Parades last for about four weeks before Ash Wednesday, with the entire island thronging in the capital, Oranjestad, for the Grand Parade on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.

BBC: A Caribbean carnival of carnivals

Two investors in Sky Capital entities, David Ash and Mark Halper, took the stand to explain the losses they sustained as part of their investments.

FORBES: Sky Capital Investors Get Their Day In Court -- Individual Investors Take Note

The ash cloud is now so big that airlines have been cancelling flights in and out of the capital, Jakarta, 450km (280 miles) to the north-west.

ECONOMIST: A capricious volcano, but fears ease of another Pompeii