We arrived in Dominica at 10 o’clock at night after having to change out the headsail and getting a late start from Fort de France. The sail was what we call a “spirited” sail with 30-knot winds and 6-7 foot seas at a beam reach. As Phil and I were on the bow with a spot light trying to pick up the mooring ball, we couldn’t believe our eyes as a boat boy approached. It is difficult to come into port at night and the added distraction from the boat boy was too much. We told him we were tired and we would talk to him in the morning. The next morning we met up with S/V Loon to walk around town. The people in Dominica are extremely friendly and welcoming. We found a newly opened restaurant that was having a Thanksgiving Dinner the following night with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn casserole, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie! We made reservations!
The dinner was great, but we sorely missed having seconds. Feeling sorry for Phil, I gave him half of my meal. He has been eating so much lately and growing like a weed. His feet are now as big as Mike’s and he is taller than me. He is always hungry. While at the restaurant we met some medical students from Ross University, an American University just south of Portsmouth. They were taking a rare break to have a nice dinner and then heading to the library for the night. They are in an accelerated program where they complete their bookwork in 18 months. It sounded intense!We decided to rent a car the following day. Most of the time when we rent a car in the islands, we get a tiny car that we call a tic-tac. However, here we rented an SUV.
As we began our adventure we realized that you would never make it in a tic-tac over the mountainous terrain.
Phil loves to collect the local fruits and has an eagle eye when it comes to spotting them. It became comical when every 100 yards he would be screaming for us to stop so he could pick some fruit or other. We collected a trunk full of grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, bananas, star fruit, passion fruit, breadfruit, breadnut, guava, avocados, mangos… The land is lush and plentiful.
................Ian collecting BreadfruitIt is a tropical paradise with palm trees mixed in the lush green forest. There are farms everywhere even on steep mountains. Dominica has 365 rivers, one for each day of the year. It is by far the most beautiful island I have ever seen.
We drove into the mountains collecting fruit by the side of the road. At one point while stopped, a taxi also stopped in the road to chat and gave us some tangerines. Like I mentioned before, everyone is incredibly friendly and helpful. We came to a small town on the west side of the island. We asked a man if there was a restaurant or store where we could get some lunch and he said, “follow me.” So we drove behind him down the street to a little cantina. While there, several locals came to chat with us and welcome us to their island. The Dominicans are very proud of their island. Although they are very poor, they are happy, proud, friendly people who want to share their fortune. They keep their island clean and have a positive outlook in life. Outside the restaurant, Mike, Phil and Ian met Stephen, a Rasta mon and the Prime Minister’s father.
He welcomed us and told us to spread the news of Dominica to our friends, as they want foreign investment. We departed the village and 10 minutes up the road, a pickup truck was following us and honking. We pulled aside and Stephen jumped out of the truck with a bunch of ripe bananas for us! Again, we were flabbergasted by his generosity.
Next, we ventured into Carib territory. We arrived at the tourist center and took a tour of the Carib Indian camp. The guide was a soft-spoken girl who led us through the park showing us the ways of the Caribs. In the area designated for the Caribs, you could see the difference in the features of the Indians in comparison to the Dominicans. They look more Spanish Indian. They, too, were extremely friendly. As we stopped to see a star fruit tree, a family came out and cut open the star fruit for us to try, then climbed up to get some for us to take with us. Once again, we marveled at this open friendliness.
We drove all day and explored the northern half of the island.
...........Phil found a friend tied up in the woodsIt was dark on drive back to Portsmouth along very steep and winding mountainous roads. At one point we asked directions and a man told us to follow him in the car. He led us to the University at the edge of Portsmouth, even waiting for us along the way as a truck cut us off.
After returning we stopped at the bar where we docked our dinghy for a beer. We were talking to Avril, the server, who said she had never been on a yacht. So we invited her out to the boat the next morning after the market. It was the least we could to.
At 5am, before dawn, Ian and Tracy arrived knocking on the hull to wake us up for the market. You have to arrive early before the crowds. It was great to see the people setting up their tables and opening their vans to sell their produce. Before long it was light, and we bargained for our goods. It was lively. We also went over to the meat market and bought some beef. As you can see in the pictures, it was not quite like buying meat at home.
In the guidebooks, Dominica is given a bad reputation because of a cat burglar that robbed a boat many years ago. We, however, felt very safe here. We found this island to be our favorite in the Caribbean and would recommend it to all.
