The “Security Zone”
The islanders that decided to stay (in 1998, 7,000 had already abandoned Montserrat, going to the United Kingdom, or some other Caribbean island) have to live in the northern zone, not affected by the volcano.

The “security zone” begins at Lawyer’s Mountain, covered by the green ferns, and the royal palms, that can protect the northern part of the island from anything, but a volcanic cataclysm. Nearby is St. Peter’s, a mountain village, with a church used as refuge during the volcanic crisis, with a group of houses lining up at the main street.

The northern highways are sinuous and steep. This was the less inhabited region of the island, and now is the center of the new Montserrat. More or less at the heart of the “security zone”, at 5 km. from the coast, is the town of St John’s, whose inhabitants are struggling to get back to normal life. No matter the facts, Montserrat’s reputation of having one of the lowest crime rates in the world, remains intact.

Though many of the attractive places in Montserrat (Plymouth, the former capital, being one of them), are destroyed, at the “exclusion zone”, Government is trying hard to get tourism back to the island. Where else in the Caribbean can you see a mountain grow? . Though lodging is limited to some modest inns, and the airport is partially destroyed, from Antigua you can catch a ferry, on a one-day tour, reaching Little Bay, northwest of the island. This place, that until recent times had no more than a cavern, known only by some few divers, has now the opportunity of becoming the new capital, goats included.

The Volcano Sights
Visitors can now go to the Montserrat volcano observatory, where the seismic activity is monitored. And of course, you can also see it with your own eyes. The best place for this purpose is Jack Boy Hill, located on the southwest, and from where you can also watch the old airport (the only way of getting to Montserrat by air is by helicopter). From the top you can see the pyroclastic flux, which buried whatever was in his way.

When the clouds raise, not always, the new volcano outline can be seen, an impressive sight, especially for those who knew the former volcano aspect. The topography of the Soufriere hills has had a radical change. From inside the crater emerges now a new mountain, that didn’t stop growing until March 1998. Maybe, the mountain is now sleeping, but inhabitants are not enough sure of that.

After a last sight to the smoking mountain, and to the Plymouth ruins, you can go north, where you’ll find a very different landscape. Here you can walk through the paths along the Look Out reefs, or admire the beauty of Bunkum River, on whose shores grow ferns where the so called mountain chickens (huge eatable frogs) live. If you want to go into the depths of the sea, you have to go to Woodland Beach, and at Rendezvous Bay you’ll find a magnificent coral beach. Also is worth chatting with these brave people, whose lives changed so dramatically, the fateful day that “fire came down from the mountain”.