Stuck in Saba

When the CEO finds out that the teeny, tiny hardware store on that island carries mostly DeWalt power tools, and this CEO is an extremely aggressive go-getter who used to be the CEO of DeWalt, then flying to this tiny island and visiting this hardware store becomes your priority.

This is what happened with me.  Joe, the CEO of TTi (the company that owns Milwaukee Tool), recently hired a new chef for his Baltimore home, and this chef had just moved from the island of Saba.  Mike, the chef, jokingly brought up to Joe one day that the little hardware store in Saba only carried a couple of Milwaukee tools.  Well, Joe went ballistic and pretty soon the Milwaukee VP of Hardware, my boss’s boss, was emailing and calling me to figure out when I could go to Saba and convert this tiny hardware store.  I had already been in contact with this tiny store as they purchase about $300/year in drill bits, but it was never on my radar of places to physically visit because a store that size will usually stock about 5 tools and maybe purchase $2000/year in tools and accessories total.  That does not merit a visit. But, when the CEO demands something, it needs to be done like yesterday.  So, that’s where I went last week.  But a 6-hour day trip turned out to be 3 days stranded in Saba with not much more than the clothes on my back.

Here is the tiny store - HES Home & Hardware Do It Best

Saba – an island that’s part of the Dutch Antilles islands (which also include Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, St. Barth’s) has a population of 1200, with an additional 600 who attend the Saba University School of Medicine on the island. 



Here is Saba as we are approaching it to land. I was 1 of 4 passengers on the 20-seat prop plane.

The island is 5 square miles, literally a mountain jutting out of the ocean. It’s the top of an underwater (dormant) volcano, and is covered with lush, beautiful rainforest.  There is one road that winds around the island, and crime is almost non-existent.  According to my hardware store customer, there are no tow trucks on the island – if you need a tow they use a rope. 

 

It's an unwritten rule in Saba that all houses must be white with red roofs and green shutters (I see a yellow-ish one...).

It's a Dutch island, which you note by the style of buildings.

Beautiful views!

Electricity only arrived to the island in 1967.  Franchises are not allowed on the island, and there is one gas station there.  Here it is:

Here's the one and only gas station on the island. Fancy.

Saba is most known for its awesome hiking trails and beautiful scuba-diving experiences.

Down there are the elementary and secondary schools on the island. Not a bad view from the classroom...

This is The Bottom, the capital city of Saba.

 

The airport runway is logged as the shortest commercial runway in the world, 1300 feet long, with cliffs dropping into the ocean on either side.  Pilots have to have special training to fly here. 

There's the airport (one room) and the runway!

In case you missed my Facebook post of a video of a Saba landing, here it is:

 

Only small prop planes can land (a 12-min flight from the nearby, larger island of St. Maarten) and only if the wind is right.  The airport runs East-West, so if there is a crosswind coming from the north or the south, flights simply do not happen.  It’s rare that there’s a crosswind, and even more rare that the crosswind lasts for two full days, but that’s what happened!  I landed on Wednesday at this ‘international airport’ the size of my apartment, and the purchasing manager of HES Home & Hardware Do It Best Store, Glen, picked me up and we drove the 10 minutes in his truck all the way to the other side of the island where the store was located.  The meeting went well (I doubled my estimate of what I had anticipated that they would invest in for Milwaukee), and we went to lunch at a restaurant called Tropics, part of Juliana’s Hotel, which was great food with an awesome mountain view.  Little did I know that this would be my home for the next 2 nights…

 

