Hello from Montserrat!
The home of;
The critically endangered Mountain Chicken - actually a frog not a chicken (and mentioned in my blog before if you happen to have read it while I was in Mauritius).
The Soufrière Hills volcano - last eruption was in 2012, but there have been several catastrophic volcanic events within the last 20 years, wiping out a lot of the urban areas and rendering half the island uninhabitable.
The now derelict remains of AIR Studios (renowned recording studio established by Sir George Martin, of Beatles fame) - a whole host of classic albums were recorded here by Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Duran Duran, among many others. The studios were leveled by Hurricane Hugo in 1989... and yes this island has had a bad time of it with all these natural disasters.
One of the worst FIFA football team in the world - currently ranked 194 out of 209. This sounds bad, but they have a population of 4000 people, so actually it's pretty impressive. Macau is the next worst, ranked at 195, and they have half a million people! They are pretty good at cricket though (Montserrat, that is).
Me! Until the end of the summer, anyway.
Another island in the tropics. It's mango and passion fruit season, so I'm happy. My only regret is that I missed the avocados. Our 'field station' is pretty hi-tech compared to what I've been used to. Electricity stays on all night, there is internet, and shower/toilet water doesn't have to be fetched with a bucket! Island living is much more taxing than some of you might imagine... it's not a holiday resort! Random power cuts, unpredictable (sometimes dangerous) weather, logistical difficulties and bureaucracy all make for interesting living arrangements.... but everything has been pretty comfortable so far. I've finished training and hand over from my predecessor, so getting more comfortable with what goes on.
Getting here was a long journey and by the end of it I was very glad to be on solid ground. I was reminded of how wonderful travelling can be if people are just... nice. A lovely woman bought me lunch when I was in Arizona - possibly because she thought I was poor and couldn't afford much lunch, but in reality I ordered a 'small' meal because American portions are enormous. They always give you free tortilla chips, which I gorge on and then can't manage anything else. The guy who ran the restaurant had also wanted me to eat for free, and when I tipped him, he insisted on making me an iced water to take away. Quite a bizarre experience, but a positive one. I don't think I looked too young and/or homeless, so I'll put it down to general kindness. I've gone through a lot of customs checks too this year, which in some places involves opening ALL your luggage. I have a lot of luggage, and customs officers now tend to look at me, then at my bags, then back at me, then wave me through. It might be that they look at my smiling face and think I'll be no trouble, but I have a feeling that it's because they just can't be bothered to unpack 40kg and then wait while I put it back. I have always depended on the kindness of lazy government officials.