SA is back from Montserrat !! - Trip Report, phase I
 

I'll have to cut this up into sections so I'll get a start today & add on as time allows. We departed CLT Sunday evening & had an uneventful, direct (the best kind) flight to St. Maarten via US Air (of course). There we stayed at the Wyndham ($12 for a taxi from the airport) which is nice enough for $250/night. We met some friends who were staying at the Esmeralda (sp?) on Orient Bay. It was of their opinion that our place was a tad nicer & a tad cheaper. We had a little efficiency type room w/a kitchen as well as a pocket door that you could separate the 'living room' from the sleeping/kitchen area. This came in handy w/the two little ones (A 3 year old & 11 month old). After some debate we had dinner at the hotel which was actually very good, the scallops being everyones' favorite. It was an early evening as we had to travel to Montserrat the following day. If you need anything at the Wyndham, Janelle is the person to take care of it for you. On the Wyndham, not the best of locations but convenient to the airport which was good enough for us. The pool area & restaurant were fine & they even had a 'kiddie pool', which was a nice surprise. This property used to be a condo/time share property & there are still a few lingering owners. We were typically the youngest persons there (outside of staff) by twenty years or so.

Such a tease! You got me all excited about reading your Montserrat report!!
:-)
On a serious note, looking forward to reading it. Welcome back.

I absolutely echo caribtraveler's sentiments. :D

On Monday we traveled on WinAir via Antigua to Monterrat. (No problems here although it takes some time to get through Immigration & Customs). The Mars family, of candy bar fame, was immediately behind us in line and my daughter proceeded to entertain them & everyone else during our wait. Suffice it to say she had to go to the bathroom...& I'll leave it at that... Clover Lea picked us up at the airport w/our rental car & took us to the police station to get our Montserrat Drivers License ($20 or $50EC). Then on to Gingerbread Hill. We stayed in the villa which is a two BR, full kitchen w/doors that open to the outside across the LR & BR. It's even better than the pics - www.volcano-island.com. Clover was also kind enough to give us a little mini-tour & stop by the grocery on the way to pick up some essentials. W/the two little ones that was pretty much it for our first day, as we didn't arrive until early evening. We constantly had hummingbirds buzzing around the feeder, & the sunset views were wonderful from our vantage point. After meeting the rest of the Lea contingent, & scheduling our tour w/David for the following day, we turned in early, excited to have finally arrived...

Other Montserrat info...there is a small piece in Conde Nast Traveler this month as well as in the US Airways magazine. Also check out www.mvo.ms & www.visitmontserrat.com.

More more! =D>

I am thrilled to finally read a recent trip report on Montserrat.

I'm very interested in reading about Montserrat. Looking forward to the next installments.

Thanks.

Day 2 - For the small fee of $50 we spent nearly the entire day w/our host David Lea. He has done a number of documentaries & has lived on the island somewhere around 25 years. We traveled to the Volcano observatory, which is very cool, as well as to several other observation points. If you go to the mvo website there are a couple of recent pics much like what we witnessed while we were there. We also ventured into the exclusion zone a bit & really viewed the volcano from every angle while receiving a wonderful history of the island & its inhabitants. Even if you don't stay at Gingerbread Hill, contact David, & do this trip w/him first thing. It is very educational as well as enlightening. One of the things that I was not aware of is that the volcano is pretty much active (to some degree) nearly all the time. Just in varying degress. My wife was also able to collect some samples which she will take back to the classroom. All in all, a busy day which the kids handled very well. One of the interesting things about the island is that when people pass they give a short horn beep for hello. The standard greeting is 'awright'. Skipping the whole 'how are you doing', etc. & getting right to the point. Everyone speaks English although I must admit I had to listen pretty hard w/some of the locals & there version of English. Currently there is 1 ATM on the Island which dispenses EC$ (it is a RBC branch). The Bank of Montserrat just opened in their new location & should have an ATM soon. Conversion is 2.7EC = $1US. But many places it is more like 2.5. I would advise getting some EC just for the ease of doing business while on the Island.

