Having left the Leeward Islands, I’m now in Dominica (pronounced dom-i-NEEK-a; not to be confused with Dominican Republic), the northernmost of the Windward Islands, sipping a rum punch(*). This is my final destination. I initially wanted to visit more of the southern Caribbean islands, but I realized I don’t have enough time to do them justice. So I fell back to my standard travel philosophy (visit fewer places, in greater depth; make multiple trips if necessary to cover all the places).Note to self: Next time, allocate much more time!
Note to like-minded travellers: At least 3 months are required to do a full Caribbean tour of the type I originally envisioned.
There is one reasonably large and developed city on the island — Roseau (it’s a cruise ship stop
after all!). The rest of the island is pretty much pristine lush rainforest (apparently parts of the island get up to 300 inches of rain a year, making it one of the wettest spots on Earth). This is also the only island where there are surviving Carib natives, who had dominated these islands, driving out and slaughtering the more peaceful Arawak and Taino tribes. Part of the island is designated as a Carib reservation. I plan to venture into Carib Territory in a couple of days. It’s said that if Columbus returned now to the Caribbean, Dominica much be the only island he would recognize, as it has changed the least. There are lots of rivers (365, one for every day of the year!), waterfalls, and canyons. Though there are no active volcanoes like on Montserrat, there are 9 potentially active volcanoes.
I’m staying at the Anchorage Hotel/Dive Center on a suggestion from Andrew in Montserrat. It’s a pretty decent dive operation. They have an actual Sperm Whale skeleton hanging next to the bar! The diving here is fantastic!! But I’ll talk more about that in my next blog entry…
* Yes, I’ve drank hundreds of rum punches already on this trip, but this is made in the Dominica style, which is a bit different from other islands. The local beer btw is Kubuli.
3 comments:
hi mamma...i finally commented...happy?
well hope u r having a ball there
ur like a pro island hopper now.
W00T!!!! well have fun partyin n swimmin n fishin n sailing n all that other cool stuff!
-peace
Have a Kubuli for me! Don't know if you noticed, but I wore a Kubuli t-shirt on the boat once or twice.
Dominica is where the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies are shot.
Q
Yup, this is the real site of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The divemaster pointed out several places on land where specific scenes from the movie were filmed. Now I'll have to actually watch the movies to see if I can recognize the sites.
The rum punches here are less punch and more rum (thereby packing a more powerful punch!).
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