The weather certainly improved on Tuesday with hardly any
showers. We jumped on a minibus in town and headed out to the “drive in
volcano” as it is referred to locally or the “sulfur springs”. It’s only about
a mile outside town but we it’s uphill all the way so we were happy we took the
bus. What the boiling mud-pots, hot springs and sulfurous deposits lack in
size, they make up for in smell! Soufriere is situated in a larger caldera
created about 35,000 years ago, but at present volcanic activity is limited to
this area. Scientists do monitor constantly because there is a concern that
more significant activity could return. Interestingly, the Petit and Grosse
Piton, which are both about 2500 feet high, were formed 250,000 years ago from
solidified magma chambers inside the volcano a long time before it collapsed to
form the caldera. We opted not to pay extra and bath in the smelly springs and
coat ourselves in black mud – it seemed like dubious attraction to us, but
based on the crowds lining up, many people took a more positive view! We
enjoyed walking back down to town, with great views over the harbor.
Later in the afternoon we had a lovely walk out along a
coastal path and were surprised to meet someone I knew from the past. I looked
up to say hello to this hiker and recognized his face. I said “I know you” and
he looked blank and clearly had no idea who I was. It didn’t help that I
couldn’t place how I knew him. His name is John Wilcox, and after chatting a
bit I figured out we were both grad students at Emmanuel College, Cambridge in
the early-mid 1980’s. I actually think we might have lived in the same house
for a while, but afterwards wondered if this was really true. It is almost 35
year ago and I thought I did pretty well just recognizing him! This stuff is
always happening to me … I bumped into my brother in Innsbruck, Austria, purely
by chance; I met the girlfriend of a friend of mine on the platform at Athens
train station, and whilst working for AZ in Boston, was involved in a licensing
meeting where the external company scientist turned out to be the older brother
of a schoolboy friend. I guess it really is a small world. Why is it that I
never forget a face but can rarely remember someone’s name five minutes after I’ve
been introduced?
Soufriere Sulfur Springs
Soufriere Sulfur Springs
Verna - our tour guide (required)
Soufriere
The streets of Soufriere
Street sales of fruit and vegetables - usually excellent quality
A lot of guys hanging around - these two were very friendly and happy to have their picture taken
No comments:
Post a Comment