Overview

At first glance, Statia (as the Dutch island is called by its 2,500 or so residents) isn't your typical Caribbean getaway. For starters, the beaches are less than memorable and nightlife is almost nonexistent. But if history is a passion, and your pursuits take you both underwater and high into hills, this is an island to remember.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, Statia (pronounced STAY-sha) was one of the Caribbean's richest ports, whose wealth earned it the name "The Golden Rock." Vestiges of the past remain not only in the main town, Oranjestad (where the nicely restored 17th-century Fort Oranje stands on a cliff overlooking the waterfront), but offshore, where the submerged ruins of old city walls, warehouses, and shipwrecks lie in clear, shallow water easily accessible to both divers and snorkelers. For a more in-depth look at the island's past, take a walking tour of the town, and stop by the Historical Foundation Museum, housed in what was, in the late 18th century, one of Statia's grandest, merchant-owned houses.

Inland, a dozen nature trails cross Statia's landscape. The granddaddy of them all is the climb to the 2,000-foot summit of The Quill, a dormant volcano that dominates the southern part of this often overlooked gem of the Netherlands Antilles.

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DIVING

Old shipwrecks litter the island's leeward coast, and while many of them are almost unrecognizable, divers frequently find artifacts, from clay pipes to the occasional cannonball. (To protect artifacts, a guide must accompany all divers.) The one souvenir divers are allowed to keep are the blue glass trading beads carried on slave ships in the 17th century and found on the sandy bottom around the harbor, particularly one spot called Blue Bead Hole.

HIKING

A relatively new trail (which replaced a long-neglected path) leads to the summit of The Quill in about an hour, but serious hikers can stretch the outing by starting on the Around the Mountain trail at the same trailhead. Heading west, it links with the main Quill Trail at viewpoint overlooking Oranjestad. At the summit, a pair of trails leads around the crater rim. To turn the trek into an all-day affair, take the steep (and rocky) trail down into the crater itself. You can rest in the lush evergreen forest on the crater floor before making the climb back up to the rim - and then back down to Oranjestad.

CULTURE

Statia celebrates Carnival in mid-July with dancing and music, but for a historical ceremony unique to the island, plan a Statia-America Day visit on Nov. 16. On that date in 1776, the garrison at Fort Oranje fired an 11-gun salute to the Andrew Doria, an American brig - the first official foreign recognition of the young nation's independence. But Statia provided more than moral support during the Revolutionary War: Much of the munitions and food that enabled George Washington to continue fighting made its way to the colonies through Statia's warehouses.

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