Speechless

I loved last weekend. I felt the surge of curiosity and pure joy of exploring new places. I was left speechless...

My friends and I decided to take the challenge of climbing Mount. Scenery, a potentially active volcano and the highest peak in the Netherland Antillies Islands. It is one of Saba's tourist attractions and now I know why. 2877 feet up in the sky - literally - you can see the whole island of Saba and if you are lucky to get to the top when the clouds have cleared you can even see St. Eustacius, a near by island.

 starting our hike in the morning and we see this sign... only 1064 steps :)

 We came across some orange trees early in the hike. I decided to put my childhood tree climbing skills to use and get some fresh oranges for the road (thanks big brother for perfecting those when I was little!). They were pretty tasty, although my friends weren't too fond of them - I guess I'm not a picky eater OR I was just too excited to be spending time outside of the library

The actual trail to Mount Scenery was half under construction so we ended taking 'Bud's Mountain' back around to the Bottom village until we reached the mount scenery trail again... downfall of all this? Bud's mountain was sooo muddy.

This was on the Bud's Mountain trail looking up at Mount Scenery. Our goal? that tower in the distance at the very top of the mountain. The weather wasn't looking so promising at this point but we were all glad it wasn't fully sunny for the way up - it was hot enough!

It's funny though, I somehow still got a tan. Yay! UV radiation through the clouds. haha

We reached the rainforest/jungle part by this point. It made me feel so small. It was nice to be able to be part of nature again... its something about the smell of fresh vegetation and dirt.

You can see how high we were by now... almost in the clouds

...and the dreaded steps began...

and didn't end until the very top. Our thighs got a very good workout!

up in the clouds now :)

Climbing the last stretch to the highest point. This was the funnest part :)

 we made it! Mike was ecstatic 

.. and then it started to clear up and it was an unbelievable view

my hiking partner, Simi, and I enjoying our accomplishment. Climb Mount Scenery? Check.

Great spot for reflection and taking in nature's beauty. I will have to do this again before I leave the island

 the green lushes of saba. It is quite beautiful

back in the muddy trail on our way back down. Ankle deep. Mud is good for the skin, no?

we took the shorter, but under construction path back down because we started slipping (*cough* Mike *cough*) going back down. It was a fun route, trying not to fall through the cracks.

we made it back down and we were ready for some food!

So... if I haven't convinced you that I loved our hike last weekend here is a video I took at the very top.  

... I hope you are now packing your bags. Be adventurous.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain