After a short but sweet sleep I was up on Wednesday to head out with Hannah, the park rangers and the interns and volunteers to hike the trail to Boven. The purpose of their hike was to ensure the trail was clear of overgrowth and clearly flagged with tape along the route.
I'd been warned that this was a moderately long hike, about to about 300m elevtion, but some areas with no cover or shade - so it could be hot! The payoff would be seeing a multitude of interesting plants, animals, landscape, as well as some remnants of the history of the island. So we set off with lunch, snacks, and about 4 litres of (frozen) water each.
Even at the start of the hike, the view of the Quill from the lower slopes of the northern hills of the island was pretty breathtaking
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| Early morning view of the Quill from the north side of Statia |
One of the exciting plant species that can be seen on the way is the Statia Morning Glory, a species endemic to the island, so pretty special really. We also spotted a female
Lesser Antillean Bullfinch
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| Statia Morning Glory (Ipomoea sphenophylla) |
We eventually met with the rest of the group and had a quick rest spot at Venus Bay. Just the name exudes beauty, and indeed Venus Bay is beautiful, just like the rest of the island, but this bay faces out on to the Atlantic Ocean, which means it is littered with all kinds of plastic debris, large and small, from plastic bottles to what looked like part of a large household appliance, oil canisters to flip flops. If you've heard about the billions of tonnes of plastic that swirls around on our seas and washes up thousands of miles away, well I have now seen this for myself and its disgusting that we let this happen.
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| Plastic debris on Venus Bay |
From Venus Bay we set off to Boven, about an hour's walk. The vegetation was more scrubby and dry, very different to that of the Quill. Nobody lives here now, but in the 18th Century the whole area was divided into plantations, despite the steepness of some of the slopes. Another birding opportunity, luckily I had brought my binoculars - a
Red-Tailed Hawk circling high up above the hills
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| The northern hills of Statia with the Quill in the distance |
Part way up the climb, Hannah showed me the remnants of an old rum distillery and the oven area used to heat the molasses(?) as part of the process. There were also parts of stone foundations for houses, evidence of the slaves who lived, worked and died up in these hills.
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| Rum distillery which would have contained a large copper pot |
When we made it to Boven the views were spectacular, well worth the hot dry hike (there had only been a teaser of a rain shower). At the peak, Caribbean Martins swooped and circled round us, far too speedy to be caught in my binoculars, let alone a shot with my camera. Thes best I can offer from the top of Boven is a very slow-moving me.
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| At the top! |
At this point Hannah and I snuck away quietly to enjoy our lunch in peace and away from the youthful exuburance of the interns and sat on a clifftop looking out to sea and the neighbouring island of Saba. This moment of clam allowed nature to come to us, and as we ate our sandwiches, we watched graceful
Red-Billed Tropicbirds far out at sea (easy to spot as they are mostly pure white). Closer by we were lucky enough to spot a male
Antillean Crested Hummingbird flitting about a tree. Also buzzing about us were
Bananaquits and
Black-Faced Grassquits. A perfect lunch!
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| Clifftop view across to Saba from Statia |
Our hike back was even hotter, the sun was unrelenting and the trail mostly devoid of shade. We walked in whatever shade we could find, and I was very grateful for Hannah's advice to bring so much water! Also spotted on our return journey was a solitary
Common Ground Dove just disappearing into the bush, and a handsome
Grey Kingbird hunting in the scrub for insects.
Back home there was just enough time for a power nap (well two hours in my case), bathe and pick up Lalia from daycare before all four of us hit the town. Cocktails at the
Old Gin House which knocked me sideways slightly, then a dinner of stew beef at the Ocean View Terrace.
Of course having done all that, I was in bed by 10pm...
