In 2002 I was in Antigua sitting at the
beach bar of an out of the way hotel
called Sandpiper Reef. There was this
British couple there for the evening in
transit from their home on Montserrat
going to their London home. There
were on their way to London as hosts
of a benefit concert for Montserrat
staring Paul McCartney. The were a
fun couple obviously well traveled with
an estate in Ireland as well. The
discussion around Montserrat so
intrigued me that I decided to take a
trip over to check it out. As I'm sure
you know the island has been
devastated by it's volcano with 2/3 of
her citizens relocated to other
countries. I took the ferry over and
had booked a room at the Tropical
Mansion Suites. A new hotel built by
Monterratians with faith in their future.
The hotel was quite nice. I arranged
for a driver and took a tour of the
island. It was humbling. The main
town of Portsmouth was almost totally
covered by the volcanic mud. You can
see a church steeple peering out of
the flow but not a lot else. 2/3 of the
island land mass is in what is known as
the exclusion zone. You see beautiful
homes on the hills that look like people
should be or are living in them but no
one has been allowed there in several
years. The island is very lush. That
evening I had dinner at a place the
people I met in Antigua recommended
called Ziggy's . Ziggy's had moved
locations a few times because of the
volcano and had a small building for
it's kitchen and a large white canvas
tented area over a concrete and
carpeted floor. Potted plants were
everywhere as of course was the lush
vegetation outside the open part of the
tent. The furniture and place settings
were '20ish and I felt quite elegant.
The meal served was first class as
were the hosts. The evening felt kind
of like another world, magical. I had a
quiet evening and spent some time
roaming. By the time I left for Antigua
the next day I had invitations from
three different couples to come back
and stay with them. An amazing
people who have been through a lot
and lost much.
Jim@TwoJims.com