Galway’s Soufriere In contrast to the lush green landscape of Montserrat, the crater is a stark, grayish expanse of rock and volcanic tuff with pits of bubbling muddy water and hot springs that emit strong-smelling sulphorous vapors.
This picture was on a page in my photo book that labeled it as part of Galway’s Plantation, which is near Galway’s Soufriere. The plantation was started in the mid-seventeenth century and was operated on and off for over 250 years; its ruins are among the most impressive in the easter Caribbean.
Galway’s Plantation, Montserrat. An archeological project sponsored by the Montserrat National Trust and directed by specialists from the University of Tennessee and Boston University with assistance from Earthwatch and otherconservation groups.
On the way to Chance Peak, Montserrat’s highest mountain. From Kay Showker’s Caribbean: Montserrat’s “mountain chicken” is a large frog, the legs of which are a local delicacy. Known locally by its Creole name, crapaud, it is hunted after rainy spells. Can you find the mountain chicken in this picture?
On the way to Chance Peak, Montserrat’s highest mountain, with Sean and Rick. April 1991. “A highly rewarding hike to Chance Peak, trekking through rain and montane forests, can be done in a morning.” — Caribbean, The Outdoor Traveler’s Guide.
Before I traveled to Montserrat, my fellow Peace Corps Volunteer, Rick W., and I communicated about my trip via postcard. We did not have cell phones obviously. But some of us did not even have phones in our houses or apartments in the Caribbean. This postcard shows Old Bay Road in Montserrat. A lovely view fram in bougainvillea, from the Vue Pointe Hotel.
Montserrat stamps visitors’ passports with a shamrock, because it was settled by Irish Catholics fleeing religious persecution in nearby St. Kitts. It’s the only Caribbean island that celebrates St. Patrick’s Day as a public holiday. As of December 2020, Montserrat is one of the remaining 17 non-self-governing territories. The British acquired Montserrat in 1783.
