Montserrat attractive because of what it doesn’t have

The Post and Courier

"I don't know where I'm a gonna go

When the volcano blow."

— Jimmy Buffett

WOODLANDS, Montserrat — "Island getaway" is usually an oxymoron.

Google it, and you get links for mostly high-dollar resorts in the Bahamas and Caribbean.

Golf, turquoise water, sugar white sand, watery beer with a lime in it and lots of people.

So where do you go if you want to get away from THAT?

How about a warm place with steep, lush mountains and rain forests? Sheer cliffs and tiny black sand beaches on a dark azure ocean? No resorts? One hotel? One fine restaurant?

You might want to consider Montserrat, a tiny gem of an island in the Lesser Antilles about 300 miles southeast of Puerto Rico.

The country's tourism director says you should come to Montserrat for what it does NOT have: crowds, neon signs, elevators.

What it does have are inexpensive villas with spectacular views, pristine mountains and forest trails for hiking and birding, and some of the happiest and friendliest people in the world.

Oh, and an active volcano.

That hasn't exactly been good for tourism, Montserrat's main source of jobs and income. But the country is struggling to bring tourists back, citing the volcano as a main attraction.

Erupting with various intensity since 1995, the Soufriere Hills Volcano forced the evacuation of two-thirds of the island's 12,000 residents. The once most populous southern half of the country has been off-limits ever since. That includes the capital city of Plymouth, a quaint and vibrant seaport village visited by small cruise ships, tourists and rock stars. Now it's almost completely buried in lava, mud and rubble.

The 5,000 current residents, and the few tourists who still venture here, stay along the northwestern coast facing the Caribbean Sea, safe from Soufriere's devastating pyroclastic flows. These avalanches of high-temperature lava blocks and volcanic ash mixed with superheated gases can reach temperatures of 1,000 degrees and travel up to 70 mph, destroying everything in their path.

The population is shielded from the flows by the steep Centre Hills mountains, themselves former volcanoes. But nothing protects them from getting a good "ashin' " when Soufriere periodically vents, showering Montserrat and nearby islands with volcanic dust.

Soufriere — pronounced "sue-free-AIR" — is French for "sulfur," which you can smell in the form of sulfur dioxide occasionally emitted from the dome in a yellowish haze.

Except for these unpleasantries, Soufriere hasn't posed any danger to populated areas since 1995. The latest and largest pyroclastic flow was in January 2007, racing three miles down the Belham Valley and sending an ash cloud 30,000 feet into the sky.

Since then, activity has dropped off dramatically. Experts at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory deemed it safe to reopen part of the Exclusion Zone in September. The volcano was officially declared to be in a "paused phase" in October, but the eruption is not over.

Still want to get away?

Unless you've got your own plane, it's just about impossible to get to Montserrat in one day. Most regular folks fly to the popular tourist destination of Antigua (pronounced "Anteega"), spend a night or two, then fly to Montserrat.

The flight is on a small over-wing prop plane that has less room than some luxury SUVs, but you're only in the air for 16 minutes.

The island thrusts out of the ocean into steep, lush mountains that rise up 3,000 feet. The flight path avoids the volcano to the south, and the plane heads for the northern tip, which is rimmed mostly with sheer cliffs.

The plane dive-bombs onto a short landing strip that dead-ends at the base of a hill.

We made it with 100 feet to spare. Customs was a breeze in the tiny Gerald's airport that opened in 2005, replacing the old airport that was destroyed in 1997. During that gap, visitors had to take a ferry or helicopter.

Roughly the size of Wadmalaw Island, this 40 square miles of paradise is positively vertical. The only flat land is near a handful of tiny beaches.

From there, you head uphill on narrow twisting mountain roads.

Almost everywhere on Montserrat has a fabulous view. Not just from villas, even the prison (16 inmates were locked up) and the new dump!

One of the nicer views is from Tropical Mansion Suites, built in 1999 and currently the island's only hotel. The difference between this and other nice hotels is the volcano information card on the bedside table telling you what to do when the warning sirens sound.

The hotel is managed by Merle Galloway, who was born on Montserrat and educated as an accountant at Florida A&M. She worked in Tallahassee and Atlanta before returning recently to manage her family's hotel and its restaurant.