Days 3,4,5 - We began to explore the beaches & wander. As a whole we liked Woodlands Beach the best. Black, sugary sand next to a cliff area. Not large -but also a picnic area, shelter, bathrooms & shower, as well as shade. The water could be a bit rough, but it was very clear. My kids loved the black sand. Bunkum's Beach was probably our next choice, not much in the way of amenities, but the Bunkum Beach Bar is at the top of the hill & a great place for lunch, be it a pizza or a wahoo sandwich. We also like Little Bay but there was no shade there. A couple of days we ate at the People's Place, right at the top of the hill from where we were staying. Here is the menu - Roti (a pancake like tortilla thingy w/meat & other filling, rice & peas perhaps), Roasted Chicken, Baked Fish. All $20EC. Mary & John will take excellent care of you & there are always a couple of locals there to provide entertainment. The meat dishes are a huge/piled plate of rice, cucumber, peas, slaw or salad & yams w/the meat on top. We would get two of the three menu items & split them up. Did I mention the most people we ever shared one of the beaches with was 3, & most of the time we had the entire beach to ourselves ?? Just a side note...

Random thoughts on Montserrat & helpful hints - On one of our last nights there we also traveled to a spot to check out the Volcano. At night, when it is flowing, the scene is truly awesome. There is just no describing it. Some other things to know about Montserrat - Arrows is a good place to go for T-shirts & what not. The stationary store in the Government complex is a good place to go for a variety of things, at the very least just stop by & look around. Marigets near the exclusion zone, & beach, has wonderful food. We had lunch there & had a fish kabob, tuna sandwich, & ham & cheese w/a big side of fries including drinks (beers for the adults of course) for $54EC (or $20US) & the food was wonderful. They drive on the left side. I would try & get an automatic as the roads are narrow & hilly. Cars are about $30US/day, jeeps (you'll most likely get a RAV4) about $50US/day. The only hot water we had was in the shower. This is fairly common. I read three full books while I was there...the pace is wonderfully relaxed. Let me just say this, if your idea of your vacation is an island resort, this is probably not the place for you. If you want to experience a different type of place on this planet of ours, meet some geniunely friendly people, relax & actually become a little more educated...this may be what you are looking for.

Sounds like y'all had a great time. I am certainly glad to hear this firsthand experience of Montserrat, and island I've been curious about for a long time. Did you do a stopover on the way home someplace?

This is a fantastic report! Thanks for sharing it. I look forward to taking a group very soon.

Really enjoyed your trip report. It's very nice when people choose to go to a destination for more than just sunshine and fruity drinks. (Not that there's anything wrong with that...)

The people of that island have been through some really heartbreaking times, and they've lost so much. We've made it a point to keep up with what the volcano has been doing over the years.

Glad you had a good time, and it was obviously very interesting. I hope their tourism industry continues its recovery.

Final installment - We actually extended our stay in Montserrat through Sunday evening (we were originally supposed to leave on Saturday morning). Fortunately Winair didn't charge us a change fee, nor did the Wyndham charge us a cancellation fee in St. Maarten. We stopped over night in St. Maarten coming & going (which was plenty for me by the way). In both cases we also had to stop over in Antigua on Winair, so if you can fly there direct, that is even better. Since we were using US Air miles we could get there (direct), but could not find a suitable return flight, hence St. Maarten. You will never find more friendly, helpful people than in Montserrat, despite the problems they have had. One place I had forgotten, there is a photographer named Keven who has a little shop up the hill from the banks. He has some tremendous photos that are also worth a look & a 5 X 7 print is $20EC. Our trip home was uneventful, the children loved the beaches & people much as we did. Every time we went to this one grocery store everything stopped so they could play w/my kids & they always left w/free treats. They is no crime there to speak of. When dropping off our rental car we just left it at the Airport w/the keys in it. Most of the doors, don't even have locks. It is certainly a different type of life style, but most certainly one my family & I enjoyed sharing for a week.

