More info on Montserrat villa

A while ago, I wrote a blog post about the Caribbean island of Montserrat, where I spent a great vacation with my sisters and our husbands. I've just found out that our rental villa, Surf Sighed, has its own website. It's a lovely, affordable tropical rental with a pretty pool deck and great views. If you're looking for a laid-back destination where tourists don't overwhelm the locals, you can't beat Montserrat. It's not the easiest place to get to (connections from Antigua are launched and cancelled with alarming frequency), but it's worth the trip.

Win a villa stay in Montserrat

The Caribbean island of Montserrat is one of my very favourite places to travel like a local. It's hard to do anything else; the island has only two hotels and they're only 18 rooms each, so even at a hotel you pretty much feel like you're staying with family.





Private villas are the main form of accommodation, and even though the word "villa" may conjure up visions of a grandiose mansion, many of these charming houses are well within the budget of the ordinary traveller. Here's a snap of Surfsighed, the lovely villa my sisters and I and our husbands rented last year. (Then again, if money is no object, you can rent or buy Paul McCartney's one-time digs.)





The island's tourism bureau is currently running a contest (with no deadline date, oddly) to win four nights in a villa, along with return airfare from Antigua, some restaurant meals and more. There's no cost to enter.


Looking for stuff to do when you get there? Check out "Do the Walk of Life," a series of Montserrat travel tips I wrote for the Ottawa Citizen in 2006 (check details before visiting, as some attractions may have closed in the meantime).

Signs of the times

One great way to get a feel for the local vibe is to pick out one small part of it and focus on it while you're travelling. One avid traveller I know always takes a dance class, wherever she goes. Several people (including me) like going into grocery stores, just to see what's hot and what's not. A while back, I blogged about a lovely article written by a traveller who makes a point of visiting post offices.

Here's my tip of the day for getting inside the heads of the locals: pay attention to street signs. Sure, you'll see the usual "men at work" and speed limit signs, but you'll likely see a few unusual things. Like this "watch out for surfers" sign on Easter Island, for instance.







Or this "iguana crossing" sign on the driveway of the Gingerbread Hill guesthouse on the Caribbean island of Montserrat.







Few people do quirky signs quite like the British. On a childhood trip to the U.K., I remember being fascinated by ominous-looking roadsigns featuring a giant exclamation point. At one point we even got out of the car to photograph one that included the caption: "Caution: Road liable to subside." (Few things I've encountered since have summed up the British talent for understatement quite so succinctly.)

Even something as innocuous as a street name can merit a photograph, as a recent New York Times story featuring the unfortunately named Butt Hole Road in South Yorkshire shows.

So what's the weirdest road sign you've ever seen in your travels? And what did it tell you about the place?