St. Eustatius, aka Statia, is an island of 11.8 square-miles. It was the darling of the Caribbean in the 18th century when it became a tax-free haven under the Dutch, and the busiest trading port for cargo bouncing between Europe and the American colonies. Today, the island is extremely popular among scuba divers and hikers and those who enjoy sun-kissed days of blissful nothingness. Statia’s sole town – and capital – Oranjestad is a sleepy collection of cottages and vestiges of a bygone era. It is divided into Upper Town on the hill and Lower Town down by the waterfront. The rest of the island is made up of rugged, rural terrain. All the historic relics make for gorgeous backdrops for destination weddings by the way.
“How,” you may ask yourself, “does one end up on Statia for a vacation?” My husband simply says, “Let’s take November 9 and 10 off.” I don’t ask any questions, I just ask for the days.
Cut to us sitting on a tiny Winair plane headed for a small two day getaway. I sit there watching the pilot as he flicks all the switches and I listen to the roar of the propellers starting. I have never sat so close to all the action. We head towards the runway and in one continuous motion, we are off and in the air. Seventeen whole minutes later, I see Statia from the airplane window. It is gorgeous. Waves crash onto rocky shorelines which travel up to high cliffs. From the plane, you can see lush green mountains; and on the approach for landing, you can see the town. We land and pile out and into the Statia terminal.
The terminal is a tiny wooden structure with a little window to check your passport. Baggage claim is the employees off-loading your luggage either at the plane and handing it to you or sometimes loading it in a pickup and driving it three feet to the baggage area. All the while, that same pickup truck is blasting country music. I smile as we walk out because I know we are in for a treat. We are picked up by Marlies, who is married to my husband’s best friend Sybolt. They live on Statia and run the island’s best hotel named The Old Gin House. We hop into what I shall lovingly refer to as “the beast” and drive to the hotel.
The Old Gin House is a quaint historical waterfront hotel with a beautifully restored historic bar, an ocean terrace, a lobby and a pool.
They show us to our ocean front room. There in the living room is a delicious bottle of champagne chilled and ready with two glasses. We take a minute to check out our room, drop our bag and change into shorts and sneakers, because we are going on an island tour with five other guests. We meet at the front of the hotel and get into the beast. Sybolt is our tour guide/off-roading expert. He takes us on a wonderful off-the-beaten-path kind of tour. It starts out like most tours. There are some historical walls and their significance, but he veers left all of a sudden and we are on a dirt road headed straight for the cliff edge.
A breath-taking view of Statia with Saba in the backround.
We park and step out and walk towards the edge. It is breath-taking to stand there. The view is spectacular. There is a reef just off the shoreline, and the waves dance ferociously around it. After our amazing tour, we get ready for a nice dinner at The Old Gin House. It is lovely to sit at the edge of the ocean and enjoy some good wine and food. We don’t make it too late, because we plan on conquering The Quill the following day.
The Quill soars to an elevation of just under 2,000 feet. There are eight different trails around (and literally into the volcano!) and around Quill National Park, each offering varying levels of difficulty. We prepare in the morning by eating a nice buffet breakfast before being picked up in the beast by Sybolt and Marlies.
The "beast".
There is a small plot next to a house and along that a tiny dirt path. This is the start of our hiking journey. At the beginning of the hike, there is a sign with facts and trail options. We choose our option and make our way up to the top of the Quill. Along our trek, we pause for the occasional crab or enthusiastic fellow hikers. It takes about 45 minutes to get to the top.
Happy hikers.
There are moments when you remember how magnificent it is to be alive and that there are beauties in this world that words cannot express properly. Standing at the top of this volcano is like catching a glimpse of heaven. A glimpse of what the world used to look like, be like, feel like. The mist and fog gently hug the top of the mountain. There is a stillness there as you sit and admire what you travelled up so high to see.
After a while, we make our way back down and head back to our hotel to enjoy coffee and a nice slice of homemade apple pie. My husband and I later borrow a scooter and take a different kind of tour.
The end of our night is spent having dinner and drinks, watching the sunset. To our right, kids are on top of levee poles still standing as remnants of the old port pier. They dive into the water off the poles and splash around. There is a gentle carefree nature about them that seems to be the way in Statia – a perfect way to end our statia-cation.
By Chanaz Kokkelmans
Destination weddings in Statia are a great option.
