An eruption of the volcano here that started in 1995 completely destroyed the south side of the island, including the capital city of Plymouth, which is now completely buried in ash. In this sense it was similar to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii (though the Vesuvius eruption was far more forceful). Today I visited the
MVO (Montserrat Volcano Observatory).
You can also check the current activity report for the volcano on the MVO website. The first picture is the volcano on Montserrat. The actual glowing lava dome is not visible because it is obscured by the clouds. The second pic shows the steam vents shooting out from the Gages side of the mountain (this venting occured over a period of 2 hours and is mentioned in the activity report for this week). The volcano alert level is currently 4 (on a scale of 1 to 6; 6 means major eruption in progress). The area surrounding the volcano is lush tropical rainforest (in contrast the north side of the island is relatively arid). Yesterday I did another 2-tank dive. That makes 16 dives so far on this trip. Just me and the divemaster. We did a site called "Sea Studio", a reef near Rendezvous Bay and the bat caves (inhabited by fish-eating bats). We saw a GIANT lobster, possibly bigger than the one Qen and I saw under the Rhone Wreck. It's antennae were nearly 4' long! Also saw: peacock flounder, finger-cleaning fish, parrotfish, and many others. It was on this dive though, that I feel I achieved the "Zen" level o
f diving -- that is, a state of complete relaxation and underwater enlightenment. No fussing with the equipment or repeatedly checking gauges or worrying about how I'm breathing. Just a pure enjoyment of the scuba experience. I used up no more air than the divemaster (Andrew,
Scuba Montserrat) who has been diving for 20 years and prided himself on his low air usage. After the dive Andrew took me around Montserrat (often abbreviated M'rat) for a mini afternoon beer crawl and hooked me up with some spearfishermen. I might get a chance to try spearfishing later!
An eruption of the volcano here that started in 1995 completely destroyed the south side of the island, including the capital city of Plymouth, which is now completely buried in ash. In this sense it was similar to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii (though the Vesuvius eruption was far more forceful). Today I visited the MVO (Montserrat Volcano Observatory). 
You can also check the current activity report for the volcano on the MVO website. The first picture is the volcano on Montserrat. The actual glowing lava dome is not visible because it is obscured by the clouds. The second pic shows the steam vents shooting out from the Gages side of the mountain (this venting occured over a period of 2 hours and is mentioned in the activity report for this week). The volcano alert level is currently 4 (on a scale of 1 to 6; 6 means major eruption in progress). The area surrounding the volcano is lush tropical rainforest (in contrast the north side of the island is relatively arid). Yesterday I did another 2-tank dive. That makes 16 dives so far on this trip. Just me and the divemaster. We did a site called "Sea Studio", a reef near Rendezvous Bay and the bat caves (inhabited by fish-eating bats). We saw a GIANT lobster, possibly bigger than the one Qen and I saw under the Rhone Wreck. It's antennae were nearly 4' long! Also saw: peacock flounder, finger-cleaning fish, parrotfish, and many others. It was on this dive though, that I feel I achieved the "Zen" level o
f diving -- that is, a state of complete relaxation and underwater enlightenment. No fussing with the equipment or repeatedly checking gauges or worrying about how I'm breathing. Just a pure enjoyment of the scuba experience. I used up no more air than the divemaster (Andrew, Scuba Montserrat) who has been diving for 20 years and prided himself on his low air usage. After the dive Andrew took me around Montserrat (often abbreviated M'rat) for a mini afternoon beer crawl and hooked me up with some spearfishermen. I might get a chance to try spearfishing later!
4 comments:
Ahh grasshopper, enjoy your extra dive time from now on!
How was the dive outfit compared to BVI's?
What are they growing on the slopes of the volcano? I can see terraqced fields in the venting pic.
The dive outfit is just Andrew and his girlfriend Emma. It's obviously much smaller scale than anything in the BVI (I'm pretty sure I was their only customer all week). Their dive shop is a shack, much like the one on Cooper's Island. The dive boat is borrowed from a local fisherman. However, they are a super cool couple and they've been responsible for introducing me to a lot of the locals and helping me to enjoy the local culture and the full M'rat experience.
I'm not sure what they are growing on the slopes of the volcano, but we know that volcanic ash results in extremely fertile soil, after some period of time (initially it is far too acidic). While I was up there I met 3 soil scientists from the Bahamas who were studying the precise effect of of the ash on the soil and quantifying exactly how long it takes to become fertile.
AAHHH theres a pic of goats..............i hope u din eat those cuties!
<3 Anusha
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