Rob, N7QT will be active from Montserrat Island 11- 25 March 2015 as VP2MQT.
He will operate on 80- 10m CW, SSB, digital modes.
QSL via home call.
Montserrat Island
The Montserrat Island, simply know as Montserrat is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean Seas and it is part of the chain known as Lesser Antilles. The area measures 102 km2 and the population is around 4,900. The capital of Montserrat is Plymouth, but the biggest city of the island is Brades. The island also has an exclusion zone and people are not allowed to go in there for a main reason: Montserrat has an active volcano which destroyed Plymouth in 1995. During that incident two-thirds of the population was forced to flee the island and even today the volcano that produced this tragedy is active. The volcano was dormant for centuries but in 1995 it erupted and it destroyed the airport of Montserrat and the docking activities from Plymouth.
The economy of this island had to suffer a lot because of the Hugo Hurricane and the eruption of Soufriere Hills Volcano. The business export is the main source of income for the island, although it is also supported by the British government.
Because this is an exotic island it is also the home of rare species of plants and animals. The wildlife of Montserrat is something that attracts tourists, although many people are avoiding coming to this island because of the Soufriere Hills Volcano. Those who are coming in here are able to see the rare Giant Ditch Frog and it is known as Mountain Chicken. This type of frog can only be seen in Montserrat and Dominica but this specie of frog has undergone critically in the past years. The volcanic eruption also contributed at this undergone.
Montserrat also had its own recording studio known as AIR Studios and many famous singers came here to sing, but the studios were destroyed by the Hugo Hurricane and now there’s nothing left. The most popular sport on the island is Cricket, although Montserrat has a FIFA team of football too. The official language spoken in here is English and because this is a British Overseas Territory the driving takes place into the left side of the road.
Unfortunately for the economy of the island the population growth is low and the industry is no longer working properly. Not even the tourism is not working as it used to be, and only because of the natural catastrophes that took place in here. The economy cannot be sustained by agriculture although many people from here are practicing it. In Montserrat you cannot find expensive hotels or noisy nightclubs. This island is mostly presenting the ordinary Caribbean life.
Catholics were once the ones who dominated Montserrat when it came about religion, but today the number of Anglican Protestants is higher. On this island there is a bit of manufacturing activity which is helping the economy. However, tourism is also part of the economy and because the volcano stopped the activity now tourists are coming to Montserrat once again. However, the volcano is still active and there is an area in which tourists are not allowed to go and not even the citizens of Montserrat. There was also a medical school there and a lot of people from North American attended that school, but it has to move on another island after the eruption of Soufriere Hills Volcano.
The fate of Montserrat was very unfortunate and not because the people were not capable to keep the tourists on the island or because they were not able to work. The natural disasters hit Montserrat one after another. The Hugo Hurricane was responsible for the closing of AIR Studios, which were once very popular especially in United States and the volcanic eruption from 1995, was really devastating for the Montserrat economy.
However, the economy of this island is starting to get back to normal because tourists are coming to Montserrat even if the Soufriere Hills Volcano is still active. Those who are coming in here for a holiday are spending their time away from a potential area of eruption, which means that they are safe even in the volcano erupts once again. It is unfortunate that people forgot about the beauty of Montserrat which was once one of the most popular tourist destinations from the Caribbean Seas.
There’s actually some good news for those who want to come in here to relax, because the poor economy of Montserrat is making everything very cheap even the accommodation. In here there are plenty of places that you can visit and you can also practice some water sports too. You can explore the wilderness of the island while taking pictures and enjoying outstanding landscapes. The area of the volcano represents an exclusion zone and the tourists are not allowed to visit certain areas of the island. Still, they have a lot of nature that they can explore and they can see some rare plants and animals too.
After the volcanic eruption many people who used to live in Montserrat left their land and moved into other countries but some of them returned to their homeland. Everything was destroyed in here and it started in 1989 with the Hugo Hurricane. The AIR Studios were closed and because of these studios many famous musicians came in Montserrat to record their songs while also enjoying the tropical life. The ones who remained in Montserrat after 1989 were able to build up their community and to develop a strong economy but only after 6 years since the Hugo Hurricane another disaster hit the island. This time it was the eruption of Soufriere Hills Volcano and the damage was even bigger. That’s how the tourist economy was almost permanently destroyed and the same can be said about industry and export and import of goods. After that disaster a lot of people were forced to flee the island and never returned so it was very difficult for those who remained to build up their economy once again. However, they’ve received help, especially from the British government and even today the future of Montserrat is starting to look a bit brighter.
Video Montserrat Island
