Sailing to Montserrat – Volcanoes, Exclusion Zones & Beans on Toast

Ah, Montserrat. She’s that brooding, mysterious island in the Caribbean that looks all lush and green from a distance — but has a bit of a temper, courtesy of the Soufrière Hills volcano. You might know her as the “Emerald Isle of the Caribbean,” but she’s also the only island in the region with an active volcano that’s reshaped her very soul.

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We sailed in from Guadeloupe, enjoying a cracking good sail until we reached the anchorage at Montserrat… where the sea had other plans. Short, choppy waves kept our boat doing its best impression of a washing machine on spin cycle. Anchoring wasn’t exactly romantic. Neither of us had the appetite for anything more glamorous than beans on toast before collapsing into bed. (Darling, not every Caribbean evening ends with cocktails under the stars — sometimes it’s baked beans and early bedtimes.)

Waking Up to Montserrat

By morning the swell had calmed, just a little, and we felt comfortable enough to head ashore. After checking in at customs, we met our tour guide — a cheerful local we’d already been WhatsApp-flirting with (in the most professional way, of course).

And off we went, exploring an island that felt like stepping into both paradise and a history book.

The Water Spring & Eternal Return

First stop: a natural water spring. The legend goes that if you drink from it, you’re destined to return to Montserrat. Naturally, we took a sip. (If I find myself mysteriously drawn back here in ten years, you’ll know why.)

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The Montserrat Volcano Observatory

Next up: the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) — the scientific HQ that monitors the mighty Soufrière Hills volcano. Normally it was closed to tourists, but our guide had connections. Inside, a volcanologist explained how they track eruptions, pointing out the seismic screens and video feeds. Mid-sentence, one alarm went off.

We froze. He froze. My heart did the cha-cha. Ten seconds later he laughed: “Oh, just a goat walking over the sensor.” Honestly, I’m not sure if I was relieved or slightly offended that a goat had nearly shaved years off my life.

We learned about the 1995 eruption that split the island in two — the north still thriving, the south transformed into a forbidden exclusion zone. It’s hard to put into words the power of a mountain that can bury a capital city.

Into the Exclusion Zone

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Special permission in hand, we drove into the exclusion zone itself. Imagine streets where cars are half-buried in ash, buildings poking out like ghosts of another time, and silence thick enough to feel. Plymouth, the once-bustling capital, is now a modern-day Pompeii — abandoned in 1997 when pyroclastic flows turned it into a surreal, haunting monument to nature’s power.

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It was emotional. Sobering. And strangely beautiful.

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Ending on a Lighter Note

To balance all that volcanic drama, we ended the day with a late lunch by the beach. Fresh seafood, rum punch, and waves lapping at the shore — Montserrat reminding us that she can still be gentle when she wants to be.

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Back at the marina, we toasted the island with sundowners before heading to our boat. Tomorrow: Antigua. But Montserrat… she’ll stay with us. (And thanks to that spring water, probably literally.)

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