The Quill on St. Eustatius Island (Statia). My sister Gabrielle and I on our way to a path down to the beach. (We both returned home with suitcases full of shells, coral and bags of black sand.....also wonderful memories). We got up early one morning and climbed the volcano which is MUCH steeper than it looks. Lots of large land hermit crabs would become startled and roll down past us. We had to hang on to plants to keep from sliding back ourselves. When we reached the top the view was beautiful! We descended ( pretty much repelled ) into the crater of the Quill hanging on to a huge rope (like from a Tarzan movie) in place there. We had to ease past a gigantic hornet's nest that we almost didn't see in time. There are beautiful tropical plants flourishing in the crater of this dormant volcano.

The weather on Statia was quite hot at the time of this visit. The town closes down between 12 noon and 2:00 pm, the hottest time of the day, for a siesta time. Seriously. The banks, everything. If you want ice for home and your power is out, there is one ice machine in someone's front yard where you may buy it and, believe me, you will want it. This trip was in 2000.

We would usually grab the most fantastic hamburgers at the airport "cafe" made by a man known as "Humpy". The buns are made in a local bakery and the meat probably from local cattle. I made spaghetti with goat meat sauce which was quite delicious. Even pizza on the island was made from a variety of local meats and the main cheese for eveything is gouda.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_Antilles