Montserrat

  We spent three days in the lee of Montserrat, an island which was devastated by the eruption of the Soufriere Hills volcano in the mid nineties.  The volcano is still active and belches sulfur dioxide daily, and periodically erupts with lava and pyroclastic flows every couple years.

  Luckily, there is a mountain range which protects the northern third of the island from the ash flow, and we found a decent anchorage in Little Bay.  Most of the island's population departed after the main eruption, but a few thousand remain, and it is a beautiful spot.
  We took a taxi/tour of the island, including a visit to the destroyed city of Plymouth, it was amazing to see how quickly nature took over.  We walked inside a hotel which had been abandoned in haste when the volcano blew it's top - there were still notes and receipts on the desks, untouched for years.  In most places, the island is still quite lush - we were able to harvest mangoes and tamarind from abandoned trees to complement our supplies.

  Tomorrow we set sail for Antigua, which is back on the main track of cruising sailboats and cruise ships.  We've had a great time the past three weeks or so sailing in the less-developed western leeward islands, but Antigua will give us a chance to get some repair parts, provisions, and possibly catch a cricket match between Guyana and the Leeward team...should be cool.

  We've got a backlog of videos to upload when a strong internet connection comes our way, so hopefully look for those this weekend...it should give those of you in the northeast something to do besides shovel snow!