So we finished with lunch and with business, they took me on a short driving tour to The Bottom, the capital ‘city’ of Saba, and then we arrived at the airport to take my flight back to St. Maarten.  Unbeknownst to us, the 5pm flight was cancelled.  The 3pm flight was also cancelled before me, but those people were able to jump on the public ferry last-minute to get take the 90-min boat-ride back to St. Maarten.  I had no such luck, and since the other ferry that usually came to Saba on Thursdays was broken down in the lagoon of St. Maarten from Hurricane Gonzalo, there wouldn’t be another ferry until Friday (it was Wednesday), and the winds weren’t looking any better to fly until Saturday.  So I ended up calling Juliana’s Hotel my home for the next 2 nights, taking the room of a business traveler who was stuck on the other side in St. Maarten.  The tricky part was that I had not anticipated staying overnight, so now I had to go buy a toothbrush and contact solution. I didn’t buy a comb, so I combed my hair with my fingers and you bet – I handwashed my undergarments in the sink with a bar of soap.  That bit of training on hand-washing clothes on my last trip to Guatemala came in handy! I had packed with me some sweatpants and a t-shirt because I was hoping to go for a short hike if there would have been time on Wednesday afternoon (which there wasn’t time, plus it was rainy and too muddy), so those pink sweatpants and t-shirt became my clothes for the next 2 nights and 2 days.  Yuck! And due to the windy and rainy weather going on, it was actually COLD in Saba, so on night #2, I had to break down and buy a Saba University School of Medicine hoodie – XL the only size available.  And when I was in the store, I gave in to the purchase of a green ‘I <3 SABA’ t-shirt, looking forward to a clean shirt to put on that next morning.  Those basic tourist trap souvenir tops cost over $65!  You bet that I will be expensing them and Milwaukee Tool will be happy to reimburse me.  Here’s me in my trendy outfit on my last day, with Garvis, the taxi driver who drove me back and forth to the airport 3 different times as I wishfully thought there would be a break in the crosswind and an airplane would come and get me.

Me and Garvis, my taxi driver.

After the first night, when I was hanging at the airport hoping for a miraculous change in the winds, the airport agent approached me and few others and said that there was a fisherman going out soon and was willing to take us to St. Maarten in his tiny boat as long as we chipped in for gas. Mind you – I had heard that the big catamaran ferry that was coming on the following day was a nauseating 90-minute ride.  Riding on this fisherman’s small dinghy boat would mean guaranteed nausea and getting soaked by waves, let alone the fact that there was a storm front passing through so it was actually be a bit life-risking to brave the waters.  I passed on that offer.

So just imagine me, rolling around this nice boutique hotel in baggy (and bleach-stained) sweatpants and a baggy tshirt and black hoodie.  I seriously looked like a nomadic vagabond. The first night I was so emotionally overwhelmed that I didn’t eat dinner and just sat in my room, but the 2^nd night I went to the neat little hotel restaurant for dinner, in my stylish jogging suit, for a nice romantic candlelight dinner for one, surrounded by people dressed a little better than me.  Haha. 

The island truly is beautiful and I had wifi at the hotel, so I was able to get a lot of computer work done.  I met some interesting people and was lectured by a group of Americans from Pittsburgh who were there for diving and couldn’t believe I traveled to all of these islands and had never scuba-dove. I really should get certified and do some diving... I would have liked to go on a hike, but I wasn’t really equipped with boots and stuff.  Plus the constant rain made for extremely muddy trails, and I couldn’t afford to get my ONE outfit muddy.

Blessings of the trip: while it’s not an ideal way to spend on a beautiful island, it doesn’t take away from that fact that it is a beautiful place with lush green mountainsides plunging into the vast ocean.  I had my laptop with me so I was able to work, and I had more time than I’ve had in months to just think, read, pray, and be still.  Life is busy, as you all know, and we are so distracted with so many options of entertainment and activities and buzzing technology.  I tend to run around like a chicken with my head cut off, and I think God truly gave me these days to slow down and be still. There was literally nothing else to do.  So I’m grateful for that.  And I’m also grateful for my wonderful customer in St. Maarten, Audrey from Electec, who helped me to check out of my St. Maarten hotel on Thursday (remember all of my clothes and stuff were still in my hotel room in St. Maarten) as I was expected to check out on Thursday and return to Miami from there.  Audrey held on to my suitcase and then also worked with the car rental place in St. Maarten to tell them to take my rental out of the airport parking lot and that I would return my set of keys when I became unstranded from Saba.  Audrey and the store Electec were the first meeting I ever had with this job on the first Caribbean island I had ever traveled to (St. Maarten) back in November of 2010.  It would only be right to give them a shout-out because they’re a very special customer to me.  This month of November, four years ago, is when I started this Caribbean sales job.  Here is a photo I found of Team Electec and me last year at this time, celebrating our ‘3 year anniversary.’

