants and fond of them as she is the Boy Scouts. It was extremely hilarious to volunteer her for this position! I had to reassure her that this would look good on her Curriculum Vitae . . . How many people can say they have judged a pageant in a foreign country? She took her job very seriously and did a great job!

Here is a picture of some of the pageant girls.

Four days after Lydia arrived, I sprained by back. I was at Wells Bay (the beach) and I bent down (incorrectly) to pick up Hannah to rescue her from the sand (which she hates) and I heard a “POP! POP!” I knew immediately that it wasn’t good. Needless to say, I was flat on my back in serious pain. Luckily, there are a few students that attend the Medical School who were Chiropractors in their previous life. David called one of them, and that day he started one of many adjustments on my back. Apparently, I sprained two small muscles that support you when you sit or stand. The damage was a 2+, which means it was was pretty serious. A level 3 damage to the muscle requires surgery. YIKES! I was in excruciating pain. I couldn’t do anything for myself . . . I wished I could sit up at the table like a normal person and eat my meals . . . I wished I could take care of Hannah, gosh even change her diaper! But most of all, I wished I could take myself to the bathroom! See, when you can’t place any weight on your back when you sit or stand, you require a bathroom buddy. Poor Dave, he was my designated bathroom buddy! Lucky for Lydia he was around! I would have had to call on her if he was unavailable! I decided that nothing was worse than being totally bedridden, completely dependant on someone else. I used to think morning sickness was the worst thing that could happen to a person, but now my perspective has changed. At least with morning sickness, you can take yourself to the bathroom to vomit! Lydia instantly became Hannah’s nanny, my caretaker, the maid, and chef, and the dog walker. I could not have wished for a better friend to take care of me!

This is a picture of Lydia (my caretaker/nanny/cook) and Hannah.

Here is a picture of me in all of my pain. This is a lawn chair from my patio. The elevation relieved some of the pain.