Magaly Barnes

My name is Magaly Barnes. I live on Saba all my life, for 42 years. I first lived in Hell's Gate, and in that old house, like getting there, we had to go by steps. Everything we did, we had to go on a mountain road. Like in Zion's Hill, there you get water. We had to go up there with buckets. I had to bathe up there, we had to wash our hair up there, and from there, we'd have to bring water from up top of the mountain road all the way down to home. And we have to use the pit outside.

But one thing for sure — my mother always made privilege out of that. We always ate, we always ate no matter what it was. Our neighbors were very good. You know, I must say — “good” wasn't the word, but “excellent.” They were like our mothers also.

I basically garden everywhere I go. I just love to plant everything. The way I take care of myself, you have to take care of your plants. Everyday they get water. When they catch — like for example, all of the roadside, the whole roadside, I did that — and when they catch it develop on its own.

I wake up very early. I'm the early bird, as usual. I garden from like 1 in the morning. I'm out early, taking the cool air, doing everything underneath the cool. My favorite place, to tell you the god's honest truth, is to sit by the seaside. Just watch the sea come in and go right back out. I just love it. Some days, you know, I pay a cab just to go down there, down to the Cove Bay especially. Just to sit there or even lie down with a small pillow, and just watch the sea come in. And I really love nature, honest to god. I do. Saba is the best place anybody could have in the world, the best home anybody could have in the world.