Montserrat???

I have been doing a lot of reading about Montserrat, and I am just fascinated with the volcano and the volcano observatory,the black sand beaches, and the Irish heritage thing.

I also saw that there are a lot of really inexpensive villas, due, I guess, to the volcano, and the drop off in tourism.

Someday, I think I'd really like to go there and check it out.

Have any of y'all been there recently, and what is it like???

It looks really beautiful in a different kind of way.

Anybody???...Anybody???...Bueller???

ha ha ha ha! mags.....you are TOO funny! i wish i had something to offer, but i don't...sorry!

Magnolias said:

Anybody???...Anybody???...Bueller???

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all I can tell you is I went very close by it by cruise ship..twice..and both times it was spewing and both times the sulphuric smell of rotten eggs in the air was not pleasant....beyond that I dont know much about it

Irish heritage.. hmmm.. Perhaps as close as americans whose grandgrandgrandgrandparents came from Italy are to italians ;-)

We visit White Island while in New Zealand and tried to visit Mt. Yasur while in Vanuatu but the schedule didn't work out, visiting an active volcano is pretty cool thing and the smell usually isn't that bad -- or you get used to it. Your average McD or food court smells worse and you never get used to it.

We also hiked to a less active stratovolcano in Chile but that was something different, covered in snow and it was +30 C (86 F).

No idea about Montserrat but would like to visit it one day. But highly recommend visiting an active volcano if there's a chance.

Mike R said:

Magnolias said:

Anybody???...Anybody???...Bueller???

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all I can tell you is I went very close by it by cruise ship..twice..and both times it was spewing and both times the sulphuric smell of rotten eggs in the air was not pleasant....beyond that I dont know much about it

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Yeah, I know...hubby already warned me about obnoxious gases, so I read up on it.

It's mostly hydrogen sulfide. Apparently, it's only around when the volcano is actively burping.

Hey, I grew up downwind from an International Paper plant, and upwind from Campbell's Swamp. Nothing could top THAT for icky smells.

Petri said:

Irish heritage.. hmmm.. Perhaps as close as americans whose grandgrandgrandgrandparents came from Italy are to italians ;-)

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Yeah, I know, but the Caribbean St. Paddy's day celebration thingy sounded pretty fun....

Well, darn.

Still nobody.

Guess I'll have to go first!

The last time I was "down Montserrat way" was in the early 80's. Radio Antilles (The Big RA) was still broadcasting (and people were speculating about CIA ownership, and calling Deutsche Welle a CIA front), AIR Studios was hot, Jimmy Buffett had already recorded Volcano, Hurricane Hugo was a few butterfly generations removed from being even a butterfly sneeze in Africa, the hills were green, the people were friendly, and the Soufriere Hills were calm. Anything that I know from 20-25 years ago is meaningless now.

Sorry Mags, you're on your own. But, if you go, please report back. I would like to know how things are now.

I have a friend who went a couple years ago...her husband lived there once and loved the island...I do remember her not being thrilled about it the second time she went...I'll ask her for more info.

i would loooooooooove to go <3 <3 <3

Okay, Mags, here is what I got for you.

My friends were there just 2 years ago. He loved the island 20-25 years ago when he lived there but said it is entirely different now. He says he would discourage anyone from going unless you really want to put on your explorer hat and check out the volcano. The smell is bad and there is ash everywhere...not at all what it used to be like.

Other than that, there just isn't anything to do there. He said most of the island is unaccessible so you have about 3-4 square miles to work with.

If you decide to go, here is his advice:

1. Take the helicopter from Antigua not the boat shuttle.
2. Stay at the Vue Pointe Hotel
3. Find Ziggy (the hotel will know how to contact him) for the best food on the island.
4. Don't stay too long. Again, he's saying there is nothing much to do.

That is IT! Not much, but hope it helps.
Good luck and let us know what you decide....Everyone is different and you may love it!

btw, have you checked out TripAdvisor forums? There is quite a bit of info on the island.

Thanks, so much for all the good info...I really do appreciate it.

I DID go check out the TI forums and site.
I love that website!!!!

Anyway... I am still fascinated, but I think I'll put that trip on the back burner.

I really wanna see the volcano, but I can do without the rotten egg smell.

I did find a couple of neat villas for really cheap, and they have incredible ocean sunset views. That was one thing I did find out...because of the volcano, the sunsets are supposed to be unreal.

Oh well. Someday.

Magnolias said:

ocean sunset views. That was one thing I did find out...because of the volcano, the sunsets are supposed to be unreal.

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you don't have to go to Monserrat for unreal sunsets...the sunsets above 10 thousand feet in this country are something to behold...the picture doesn't even do it justice....and this is what we looked at almost every night from our living room over the continental divide..when it wasnt snowing

Well...I think Montserrat has been put on hold indefinitely.

They had an "event" there on Feb. 11th.

The ash cloud reached 50,000 feet, and the lava flows extended into the sea near the old airport.

Eek!!!!!
Report from Montserrat Volcano Observatory