MI CREACION

Burning
Caribbean
Questions
what’s the wildest flight?
By Edward Readicker-Henderson
Here’s how it was explained to
1 me: When flying out of Saba
(see p. 42), the plane does not
so much take off from the runway, but
simply goes straight off a cliff, 100 feet
or so above the booming ocean. And
then, if all goes well, it keeps going.
Oddly enough, learning this does
not fill me with confidence. It only adds
fuel to the claims that Saba’s Juancho E.
Yrausquin Airport is the world’s most
terrifying to leave. ∏he shortest commercial
runway in the world — just 1,300
feet — has only one side not hanging
near a cliff, and that one ends in buildings
that don’t look particularly soft.
Oh, there’s one more thing: I’m told
that the landing in St. Barts at the other
end of the flight is even worse. It will
make flying off a cliff look almost sane.
I’m not a nervous flier by any means.
I’ve been in floatplanes that landed
Planes fly in to
St. Barts so low that
cars beneath
practically lose
paint from their roofs.
near whales. I’ve taken off straight into
clouds full of mountains. I’ve been at an
airport where the terminal was a hodgepodge
of disused truck campers.
But this flight is enough to make me
swear my feet will never leave the ground
again. At least not in the Caribbean.
Because never mind flying straight off
a cliff. (“∏hat actually makes things a
little easier,” a pilot later tells me. He
says with such small prop planes, pilots
could probably, maybe, perhaps restart
the engines and pull up before splashdown.)
Instead, think for a minute
about the St. Barts landing. Planes fly in
so low that the cars beneath practically
what’s the weirdest …
2
view of a landing
At Maho Beach on St. Martin,
you have the sand, the sea and
the occasional 747 coming
in for a landing on your towel.
Bring quality ear plugs.
3
airport welcome
After touching down in Utila,
your pilot will most likely
maneuver around donkeys and
cows that frequent the tarmac.
Terminal? What terminal?
4
airport bar
The rum punch is OK at Jet’s
Bar in Belize. Most memorable
is Jet himself. He’s 4’4”
and has only stopped once (for a
heart attack) in 40 years.
lose paint from their roofs. ∏hey have
to fly over a mountain like it’s a speed
bump, fly straight down the other side
of the mountain and level out to land.
Maybe on a skateboard that’d be
OK. But in a plane going more than
100 miles an hour? I suddenly understand
why rum is cheap and as common
as water on these islands. You won’t
be ordering it from a flight attendant,
though. Not on this flight. ∏akeoff and
landing are only 15 minutes apart.
Only a few aircraft, all S∏OL — “short
takeoff and landing” special designs —
have been approved for Saba. Oh, we’re
told that three of them are broken today.
“We’ve never had a plane crash,”
says Saba hotel keeper Wim Schutten.
“Never. What, you think they’re going
to risk a whole plane of people?”
Finally, an unbroken plane appears
out of a cloud. One moment, it’s 100
feet over the ocean. ∏he next, it’s on
the tarmac, still 100 feet over the ocean.
No margin for error there. One misjudgment
of altitude, and the plane
would have tripped like a kid trying to
run upstairs in wooden shoes.
∏he passengers walk out, looking
slightly stunned. And then you can
almost see that moment when their eyes
focus again and they see how the island
towers above in a thousand shades of
green. A few nerves are a small price to
pay to arrive somewhere this beautiful.
But I’m going the other direction. I’m
leaving Saba in the pre-stunned phase. I
climb into the plane, wondering whose
bright idea these airports were: Saba’s,
built like a tightrope, and St. Barts’,
built like a ski jump. I pray that the
rum punch lasts me another 15 minutes.
And then the words of a Saban come
to mind: “It’s not scary. It’s exciting.”
I’m sure I’ll agree when we land in St.
Barts. For now, it’s time to buckle the
seat belts. | what about landing a job? >>
from top: photolibrary.com; jon whittle; zach stovall; opposite: papix/sipa press
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