| The
four Saba Walking Tours
will introduce you to the beautiful old wooden Saban
cottages. These cottages were built around 1900 and
form, with their red shingled roofs and white walls, a
typical part of Saban architecture. These cottages are
surrounded by beautiful tropical flowers.
The walking tours were
designed by Tom van't Hof and Heleen Cornet in 1990. The black & white drawings were made by Heleen Cornet. They first appeared in Heleen Cornet's
lovely book
Saban Cottages. These tours are
presented courtesy of Ms. Heleen Cornet.
|
Captain’s Quarters |
In
Saban Cottages you will find lovely watercolor renditions of the
drawings illustrating the Saban Walking Tours.
Each cottage is accompanied with its history and
thus
Saban Cottages brings a unique dimension to the Saba's History:
"While sitting in
front of the cottages, for three or four days
doing the paintings, I met the inhabitants. They
were interested in my work, made time to sit
beside me and they started to talk. They told me
the stories about the houses, about the people who
had been living in them. And that made all the
difference. The houses became alive."
from the Preface of
Saban Cottages. |
Heleen Cornet was born
in Holland in 1945. She obtained a master's degree in
art in Amersfoort. For two years she lived above the
Polar Circle where she helped to rebuild an
old-fashioned sailboat.
Looking for a milder climate she moved to Bonaire in
1975, where she taught art for nine years at the Bonaire
Junior High. Heleen's family moved to a sailing yacht
and living on board using Curaçao and Sint Maarten as
homeports for sailing the Caribbean.
In 1986 the family settled in Saba, where her husband
Tom van 't Hof set up the Saba Marine Park. In Saba, she
opened her own art gallery. Heleen has published several
books, including St. Eustatius - Echoes of the Past.
Together with her husband Tom, they
manage
the nature resort
Ecolodge Rendez-Vous in Saba.
|