The bubbly 25-year-old says U.S. culture shock wasn't too much for her, but she's more comfortable back home where most of her family still lives, including her 97-year-old grandmother. "She still works in her garden and tends goats every day. She looks like she's 70!"

Merle thinks the media have exaggerated the stress that residents feel about the volcano, and talking to them confirms that. They are calm and friendly, and quickly put visitors at ease.

In fact, the residents who had to evacuate to faster-paced or foreign cultures such as nearby Antigua or the United States may be faring the worst. They include thousands who also saw their homes destroyed or, if not, declared off-limits for more than 10 years now.

They'll have to wait until Soufriere stops erupting. No one knows when that might be.

Also lost to the volcano are most of the villas where tourists came to stay regularly, providing jobs for many residents. Only about 300 rooms are available for rent now, nearly all along the northwest coast.

These include bed-and-breakfasts, guest houses and villas with spectacular views and low prices. Most have pools and full amenities.

The only upscale restaurant on the island recently opened in the former Woodlands residence of artist Heather Simpson-Forbes. Tough to find without good directions and a sturdy vehicle, the Royal Palm Club is hidden in 4 acres of tropical forest with a mountainside view of the nearby islands of Redonda and Nevis.

The wonderfully eclectic decor mixes Caribbean with Indian and African furnishings, and features Simpson-Forbes' art throughout. Several rooms are available for lodging. The food and service are quite good, supervised by Simpson-Forbes' business partner, Trevor Stephenson.

He's hoping tourism will pick up again soon, but the 30-year expatriate resident worries that the safety and slow pace of the island may suffer.

"You don't want to change the place, but if it could just be like it was, that would be fabulous," Stephenson said, noting that actor Danny Glover recently stopped in to eat.

Perhaps that's a start. Going back to the time when rock stars mingled with residents and tourists on beaches and in the bars while on the island to record albums at Sir George Martin's legendary Air Studios. They included Jimmy Buffett, whose "Volcano" album was recorded in the shadows of Soufriere in 1979.

Ask Danny Sweeney about the old days when you stop by his house in Olveston to have lunch or dinner on his back porch, which doubles as the must-visit Jumpin' Jacks restaurant.

Danny ran a windsurfing business at Old Road Beach at the Vue Pointe Hotel, teaching the likes of Mark Knopfler and his band mates in Dire Straits. He says Knopfler included him in the song "Walk of Life," changing his name from Danny to Johnny.

Knopfler told him that if their "Brothers in Arms" album sold 5 million copies, he'd buy Danny a new windsurfer. Turns out the album was Dire Straits' most successful to date, selling more than 20 million copies.

"Tell Mark I want my windsurfer," Danny laughed.

The beach there is now buried under volcanic ash and mud, and the Vue Pointe is closed.

Danny and his partner, Margaret, bought their current house/restaurant just inside the Exclusion Zone for a very good price after the former owners decided to leave.

"We never could have afforded a house like this before the volcano," Margaret said.

Of course, the price includes a volcano.

From the Jack Boy Hill viewing area, you can see Soufriere from about three miles away, its smoking peak often shrouded in clouds. Below, you can still see the tip of the runway at the old airport, now under a thick blanket of volcanic debris.

More than ever, Montserrat can be described as "the way the Caribbean used to be." The volcano ensures that.

Maybe that's how it's supposed to be. A perfect low-key place to escape the crowds, with a hint of danger and awe to make sure you appreciate it.

On the Web

GREEN MONKEY DIVE SHOP: divemontserrat.com for snorkeling, diving and boat tours.

MONTSERRAT TOURIST BOARD: visitmontserrat.com for complete travel information including lodging.

MONTSERRAT VOLCANO OBSERVATORY: mvo.ms for the current status and history of the volcano, plus photos and educational information.

ROYAL PALM CLUB: montserrat-royalpalmclub.com for fine dining and boutique hotel lodging.

TROPICAL MANSION SUITES: tropicalmansion.com for a modern hotel and restaurant near the airport and Little Bay.

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1600-05=&volpage=photos&photo=061091 to see a photo of the pyroclastic flow that killed 19 on Montserrat.

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Hazards/What/PF/pcflows.html to learn more about volcanos and pyroclastic flows.

Reach Richard Green Jr. at rgreen@postandcourier.com or 937-5544.