Doris Visits - Port Guides for cruisers: volcano

Tuesday, 4 October 2016

Hurricane strikes Caribbean, Volcano to blow in the Canaries - where is safe to holiday

Hurricane Matthew strikes Caribbean, Volcano to blow in Tenerife - where is safe to holiday

I was about to write a blog on the terrible hurricane named Matthew and say how it is often bad weather in that region this time of year and it is a little early for the Caribbean season. How the cruise lines stick to safe areas at safe times of year so the customers are happy and while we all wait for Caribbean season to start now is the time to go to Iberia, the Canaries.

But, In Teneriffe on Oct 2nd 2016 the Volcanology Institute of the Canary Islands (Involcan) reported a significant spike in seismic activity, leading to fears that Mount Teide is about to blow.

Caribbean Warning

Let us start with the hurricane, where warnings are in effect for Haiti, eastern Cuba, the southeastern Bahamas (including the Inaguas, Mayaguana, Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Cay and Ragged Island) and the central Bahamas (including Long Island, Exuma, Rum Cay, San Salvador and Cat Island). And there is a constant monitoring program as it could reach the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Cuban province of Camaguey and the northwestern Bahamas, including the Abacos, Andros Island, Berry Islands, Bimini, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama Island and New Providence.

Tenerife Warning

Whilst this is the season to go to the Canaries and we leave Friday to film many places including Tenerife, there were nearly 100 mini earthquakes reported in just four hours in the region on Monday. To take a quote, 92 microquakes were recorded in Adeje and Vilaflor, with one measuring more than 1.5 on the Richter scale.

The majority of the quakes took place between 7 and 13km below ground sparking fears Mount Teide could be about to blow. You will know from our drive into the live volcano in St. Lucia that it stinks. The guide there told us, as it says on the the film that that is a good thing. If the smell goes, the follow her as she will be running... the gases in the air change prior to erruption and in Tenerife teams have been sent to the area to measure the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere following the quakes, which they described as a “seismic swarm” which is “abnormal” for the region.

Cruise away from trouble

So, that appears to be reason to think about where you holiday. Because if you have a fixed location, your holiday could be blighted. On a cruise the ship is your hotel and it can move away from areas and change desination. I have been on ships that have avoided storms and taken us and stopped at an unexpected island or missed an island if the weather did not allow.

Inside a Live Volcano

So as we head for Tenerife we offer you two films. Here is the one of St Lucia and the volcano we drove into. Click this text to watch it on Daily Motion.

Go to a Hotel that can move - a Cruise Ship

Here is our extensive tour of the cruise ship Azura which we will be on again as we head for Tenerife this week. Click this text to see it on Daily Motion

Friday, 29 April 2016

ST LUCIA is a live volcano surrounded by rainforest and beach

DORIS VISITS ST LUCIA

St Lucia is a Caribbean dream! The rain forests are a a beautiful green backcloth. The gardens a blaze of colour. When we arrived at the cruise terminal there was no shortage of people offering bus tours, water tours etc. There is a big difference in the pricing. We went to the tourist information for a map and some guidance as to what was a fair price. There were all the usual arts and crafts on sale in the terminal as well as some hand painted silk dresses, which were pricey but gorgeous!

We wanted to visit the volcano. We palled up with another couple of tourists who were looking for the same thing and managed to negotiate a very reasonable price. 30 dollars with stops along the way. Our driver was very friendly and informative. We got out of the coach to get stunning views of the white sandy beaches and the sparkling blue sea.

We also stopped to get a view of the Pitons and take some photos. The Pitons are the most famous landmark in St Lucia. Called Gros Piton and Petit Piton, they are said to be spines of lava that were thrust up from the craters of two volcanoes. They are magnificent. They have come to symbolise the wild beauty of St Lucia. Apparently the smaller one The Petit Piton is supposed to be the hardest to climb, but I wouldn't fancy my chances on either of them! Our next stop was the Diamond Botanical gardens. Because of the amount of rainfall, the plants and vegetation are lush. There is a small, pretty waterfall and some hot baths which are meant to have healing properties if you suffer from back pain, rheumatism or arthiritus. Next, I was very excited to arrive at the live Volcano, behind Soufriere. The stench of rotten eggs was overpowering but that is apparently good because if you can't smell anything it means that the volcano is about to erupt! You must be careful. Apparently a few years ago one of the guides fell in to the hot lava and lost his legs. They are very strict now about where you can and cannot walk. Understandably so! At the bottom of the volcano you can bathe in the mud baths supposedly the fountain of youth. If you want to do this it would be a good idea to take a costume that is old and that you don't mind getting ruined. The mud is very thick and smelly. I was tempted but I didn't go in. Then afterwards I wished I had as the two ladies that came with us said that their skin felt wonderful, and actually they didn't smell. There are showers that you can use after you have finished.The day in St Lucia went so quickly. It was so interesting, so much to see. I would have loved to stop at some of the pretty fishing villages and we had planned to get off the bus at the centre of the city in Derek Walcott Square, where there is a beautiful Roman Catholic Cathedral but we ran out of time as we were enjoying ourselves too much at the volcano and we didn't want to miss the ship!!

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