Sounds like you had a great trip SA. Thanks for the report! :)

Thx Statia, we did have a wonderful time. We plan to return & possibly hit Barbuda next time. We have friends going next week out of Antigua on a boat, so we'll see what they recommend...Saba also holds an interest.

I don't know why I waited so long to read your report but now I know that we have to add this destination to our list. It really sounds great. I know my husband would love to visit the Volcano observatory. We have to wait maybe 2-3 years but we'll go there. Saba, Barbuda? Please stop before our list get too long. Thank you for sharing
Pat

Pat - Any additional info I can provide I would be happy to...You just can't beat staying w/the Lea's & having David show you the Island. We really feel like we are now part of the Montserrat 'family'. We'll be returning soon.

Topping for LEster

Topping for JAGIRL

gee thanks SAn for shooting this to the top for me. I enjoyed reading every second of this report.
Since the volcano I thought Montserrat was pretty much dead and empty.

I have friends who used to live there but who moved to St. Kitts. Their reports of their visits back were so dreary and sad...ash ash everywhere! I guess it is different when you lived there and lost everything as opposed to being a visitor there you know?

Your report actually offers so much hope for the island!

Loved reading it!

Question : How was the ash situation? Was there still ash everywhere or has the island been cleaned up?
You mentioned that it took a while to get through customs...does that mean that the tourism sector is doing well? How are the businesses doing?

Customs - no, they are just slow and they search all the residents bags, they don't want the drug issues that some of the other islands seem to have. Tourists are pretty much waived in. We started having some ash showers near the end of the week, but there was little impact where we stayed. It did shut down the Airport for most of the day that we left though. They are essentially still rebuilding, but it is coming along. The best times to go (based on the residents) would be December (they have a big XMas party) & St. Patrick's Day (since they have an Irish heritage). The major thing is that there is little to do there except explore & relax. If you have to have nightlife & fine dining, there's not much happening there. Perhaps because of the situation I would say the people there are the friendliest of anywhere I've ever been. I'm not sure how they keep a smile on their face, but they do...

thanks SAn.
I know several people who left Montserrat when thevolcano started acting up. Several of them went to St. Kitts and have never been back.
I'm still trying to convince them to let US plan a trip there! :)

I can only imagine what it would be like if you had lived there...The exclusion zone, is interesting, terrifying, fascinating & sobering all at the same time. It almost doesn't look real, if you can imagine. As bad as the south is, the north (which I believe was probably mostly goat paths & wasteland when they left) is the exact opposite. Showing the resilience & dedication of the people of Montserrat, of maintaining the island as their home.

Where on Montserrat did they live ?

SAn,
I'm not sure where they lived. But what I do know is that their home was completely covered in ash. They left in 1996 or thereabout...when the volcano first started acting up. They currently live in St. Kitts & Trinidad.

Just curious, there are a lot of homes that look quite livable w/a little work that are close to, but not in, the exclusion zone. Probably much like your friends, they just left & never went back.

yeah...a lot of people left and started new lives, new jobs (like my friends) in other countries.

When the volcano started spewing it was pretty scary. For those having experienced the panic of trying to leave before the thing totally blew and "killed off everybody!", I doubt many of them will return any time soon. I don't blame them. I wouldn't want to move back into Montserrat and then have that volcano start up its antics again! :) No matter how safe it is!

I wonder if there are any Montserratians on this board :?

Just got back from Montserrat in July, to attend a friend's wedding. It was a bit harrowing to get there (WinAir cancelled the last flight out of Antigua because of weather and we were stuck there overnight) but totally worth it! We stayed at a villa at Woodlands, overlooking the gorgeous black sand beach. Verrrrrrry relaxing! Also did some great scuba diving with Bryan at Sea Wolf [www.seawolfdivingschool.com].

Have pics posted here, if anyone cares to see them:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailsh...154/t_=7442154

This was actually part of a 2.5-week Caribbean junket starting with a week in Jamaica. The wedding got tacked on later. I was actually really surprised at how difficult (and expensive) it is to island-hop in the Caribbean. I was expecting it to be more like Europe where you can hop ferries from place to place, but that infrastructure just does not exist.

