St Eustatius

A year ago I stood atop the Brimstone Hill Fort on the island of St Kitts and saw St Eustatius on the horizon. It looked beautiful with its near perfect conical volcano silhouette, so right there on the spot I decided I would vacation on St Eustatius on my next trip to the Caribbean. Exactly a year ago I was on that island, looking back across the horizon at St Kitts!

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Cannon at Fort Oranje. The island of Saba is visible offshore.

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Even the tiniest of islands can pack loads of history. Most Americans don't know that the independence of the USA from England was first recognized by a foreign official right here in this harbor when the US ship Andrew Dorea was welcomed with a cannon salute.

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Oranjestad, the island's capital city. The quaint cobblestone streets and near total lack of traffic make it a walker's dream.

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Windward Island Air -- Winair for short -- is the only way on or off the island. Since St Eustatius is only 5 miles long, every arriving and departing flight is visible (and audible!) from just about anywhere on the island.

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More history from the St Eustatius Historical Foundation Museum, here a sampling of "slave beads". In the 1700s St Eustatius was the center of slave trade between Africa and North America. The exact purpose of the beads has been lost in time, but many think they were used to buy slaves from the native tribes.

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Zeelandia Bay at the northeastern coast of the island looking back towards the Quill, the volcano that is St Eustatius' signature backdrop.

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A few more shots of The Quill (it is rather hard to miss on an island just a few miles long!)

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Circling back through town. This shot was taken literally across the street from the island's tiny airport. Nothing screams "rural backwater" like actual livestock freely grazing on the streets!

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Driving around the island's southern coastline. Not surprisingly the Quill can't hide from view from this side of the island either...

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More cannon! These are at the very southern end of St Eustatius at Fort de Windt, facing the island of St Kitts on the horizon.

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A couple shots from the house I rented for my week's stay, the highest property on the island. Absolutely gorgeous views down slope!

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The only drawback of living in the jungle on the volcano slopes: the unavoidable infestation of island creatures like this friendly gecko (the countless moths, beetles,roaches, scorpions, spiders and the like weren't quite as cooperative in posing for pictures...)

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Over 3,000 QSOs logged in the evening hours as PJ5/AH6HY from IOTA NA-145.

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A little scuba diving to add some spice to the day, here patrolling the wreck of the Charlie Brown.