Little did we guess upon seeing this steep hunk of rock sticking out of the ocean that we were entering paradise. Saba was paradise. The scuba diving was fantastic, as we expected, but we didn’t know this tiny, beachless former volcano would be the most magical place we had ever been.

The people, all 1,400 living there, are friendly and helpful. The pace of life is beyond slow. Life is simple. There are no beaches, there are no bugs, and there are few tourists. The top of the island is rain forest, at about 3,000 feet above sea level, and is the highest point in the Netherlands. We did some hiking, but we didn’t make it all 1,064 steps to the top–we left that for next time.

It was a great break, and I came back full of focus and creative juice. So it’s back to the novel for me.