5 Apr: Living under a Spitting Fire
Suddenly, we were all in the middle of a pre-historic picture book, as if transformed millions of years back with a time machine. No other boat was visible along the horizon, other than Koshlong following us in our wake. The endless sea, two sailing boats and then this huge smoking mountain rising out of the deep sea. Like petrified rivers, the lava-streams, which certainly must still have been hot, stretched from the top of the more than 3000 feet high mountain down towards the sea. Approaching Montserrat was one of the most exciting moments during our cruise. Dinosaur could have shown up anywhere and anytime, and it wouldn’t have felt out of place, especially since we had seen iguanas on our previous island, which very much look like pre-historic creatures.
There didn’t pass many milliseconds before two blond heads showed up in the companionway. “Cooool! – Is it erupting, Dad?"
“It certainly looks like it, Jonathan, but I actually don’t think so. We wouldn’t have dared to come this close, if there was a threat of a real eruption this week. I looked it up on the web-page before deciding to sail to Montserrat, and they said it was safe to approach from the north."
"They showed thrilling pictures of the latest eruption, too, which actually was just a couple of weeks ago! Hence the smoke, I guess!”, I filled in, looking up to the spectacular scenery.
“This is better than any firework I have ever seen!” Jessica thought.
We handed him a crew-list and then he was off again towards the little dock, leaving Koshlong and us rolling in our unprotected anchorage.
Montserrat and its Suffrière Hills had been dormant for almost 400 years, longer than the volcanoes on Lanzarote in the Canaries. Then, suddenly, in 1992, seismographs could record a growing number of minor earthquakes finally leading to a major eruption three years later, the first since 1632. The eruption in 1995 destroyed most of the fertile land and the entire capital of Plymouth. Overnight, Montserrat changed from an attractive and booming tourist island into a deserted, yet exciting, venue for scientists. Half of the 11.000 inhabitants became homeless, of which many moved “overseas”, as they call it when leaving their own island.
Some farmers continued to work close to the volcano, where the most fertile land still could be found. This became fateful for some of them, when suddenly, on 25 June 1997, the volcano had a major eruption again. More than 50 people were rescued by helicopter picked up by harnesses, since landing on the boiling surface was unthinkable. These were brought into hospital on other islands, while 19 victims were lost, buried under thousands of degrees hot lava flowing down the slopes. Ever since, there is a strict rule forbidding anyone to stay within the exclusion zone close to Suffriére Hills. We sailed along its border.
It is only a question of time, when the next major eruption takes place, possibly effecting the entire island this time. Whether that would be in a day, a week, a year or a decade is not possible to predict. Understandably, we approached the island with a mixture of fear, respect and thrill, fully understanding why we were the only boats within vicinity.
Unfortunately, the heavy swell and the onshore winds did not allow for a land excursion. We just didn’t dare to leave our beloved boat swinging on a lee shore while we were investigating a grumbling volcano from close by. So, it will rest in my imagination, how it must feel to live under a spitting fire.
How do the few inhabitants still living on the island experience their situation? What do they think, when they lift their heads, knowing that the cloud above them is not just any steam originating from vaporized sea water, but smoke and ashes from a very active volcano in their neighborhood?
I remembered The Little Prince in St Exypéry’s story with the same name. He lived on his lonely planet, merely larger than a two-storied house, somewhere in the universe. He had three volcanoes, which we brushed and cleaned every morning. Only one was active, which he used as a stove for cooking, but you never know, as he said, so he continued to clean also the two extinguished ones, just in case. As a kid, I did not understand the deep meaning behind this statement. Today, I can totally visualize his eagerness to also take care of threats that were not obvious but still possible.
Aren’t we all living with a dormant volcano close by or inside us, ready to spit fire any moment? Who is aware, not to say prepared, for a sudden explosion in life, changing everything overnight? For the inhabitants of Montserrat it was the sudden outburst of Suffrière Hills. For the rest of us, it could be a sudden illness, an accident or anything else shuffling the cards of your game of life.
The Vikings had their Norns, spinning the yarn of human life, deciding on the Vikings' destiny. What do we have?
I wondered how often the people of Montserrat looked up and thought about when the next eruption would take place?
How often do we wonder when we will experience a major disaster in our lives? We just don’t think of it, do we? Or do we honestly believe that we are immortal? How can you prepare yourself without getting depressed?
For The Little Prince on his planet, it was a ritual to clean all his three volcanoes, a routine to make sure that his little planet was in ship shape. Maybe it was also to remind himself of the fact that every day without an eruption was a good day?
Which spitting fire are you living under? Is it visible, like the smoking volcano on Montserrat, or is your volcano covered in fog? How do you treat your dormant volcano?
We can’t just run away from fate by going cruising. But what we can do, is to fulfill our dreams and wishes before an eruption takes overhand.
It involved quite a lot of courage to live our dreams, rather than dreaming our lives. Too suddenly, a personal eruption could prevent all possibilities to do this sometime in the future. There is always something preventing us from casting off, and there is never a perfect timing. But if you visualize Montserrat, understanding that any moment your entire life could experience an explosion, there is no time to loose, if you have a dream you want to follow!
The understanding, that goals and dreams actually can be realized, will always remain in my heart.
The difficulty lies in distinguishing between what lies in our power to accomplish and what lies in the hands of a “volcano” beyond our influence.
Maybe the people who endure the harsh living of Montserrat have learnt to distinguish between these two?
