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DominicaNov 1, 2008
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| Dominica is an island that today is celebrating its 30th year of independence from the British. It is a British commonwealth, and the queen is prominent on the currency (East Caribbean dollars). I had meant to book us on a river tubing adventure through the cruise line, but I had forgot to sign us up when I made the decision (at the time they had 30 spots available)... by the time I got back to book the tour, there was only one spot left. Once again, everything happens for a reason. It turns out that because of the rains, the tubing would probably not have been the best idea for the little girls. As we got off the ship, we interviewed a number of drivers, and settled on Gus, who had understandable English and seemed very talkative. It was a great decision. He told us all about the history of the Island, its current state, as well as introducing us to many plants and trees. We tasted cocoa (the milky stuff that surrounds the bitter beans is sweet) as well as sugar cane (yum). He showed us bread fruit, papayas, ginger flowers, enormous avocados, lemon grass (which we squashed and smelled) as well as calabash out of which they make maracas. He took us in his air conditioned van up to the Trafalgar waterfalls in the Rain Forest. There we hired a wonderful guide named Merry Lynn who showed us crabs in the rocks and even more plants, including bigonia, whose leaves taste lemony. We ate tons of those leaves, EJ and Jesse especially loved them. There are 2 large falls that run parallel to each other and have 2 separate sources, and a small baby fall between them. At the base, where they come together to form the river, there are warm mineral springs that supposedly have therapeutic value. What’s great is that they do not contain sulphur, so they don’t smell. We went swimming in these pools, and EJ found a little fall to set under that not only massaged her back, but offered an incredible rainforest view. She called it her favorite place on the planet. Houses in the area cost $80-90,000 and there is virtually no crime. Except for the occasional hurricane, one of which destroyed 85% of the island in 1979, it sounds good to me! Later we went snorkeling at Champagne Beach, named so for thermal bubbles that you can see in the water when you snorkel. The beach was too rocky, and the animal life less interesting than St. Thomas (EJ showed me a rock fish, which was cool). Jesse scraped her belly on some fire coral (we think). I offered to pee on her, but she preferred the vinegar. Some Advil seemed to calm her pain later. All in all, the island was interesting, not very touristy (there weren’t any fancy American resorts or chain restaurants) and very beautiful. I’d come back. -Zvi Today we went to Roseau, Dominica. No, it isn’t part of the Dominican Republic, but its actually it is part of the commonwealth of England. This is because the english came in with lots of slaves and then eventually, when they gave the slaves freedom, the English pretty much deserted the island, so they have their own language (through a mix of all of the languages that the different people from different parts of Africa developed). They were actually granted independence exactly 30 years before today. When we were there we went on a very educational tour, where we learned a lot about all the pristine plants and herbs on the island by walking down to the hot springs, and then going to the geysers. Until tomorrow!!!-Noah |
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