Martinque

Arrived in Martinique...
11/17 Gary and I climbed Mount Pelee t(below) today.

It was a really tough hike but we made it. The trip was straight up and 3.7 miles round trip. Mount Pelée is an active volcano at the northern end of the island of Martinique. It erupted in 1902 and the destruction that resulted, dubbed the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century and killed about 30,000 people. The  flow completely destroyed St. Pierre, a town of 30,000 people, within minutes of the eruption. The eruption left only two survivors in the direct path of the flows: Louis-Auguste Cyparis survived because he was in a poorly ventilated, dungeon-like jail cell; Léon Compère-Léandre, living on the edge of the city, escaped with severe burns. Below is a photo from the top