A View of Plymouth from Garibaldi Hill

From the top of Garibaldi Hill, we look down over the town of Plymouth which now resembles a ghost town of the old west. The houses that are visible sit among a garden of ash. The majority of buildings are buried 20 feet under. The most recent volcanic eruption seems to have completely covered the old church steeple that had become an landmark, ensuring the town would be remembered for what she once was.

Getting to the top of Garibaldi hill is an adventure unto itself. The road is mostly washed out and the bumps and crevices ensure none of our eyes ever leave the sight of what is in front of us. Steve is experienced in how to maneuver around the worst of it and he gets us to the top. It's the closest we can come to see the devastation of Plymouth, once a thriving town.

This area was home to the most fertile agriculture land, a beautiful harbor, and the center of island activities. All that is left is a memory of the distant past and hopes that one day, the volcano that haunts this little island will choose to fall back to sleep.

The Dry Waterfall Hike

It all starts with an e-mail from Keith and Eileen. "We're going on a hike; anyone want to join us?" Bill and I rarely say no. A hike into the rainforests is always an adventure in shopping! Yes.. I said shopping.

Eileen is familiar with the plants of the island. And more often than not, we find a young tree that wants to come home with us, allowing us to pull up the plant, roots and all. This trip was no exception. On route, when exhaustion began to set in, I watched as Eileen picked the leaves of a tree, crushed them and smelled their delicious scent. "What is it?" I inquired.

"It's a cinnamon tree," she explained. Not like the kind of cinnamon we use in the States of course. This cinnamon is used more like a bay leaf. When crushed, the smell of cinammon is emitted. She told me I could use it in any dish that I wanted to taste like cinammon. When I turned around, Keith presented me with a good size cinnamon tree that obviously wanted to come home with me!
On route, we came across "the lemon tree" which we had seen before, but never like this. It was covered in lemons that hung from every branch. The tree was so big we could place ourselves inside of it and enjoy the scent of lemon everywhere!

Two hours later we arrived at our destination, the dry waterfall, which was actually quite wet and running. Keith and Eileen had never seen such a large pool at its base before. The water was deep enough to wade into up to our waists, which Keith actually did!

By day's end, our backpacks were full of lemons and bananas ripe for the picking!

How I Got To Paradise!

Wintering on a Caribbean island amongst a live volcano was not one of the goals on my "to do" list before I die, and yet here I find myself... living in Paradise with an active volcano no less.. not that I'm complaining, mind you.

My partner, Bill, always wanted to buy a home on a Caribbean island, but who could afford one? As we were looking for a place to vacation in the winter of 2007, we came upon an article that mentioned Montserrat. It talked about the volcano and how affordable and easy it was to purchase property on the island. So off we went on a new adventure to explore the warmth of the sun, the breeze of the ocean, the beauty of the rainforests and intensity of the volcano.

Once we arrived, we knew we were home. From the moment we landed, the island was inviting and by the time we left, three weeks later, we felt safe and secure among strangers who would soon become friends. Our ability to drink from our tap with water that flows straight from the mountains was a huge asset. And the absence of corporate chains and stop lights suited both of us just fine!

By the fall of 2007, Bill bought our island home. In 2008, we spent our winter here. Would we be able to survive three months on an island of 3,500? Would we enjoy the simplicity of less is best when we actually had to live that realtiy? Yes, we survived and we enjoyed every moment of what Montserrat has to offer. It may not be much, but it is more than enough.

It is now 2009 and we have come back home. I hope to share with you some of our adventures on the volcanic island of Montserrat.