Saba Diving
It's somewhat ironic that most visitors come to Saba, a soaring volcano peak that reaches into the clouds, just to go the opposite direction - diving hundreds of feet down into the bottomless depths of Saba's marine park. More than 30 sites encircle Saba, many of which are pinnacles or vertical walls that extend into limitless underwater canyons.
Don't pack a beach bag if you're going to Saba, because there aren't any beaches on this little Dutch isle in the Windward chain. Round as a wheel of Edam cheese and just as mild, Saba soars nearly 3,000 feet out of the water. The capital, The Bottom, is slightly inland and, oddly, upward. At 820 feet above sea level, it is one of the lowest villages on this steeply pitched island.
A rain forest thrives in the crater of Mount Scenery, an extinct volcano in the center of the island that reaches 2,900 up from sea level. Hikers access this lush jungle - the place where the original Tarzan movie was filmed -- by climbing the 1,064 steps to the top.
If you peer into one of the green-shuttered windows of the boxy white houses on Saba, you just might catch the lady of the house brewing a batch of rum liqueur called Saba Spice or sewing the island's treasured lace.
There is no nightlife to speak of, save for divers sharing their tales of the day's adventures and watching the sun set.
DIVES NOT TO MISS :
Custom's House Reef is a deep patch reef inhabited with dozens of barracudas. Diamond Rock has abundant marine life including sting rays, black tip and bull sharks. Hole in the Corner is a shallow Elkhorn forest and Tent Reef wall, Tedran Reef and Core Gut, which are all wall dives, are not to be missed.
