Known as the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean, lush and mountainous Montserrat may be one of the Caribbean's best kept secrets. Up until the beginning of its Soufriere volcano's eruption in 1995, Montserrat developed as a residential tourism island--its foreign visitors buying or renting private homes in an extensive area on the Caribbean side of the island. In a very unusual and thoughtful development, there were 400 homes on spacious grounds owned and visited by people from the United States, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, and England.

Montserrat made international news when its centuries long dormant volcano became active again. That event and a more destructive eruption in 1997 initiated evacuations and interventions by international aid agencies. Many local people left and made homes elsewhere in the world and many of the foreign home owners looked to other Caribbean islands for their holidays. A population once over 10,000 now is about 4,000. The Soufriere volcano is still active and is carefully monitored. The island's population and commerical enterprises have relocated in the northern third of the island while the southern part of Montserrat is now home only to Soufriere.

Though Montserrat is no longer making international news, it remains a calm and secure place of fabulous beauty. And it now has a very unique attraction--Soufriere. For years Montserrat was a refuge where stars like Elton John and Paul McCartney could relax and mingle comfortably with everyone else. John spent a lot of his time greeting and saying farewell to a string of lovers at the ferry dock, finally meeting the woman he married at Air Studios right there in Montserrat. Air Studios, owned by Beetle Musical Director, Sir George Martin, provided state of the art recording equipment in this relaxed Caribbean setting. Not only favored by Elton John, Paul McCartney's Wings, Eric Clapton, and Phil Collins did work there. Air Studios was destroyed in a hurricane in 1989, but Sir George Martin stayed involved with this beautiful island. Martin together with his wife and other major donors have laid plans for a state of the art concert hall/conference center. When completed it will be their a gift to the island of Montserrat.

Banking:

Royal Bank of Canada, PO Box 222 Tel: 491-2426 Fax: 491-3991 Hours: M-Th 9 to 2, F 9 to 3 There is only one branch in Montserrat with an ATM--verify access with your bank before leaving home.

Climate:

Temperatures: August and September are the warmest months and January and February are the coolest. Temperatures vary only a little over 10 degrees between the summer and winter seasons, falling between 75 and 85 in the summer and 70 to 80 degrees in winter.

Rain: Rainfall averages 45/60" each year, with a rainy season from September to January. The western or Caribbean side of the island receives much of the rainfall.

Hurricanes: Hurricane season is June through October.

Currency:

The EC dollar is the official currency, but US dollars are widely circulated.

Customs:

Little Bay (Main Office, Brades) 8 to 4 M to F Tel: 664-491-3816 Fax: 664-491-6909 Email: customs@candw.ag

Departure Tax:

Caricom nationals pay US $10. All others pay US $17.

Transportation:

All transportation to Montserrat currently originates in Antigua which is served by international airlines including American, Air Canada, British Airways, BWIA International, and Continental. Some of the local area airlines with offices in Antigua are Airport Services Antigua (268)462-0528, Caribbean Star Airlines (268)480-2500, Carib Aviation (268)462-3147, LIAT (268)480-5600, and Normal Aviation (268)464-8522.

From Antigua take a ferry or a helicopter:

Take the twice daily (6:30 AM & 4:30 PM) high speed passenger ferry, Opal Express, from Heritage Quay in St. John's arriving in Port Little Bay, Montserrat, in about one hour. The ferry does not operate on Sunday. Ferry Contact: Carib World Travel, St. John's, Antigua (268)480-2980.

Take the helicopter from V.C. Bird International Airport arriving in Gerald's Heliport, Montserrat, in about 20 minutes. Helicopter service is not available on Wednesday. Helicopter Contact: Montserrat Aviation Services, Nixon's, Montserrat (664)491-2533/2362 Fax: (664)491-7186 or Email: caribav@candw.ag

Note: Please confirm dates and times of operation for the ferry & helicopter with your travel agent. Schedule changes are not infrequent.

The Volcano:

Dormant since the early 1600's, Montserrat's Soufriere Hills volcano became active again, erupting July 18, 1995. Spectacular though it was, the eruption was anticipated with preparations for the safety of the community long in place and very effective.

In character Soufriere is much like Mt. St. Helene's in Washington State which also did its damage with superheated ash and rubble, rather than with lava flows. Soufriere's first eruption in 1995 was not devastating to the island's residents, though it was spectacular. Two years later Soufriere wrought its real havock, burying the capital city of Plymouth, most of the island's airport, and destroying one of the island's most popular diversions when it covered the Belham Valley Golf Course in rubble and ash. Prior to Soufriere's second eruption, a visitor's life in Montserrat was considerably different than it is now. The Montserrat Golf Club offered 9 holes and tennis courts and the capital city of Plymouth was a delight with its historic buildings and small town charm.

Though even today Soufriere is not quiesecent, it can be safely seen from Garibaldi Hill along with the destroyed capital city of Plymouth. You will also see ash covered farm lands that not so long ago were the fertile agricultural farms that made Montserrat so productive and so economically viable. The experience of seeing an active volcano and its power to destroy is moderated knowing that the staff at Montserrat's volcano observatory is not only studying Soufriere, but constantly monitoring its status in order to warn residents and visitors of any imminent escalation of volcanic activity.