The "The Emerald Isle Of The Caribbean" Story

Montserrat position in the Caribbean: mid-left on the map.

It was an ordinary day.  Watching one of my favorite shows, Jeopardy, and one category in Double Jeopardy had to deal with the word "Emerald".  The answer was:  The Caribbean isle that throws a St. Patrick's Festival that lasts for more than a week.  The question was:  What is Montserrat?  I looked at Carol and said, "I didn't know that one." 

This volcano on the island is responsible for spewing
ash over many of the other islands close to it.

We have traveled to many of the Caribbean islands in the past 20 years, but we have never set foot on the Emerald Isle known as Montserrat.  We do remember sitting on the beach at St. Martin and talking with other bathers about the cloudy sky that was attributed to the volcano in Montserrat erupting and spewing ash into the atmosphere. 

The volcano did this to the town of Plymouth.

That particular day the wind was blowing from the south-east, spreading the ash over land and sea.  The two islands are a little over 100 miles from each other, thus the ash in the air.  After inhaling the air for an hour or so you could taste the ash and feel it in your throat.  Needless to say we stayed off the beach when that began to happen.  Every time we talk about what island we might want to see from year to year, we always seem to mention Montserrat, since we have never been there, but we never seem to make it one of our final choices. 

Another building in Plymouth covered with volcanic ash.

There are several reasons why we usually pass on going to this island.  It has black-sand beaches, plenty of coral reefs with cliffs and shoreline caves.  Not the kind of island we have become accustomed to during our travels.  We usually like the soft powder-like white sand beaches on which we can plant our umbrella and lounge chairs.  Its population of only about 5,000 residents tends to make you think they are not going to have the tourist type events and shopping experience that other islands in the Caribbean may have.  The south side of the island was badly damaged in the 1990s and the island has established an exclusion zone where they don't want tourists. 

This map shows the size of the Exclusion Zone.

Eruptions also have destroyed the Georgian era capital city of Plymouth.  The Montserrat Volcano Observatory publishes current risk assessments and exclusion zone limits.  And then you have hurricanes that can strike during the fall hurricane season.  The tourist bureau pushes the northern half of the island saying that it is beautiful, lush and perfectly safe.  Actually, the volcano is a tourist attraction itself if viewed from a distance.  I imagine it must be spectacular if you could see it when it is spewing ash and lava from it.  But, there are a few things to do that are rather different from other islands. 

An aerial view showing the south end where the volcano is located.

The Beatles established a recording studio which draws many Caribbean musicians that you may see while on the island.  A new town is taking shape at Little Bay with an expanded port to draw tourists.  One nice thing about the volcanic eruptions is that the island is growing.  But I doubt it will grow fast enough for me to see it before I can't travel anymore.  Oh well, Carol and I still have plenty of places in the Caribbean to visit where we can relax on their beaches and warm water.  Can it get any better than that?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.