Last week my husband went on a business trip to one of our neighbouring islands and I decided to go with him, since this island was the only island of the former Dutch Antilles I had not yet visited.
It is about 20 minutes flying from St. Maarten with what looks like a toy airplane. I could see the co-pilot taking care of handles and such, while the pilot himself was reading the morning paper....
Upon arrival we were checked by the Dutch Marechaussee; the people of St. Eustatius have chosen to remain a part of the Netherlands (not striving for independence) and are now a special entity within the kingdom of the Netherlands. The airport was very low profile, as you can see
The neighbourhood around our hotel had several treasures to discover, like this old entrance in a ruin. The island of St. Eustatius once was a very wealthy and prosperous part of the Netherlands Antilles, as you can still see in the old centre of its only city, Oranjestad
At the side of the hotel I discovered this place, look at the old tree trunk base at the right!
Opposite of the road was a lovely place that had been restored, where I found these windows with old weathered vases. If you click the image, you can see the island of Saba in the distance.
Remnants of a very old pier, remnants of times gone by
Time for coffee on the hotel deck where breakfast is being served. The beginning of a lovely stay on Statia, as the island is affectionally called by its inhabitants. More to follow... thanks for stopping by,
Regina
