MONTSERRAT
We also liked to travel with our three boys when they were younger. We rented a house in British West Indies (BWI) on the island of Montserrat. In 1979,
there was a dormant volcano (just steam vents, much like Yellowstone
here in the US) called the Soufriere (sue-frees).
John and our 4 year
old climbed down into the basin while I stayed at the top holding our
4 month old baby. It had the typical rotten egg smell, but we
didn't feel we were in any danger. We rented a
house in Spanish Pointe on the other side from the capital city,
Plymouth, near the airport. The house we rented from a Canadian doctor
and his wife, was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo, in 1989. The
hurricane devastated the whole island, but they were rebuilding before
the volcano erupted in 1995. Plymouth was destroyed by the pyroclastic flows and covered
with volcanic dust. Gone is the "paradise" of an island that time forgot.
The people of Montserrat are lovely people and I feel for them as the
remaining population of 4,000 tries to decide whether to stay or to go:
not an easy decision. I do hope to return someday when the volcano
once again goes dormant, if that day ever comes. Meanwhile, you might enjoy some recipes from the Montserrat Cookbook.
One year, we rented a house on the island of Saba, a small and very clean island about 28 miles from St. Maartin (the island is half French, half Dutch). Flying into Saba's very small airport landing strip
is the thrill of a lifetime. The airport runway is only 1300 feet (400 meters) in length! We had not been warned (no one is,
I guess, they all just take it in stride). Our small plane was full (20 passengers) and as it
approached the island, a mountain of green trees appeared in front of us, and the plane did a very sharp left turn, and the
pilot seemed to be slowing the plane (flaps?), decending to the teeny, tiny airstrip appearing in front of us. I took that moment to pray! Well, we landed, intact. And as they say, "We survived the landing on Saba". I found the T-shirt later, but no one really *knows* the thrill of that landing unless you have done it. If you are squeemish about planes, I would suggest you take one of the daily boats from St. Maartin. But, I must give them credit, the pilots do seem to know their jobs and do them well. We landed smoothly and even had room to spare.
The Dutch on Saba are friendly people. The taxi drivers are superb. The Chinese Restaurant had the greatest "Sweet and Sour Fish Balls". There is homemade Saban Lace to buy from the women, and Saba Spice, a spicy rum drink. I'm not a rum drinker, but found that it was very good on ice cream. Everyone
is very helpful, but everything takes second to a visit from the weekly cruise ships. We were taken by surprise when we had to take an earlier than schedules plane ride back to St. Maartin, and because of the cruise ship only found out we were scheduled to leave an hour or so before departure. What was to be a leisurely day of packing for a late afternoon flight, became a rat-race to pack up our family of five in an hour! Well, we made it and got to take a tour of St. Maartin by taxi, and had a great lunch at the airport. The seafood was excellent.
If you haven't been to Bermuda and you live on the east coast or can get a cheap flight from an
airport near you, go. You will not be disappointed. Bermuda is lovely. Food can be expensive. We got the MAP that included breakfast and dinner. That way we only had to buy lunch out or a snack. Inquire about a bus pass at your hotel, it will take you anywhere on Bermuda (taxis are expensive). Or, you can rent a moped, if you can handle driving on the left. We enjoyed our stay at the Grotto Bay. The Princess and other hotels are nice, too. Look at the location. Grotto Bay is on one side of the island, the Princess is down by the harbor in Hamilton, the capital, on the other side of the island. Choose well according to where you want to be.
© 1997-2001 JKH
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Saba takes a direct hit from Hurricane Georges (September 1998).
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