Here I am with the Electec staff! Audrey, the purchasing manager, is in the purple shirt.

And now I know another island country, the island of Saba! I still would most definitely return to Saba for a hiking vacation (but not alone again). It would be a neat, weeklong vacation to fly from the U.S. to St. Maarten, which is also a great island with lots to do and see, and then include a couple of days in Saba.  Well, I would say plan for 2 days in Saba but acknowledge that 2 days could turn into 4, just as 6 hours turned into 60 for me last week.

 

So relieved to be boarding the plane on Friday.  Like my shirt?  A little ironic, I know...

Thanks for reading, love you all!

-Anna Banana

And The Best Island Coffee Shop Award goes to...

Hi everyone!

Happy Thursday.  I love going to a local, character-filled coffee shop or cafe anywhere I am.  I'll admit that I hit up Starbucks, but I honestly am not a fan of their coffee.  I love the local places, and where they use Fair Trade or organic or shade-grown coffee, or local ingredients if they offer food - even better.  Below I'd like to share my top 3 picks for cafes here on the islands.

There are lots of pictures, so remember that you can click on the picture to get a clearer image.

I have to add this because I just realized it and smiled widely - I am writing this post as I sit at a non-local, non-character-filled Dunkin Donuts of Aruba.  Haha.  Here come the local places...

ROCK ISLAND - BERMUDA

You can't get much more local than this place.  Rock Island is a local coffee shop in Hamilton, the main city on the island of Bermuda.

It's the only place in all of Bermuda that roasts its own coffee.  It's located in an old machine shop on Reid Street in Hamilton and is basically a few different rooms from a few past small business combined into one coffee shop.  The floors are old wood, the walls are covered in local artists' works, and my favorite aspect of the inside is that none of the tables or chairs match.

I can't sit at Rock Island over the lunch hour because they do not have any food besides pastries, but the coffee and the atmosphere are well-worth it.  Also, this picture doesn't do it justice, but you can see the sound (a sound would be like a bay) out the window, as the building is situated on a hill.  Bermuda is shaped like a fish hook, so if you look closely you can see the sound/bay out the window with part of the island behind it (and then the open ocean would be behind that):

Thanks, Rock Island, for the almond milk lattes and warm, local atmosphere.  Website: http://www.rockisland.bm/.


TOP CARROT - ST. MAARTEN

The French lady who owns Top Carrot knows me as the tool girl who rarely has cash and racks up a bill throughout the day to then pay the total with a credit card at 5 p.m. when they close.  This local 'cafe' is more like a healthy restaurant that also serves coffee.

They are known for their juices, their hummus, and their Bulgarian yogurt.  The French lady who owns Top Carrot is married to a man from Bulgaria who makes the yogurt using the Bulgarian active cultures that you should find in real, authentic Bulgarian yogurt.

They have an industrial juicer, and I usually order the Carrot/Beet/Ginger juice, the Pineapple Cooler (pineapple and fresh mint leaves), or the Locomotion (peanut butter and banana).  They have great "toasts," which are whole wheat baguettes cut open and toasted with whole foods like avocado, roasted peppers, feta cheese, and olive oil drizzled over the top.  Another one of my favorites at Top Carrot is the Mediterranean Platter (grape leaves, feta cheese, hummus, pita bread, roasted red peppers, tabouli salad).

Top Carrot also has cute artisan jewelry.  Something I've discovered on the islands and LOVE is a tea called Bush Tea.  No, it's not Red Bush Tea that has shown in recent studies to contain potentially toxic ingredients from the 'bush;' but rather, this bush tea contains hot water with honey, mint leaves, and real lemongrass.  So delicious and real!