Regardless, I had an amazing time! And of course it sucks to be back to reality. ;)

It's nice to read some reports about trips to Montserrat. I had been wanting to go there for a long time and finally had my chance a few weeks ago. I was with a research team investigating the effects of the volcano on the environment.

Since the alert level was 4, we weren't able to go into the Exclusion Zone to revisit some sampling sites (other team members had been there before). So for me, the trip was mostly orienting myself to the island, touring around, and relaxing.

It was my first trip to the Caribbean and I was pleasantly surprised by the comfortable weather. There was always a breeze and it never was too hot.

Two of my favorite places were the Monserrat Trust (and trail across the road, behind the school) and the Belham River valley (mudflow area). I also liked the ride to and the view from Jack Boy Hill. And of course, the MVO (Volcano Observatory).

We stayed on Baker Hill and just walking around was beautiful. The people were so friendly.

Two quite exciting events from the trip -- first of all, I severely fractured my big toe and went to the hospital to have it checked out. They couldn't have been nicer. And the total cost was only $20 EC.

Secondly, the dome of the volcano partially collapsed on our last day on the island. I hobbled outside and was amazed by the swirling black clouds, the ash plume. I was somewhat scared for a few minutes (what if this was the "big" one, was the ash going to land in our area, would we be able to fly back to Antigua and the US in the next two days). What an awesome sight!!

Well we did get back to Antigua the next day. It was HOT there and all I could do was watch the World Cup match on tv in the air conditioned hotel room. The next day it was a long flight home by myself, but American Airlines was very kind to me and my toe. They wisked me from plane, to immigration, customs, and my new gate in San Juan.

I can't wait to get back to Montserrat!!

I'm very happy to see others at least visiting Montserrat. Despite the volcano (or even beacause of it). As far as the island hopping, since Win-Air has a virtual monopoly on some routes, I don't expect it to get cheper anytime soon. But it is well worth the expense.

I'm in Jamaica and have only been to a handful of the other islands. It's ridiculously expensive and difficult to island hop.

Every time I start planning a Caribbean trip I end up giong some place else instead!
It's easier to go to Europe from Jamaica than to get to St. John! It's crazy.

JAGIRL - You are exactly correct, I, too, can go to Europe cheaper than the Caribbean which is why we only recently (in the past 5 years) started exploring that area.

The 1st time I went to Montserrat I was looking for property. I was drawn there becasue of property prices, crime rates, english over seas territory (being Canadian) and the fact you can drink the water and there are no shortages. BUT, I was not convienced Montserrat was the perfect place so I kept on traveling. I now have been to 27 islands and have purchased property on MONTSERRAT! It is a great little island rich with history. They have had their share for problems for the last 11 yrs but I believe the island will make a full come back. Everyone just needs to learn about how great the island and the people are. Please travel and see for your self. Virgin Air and Travel are now starting a day package to the island. Come see us. www.milesawayvilla.com

We will be returning this Winter & are also exploring the possibility of purchasing property there...where did you buy yours ?

I understand, you're just advertising your property, now that's not allowed...

property there should be pretty cheap, huh?

I don't really know...the problem may be finding someone to take care of it for you. We're planning way ahead here, but there are so few places to stay there (& we love it) we intend to explore all available options. I'm sure buidling materials would be pricey & have to be brought over from St. Maarten or Antigua I guess (?). So an exisiting structure would make more sense.

Maybe a townhouse/ strata/.condo type property might be best if they have those. You pay a monthly maintenance fee and don't worry about it.

so you <i><u>really</u></i> liked Montserrat huh? Sounds like you're planning on going back very frequently. I really must try to get over there. It's just so danged difficult.

We absolutely loved it &amp; the people are great. I didn't see much in the way of Condos but we'll try to do a little more 'in depth' looking around this trip. It is just very difficult getting motivated when you are smack dab in the middle of a place where doing nothing seems strenuous...