Visiting the Caribbean - Dominica
From Martinique we continued to Dominica. This is the most genuin of the islands we visited. A beautiful island with lush greeneries. Scenes from the various films of Pirates in the Caribbean were filmed here in this tropical paradise.
We stayed in the village of Portsmouth, on the northwestern part of the island. We had a wonderful hut at the beach. Just to walk out of your hut and into the water. The beaches are black due to the volcanic minerals and rocks. Just what you imagine paradise to be. We had a kitchen so did a little bit of cooking ourselves. We stayed for ten days, so had the pleasure or going on excursions as well as resting on the terrace.
One day we went whale hunting for sperm whales. A catamaran took us on a tour for a couple of hours. Apart from whales we saw dolphins. They are just such lovely creatures. The whales för big, and they told us, very friendly. At the time I was reading Moby Dick where they hunt the whales. It felt very bad reading about the hunt, when you know they are such friendly creatures. Except Moby Dick, I might say.
The island is full of waterfalls and we visited one, the Syndicate Falls, close to us. We had to walk for a kilometer through the 'djungel' before we reached the fall, with its pond beneath it. We were all alone in this beautiful place and enjoyed swimming in the pond.
From there on to a magic beach, the Toucai. It was supposed to be good snorkling, so Martin and Hannes took on their gear. I stayed in the shade on the beach, reading a good book. Unfortunately, the snorkling was not that great. But a swim on a warm day is not bad either.
One day we went over to the eastern side of the island. There we found another wonderful beach, the Batibou beach. It was all deserted so had it all for ourselves. We felt like we were just waiting for the pirates! Further down south we visited the museum of the Arawak. They are the original people from the island. It was a beautiful spot, the museum interesting and we had a guide showing us around the place. Although a paradise today, in the old days the situation was quite different. But still, living in such beautiful surroundings must mean something.
On the way home, in the middle of the island, in the mountains, we visited the Emerald Pond. It is situated in the national park and the path to reach the pond is thoroughly built with natural material. The pond itself, again below a water fall, is really emerald green. Quite fantastic. The water was cold and refreshing.
The two last night we stayed in the capital Roseau, in a very nice B&B. We took a day to go south to visit another sulphur bath and the beautiful little hamlet of Scott's Head. Martin and I did a little bit of snorkling. However, if you are used to snorkel in the Red Sea, it was nothing special here. One has to take into consideration though, that the island has been hit by hurricanes in later years, and it seems it took its toll on the corals. After swimming you are hungry. We found a wonderful restaurant just on the waterfront. Literally, sitting on the terrace and looking down into the water. We treated ourselves to lobsters! Yay. On the way back to Roseau we stopped at the Champagne beach. Not to drink champagne, but to look at the unique bubbles in the water. We snorkelled, just very close to the beach, and all of a sudden you have like ropes of bubbles coming from the ground. It was quite amazing.
We have such good memories of this island. The whole island is like a giant botanical garden. People grow plants and flowers around their colourful houses. It is a treat wherever you look. Alas, time to leave to go back to where the trip started - Guadeloupe.
We stayed in the village of Portsmouth, on the northwestern part of the island. We had a wonderful hut at the beach. Just to walk out of your hut and into the water. The beaches are black due to the volcanic minerals and rocks. Just what you imagine paradise to be. We had a kitchen so did a little bit of cooking ourselves. We stayed for ten days, so had the pleasure or going on excursions as well as resting on the terrace.
One day we went whale hunting for sperm whales. A catamaran took us on a tour for a couple of hours. Apart from whales we saw dolphins. They are just such lovely creatures. The whales för big, and they told us, very friendly. At the time I was reading Moby Dick where they hunt the whales. It felt very bad reading about the hunt, when you know they are such friendly creatures. Except Moby Dick, I might say.
The island is full of waterfalls and we visited one, the Syndicate Falls, close to us. We had to walk for a kilometer through the 'djungel' before we reached the fall, with its pond beneath it. We were all alone in this beautiful place and enjoyed swimming in the pond.
From there on to a magic beach, the Toucai. It was supposed to be good snorkling, so Martin and Hannes took on their gear. I stayed in the shade on the beach, reading a good book. Unfortunately, the snorkling was not that great. But a swim on a warm day is not bad either.
One day we went over to the eastern side of the island. There we found another wonderful beach, the Batibou beach. It was all deserted so had it all for ourselves. We felt like we were just waiting for the pirates! Further down south we visited the museum of the Arawak. They are the original people from the island. It was a beautiful spot, the museum interesting and we had a guide showing us around the place. Although a paradise today, in the old days the situation was quite different. But still, living in such beautiful surroundings must mean something.
On the way home, in the middle of the island, in the mountains, we visited the Emerald Pond. It is situated in the national park and the path to reach the pond is thoroughly built with natural material. The pond itself, again below a water fall, is really emerald green. Quite fantastic. The water was cold and refreshing.
The two last night we stayed in the capital Roseau, in a very nice B&B. We took a day to go south to visit another sulphur bath and the beautiful little hamlet of Scott's Head. Martin and I did a little bit of snorkling. However, if you are used to snorkel in the Red Sea, it was nothing special here. One has to take into consideration though, that the island has been hit by hurricanes in later years, and it seems it took its toll on the corals. After swimming you are hungry. We found a wonderful restaurant just on the waterfront. Literally, sitting on the terrace and looking down into the water. We treated ourselves to lobsters! Yay. On the way back to Roseau we stopped at the Champagne beach. Not to drink champagne, but to look at the unique bubbles in the water. We snorkelled, just very close to the beach, and all of a sudden you have like ropes of bubbles coming from the ground. It was quite amazing.
We have such good memories of this island. The whole island is like a giant botanical garden. People grow plants and flowers around their colourful houses. It is a treat wherever you look. Alas, time to leave to go back to where the trip started - Guadeloupe.
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