JESSIE'S JUICE BAR - GRAND CAYMAN

And my favorite coffee shop on the islands award goes to - Jessie's Juice Bar!

This is hands-down my favorite cafe/coffee shop of the islands.  They have great coffee (Panther Coffee, roasted in Miami), but what I really love about them is their food, their juices and their smoothies.  The owners are wife and husband Jessie and Lachie, from Australia and New Zealand, respectively.  Jessie was raised on a farm in the Australian countryside, and she knows and embraces real food with real ingredients.  The menu is written with chalk on the wall.  It's a colorful and vibrant place with a welcoming atmosphere and real, wonderfully-healthy food.

I usually order the Americano (espresso with hot water), and then for breakfast it's the homemade muesli parfait with yogurt and fruit or a All-Day Breakfast smoothie (homemade granola, banana, almond milk), and then for lunch it's my favorite juice - the Green Alkalizer (some watermelon and then all greens - spinach, kale, cucumber, spirulina, celery) along with one of the awesome Salads in a Jar.  Jessie's Juice Bar also focuses on reducing consumables, so for all of the business people in the area who stop in for lunch, they put the salads in tall Mason jars so that the customers can take the salads to their offices and put them on a plate to eat, and then they return the Mason jars the next time.  Here is a picture of the Salad in a Jar menu:

I love them all, but here is a picture of the first one on that list.  Then if you wish, you can add toppings like shaved almonds or feta cheese.  Just look at the color in this wonderfully-tasty and extremely-healthy food!

Jessie tries to use as many local ingredients as possible, but it's difficult being on an island.  She uses local coconut water, mango, avocado, and a few other fruits and veggies.  Here is Jessie herself:

And here is her husband, Lachie, who you will usually find by the espresso machine making your delicious morning cup:

It gets expensive to eat real food, as you may know, so this place is not the least-expensive, but it is well worth what you pay for what you get - real food with real ingredients, cleansing juices, refreshing smoothies, and a friendly local atmosphere.  I think that many of us need to learn that if we have the means to afford to eat well - real, clean, healthy foods without tons of extra ingredients, that we should spend the money.  Our bodies are going to thank us in the long-term.  I also can't forget about the beet/banana/raw chocolate muffins and also the reliable WiFi for us business travelers.  I'm grateful that Milwaukee Tool pays for so many of my meals here.

Here's a picture in 2013 of my friend, Karen, and me at Jessie's. Karen came along to Grand Cayman for a long weekend last year.  I sold tools on Friday and Saturday while she hung out at the beach, and then on Sunday we beached it up together with a lunch break at Jessie's:

The only change I would make is this: once their repair man walked in to fix something, and he had a Makita drill in his hands.  I need to convert that guy sooner than later...

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check these places out if you ever find yourself in Bermuda, St. Maarten, or Grand Cayman.  Here's an island latte - have a good weekend everybody!

-Anna Banana

Mom & Dad's First Bermudaful Island Adventure

Hey everybody!

It’s been a few months, but I’m finally making time to do a bit of writing.  There are always weekly adventures, but I must NOT neglect to write about October of last year when, for the first time since I started this job over 3 years ago, MY MOM AND DAD CAME TO AN ISLAND TO HANG OUT WITH ME!  Here’s a bit more on the Jim-ventures and Kathy-ventures in Bermuda:

I landed in Bermuda a few days before my parents so that I could do some work selling those tools, and when they arrived we spent 5 days together in Bermuda.

There are such colorful houses all over the island!  This picture on a rainy day doesn't do them justice, but it still shows so much color:

On day 1, Dad and I climbed the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Tower, which was a short walk from our hotel.  The first cultural experience was the walk to the tower.  Bermuda roads are extremely skinny with no sidewalks, and so cars get pretty close.  Plus, walking against traffic means walking on the right side of the road (Bermuda drives on the opposite side as the U.S.), so there was a little confusion about what side to be on and concern for our safety whilst there were no sidewalks, but I reminded Mom and Dad that we have to live on the edge or we take up too much room…haha.  Here’s a picture of my dad and me at the top of the lighthouse with the beautiful 360-degree view.  That big, pink building in the background is our hotel:

I chose Bermuda for my parents’ island destination because 1. It is my favorite island to spend time on and 2. There is loads of history there.  My dad loves history – when we were younger we went to historic forts and watched battle reenactments on many, many, many occasions.  So, in Bermuda we were able to check out 4 different forts – Fort St. Catherine, Fort Scour, Fort Hamilton and a fort in the parish (a parish is like a state) of St. George's .  Here we are in our favourite (in Bermuda just like in Great Britain, you spell favorite with a ‘u.’) fort, Fort Scour :

And here we are eating the famous Art Mel’s Fish Sandwich.  It’s more like the Art Mel’s Fish Sandwiches – like 3 in 1, it was so gigantic.  It consists of fried fish, tartar sauce, tomato, coleslaw (on the sandwich) and cinnamon raisin bread (4 slices/sandwich).  It is DELISH.  My Bermudian friend, Melissa (whom I’ve wrote about in a prior blog post!), picked up the sandwiches and met us at Fort Hamilton to sit inside and attempt to conquer the Art Mel’s Sandwiches:

One of the most unique experiences that I get in Bermuda each time I go, and that I think was fun for my parents (after the fact) is renting and riding mo-peds to get around.  Bermuda controls the road traffic congestion very well on the small 21 square-mile island, so as a tourist you can only walk, bus, taxi, or rent a mo-ped!  My dad, being an avid Motocross racer in the days before I was born, was excited about it and did really well, although I think the driving-on-the-left-side for the first time ever and on very narrow roads caused a bit of tension.  And my mom did really well, too.  We rented a double-seater because I knew that if she had her own mo-ped, she would be doing wheelies and causing trouble… Here we are!

Bermuda has 7 golf courses squeezed onto the 21 square-mile island, so of course my dad and I hit the links a little!  It was my first time golfing in Bermuda and it was gorgeous, overlooking the ocean.  I blame my terrible game on the beautiful (and distracting) views.  Here we are, and there is our light ‘Bermuda pink’ golf cart!

While we golfed, mom took the ferry into town (Hamilton) from the hotel.  Bermuda is shaped like a fishhook, so you can cut across the sound to get from one part to another via boat much faster than driving around via car. She did some shopping and honed her photography skills:

It's not Bermuda if you don't spot a gentleman in Bermuda shorts.  They are alive and well and true to the title:

We conquered both ends of the island – the Royal Naval Dockyard one day and then St. George’s on another day, which are on exact opposite ends of the small fishhook-shaped island.  St. George’s had a reenactment going on of ‘dunking the town gossip’ in the sound and also had lots of cute shops, a church from the 1600s, made of Bermuda Cedar, and lots of beautiful and very old Bermuda-style buildings.

 Look at this cool gecko that we saw!

Finally, on our last day, a Sunday, we spent time with who I call my Bermudian parents – Hilda and Carlos – who are around my parents age.  Hilda and Carlos were both born in the Azores - Portuguese islands off of the coast of Portugal, and like many Azorean Portuguese, immigrated to Bermuda with their parents to farm the land and be able to make a living.  Hilda is your wonderful, beautiful, typical Portuguese woman who makes sure everyone is happy and is a master in the kitchen.  They invited us to their house for a traditional Portuguese-Bermudian breakfast, and like always when I eat Hilda’s cooking, we ate way too much: Portuguese potatoes, codfish, chourico (sausage), bacon, quiche, and homemade rum cake (Hilda is known for her rum cake in Bermuda). 

 Hilda and Carlos live in a beautiful, traditional Bermudian cottage in an area of the island called Spanish Point.  It was so wonderful to be able to have my parents spend time with the people who are like my island family in Bermuda: Hilda, Carlos, and Melissa.  And being able to eat what the locals eat and converse with the locals – it was so….you know my favorite word … so CULTURAL!!!   

I am very grateful that my parents were able to experience this wonderful, 'Bermudaful' place!

Until next time!  

-Anna Banana