Sailing alongside Rebell - photo courtesy of Aztec Dream
Dominica (Italian word for Sunday) is the Southernmost of the Leeward Isles and so named by Christopher Columbus who 'discovered' it on a Sunday in 1493. The island was colonised by Europeans, complete with slaves, and as usual was the object of various Anglo/French skirmishes over the years. Despite the French influence prevailing longer than the English, The English finally took control in 1763 and the Island remained in the British Commonwealth until independence in 1978.
Dominica used to have a bad reputation for crime and aggressive boat boys so was bypassed by most yachtsmen for that reason. To combat this problem the locals set up an organisation called P.A.Y.S, Portsmouth Association of Yachting Services which patrols the bay, provides mooring buoys and numerous excursions on the island. Soufriere in St Lucia could learn a lot from this organisation as recently there has been a mugging of a group of sailors there who refused the services of a boat boy - we made a brief stop there and found the atmosphere uncomfortable, it would seem with good reason.
Rupert Bay - a very peaceful anchorage, complete with a 3 masted tall ship.
The P.A.Y.S Organisation organises a bi-weekly BBQ of chicken or fish and unlimited Rum Punch - it was a great evening, but that rum certainly packs a punch!
Portsmouth is the second largest town on Dominica.
The electric supply looks precarious!
A typical local Fish Shack - the food at these places is often very good, but we didn't try this one.
Supermarket shelf stacking is a new art form.
The butcher.
Dumping rubbish is taken very seriously.
And you clearly can do what ever you like to the front of your house!!
Dominica is an island of rainforest, and prides itself on having 365 rivers and being very hilly, lots of waterfalls. We set out by taxi to investigate. The first thing you notice when touring the island is the state of the roads - Tropical Storm Erika last year dropped over 30cm of rain on the island in a very short time period and caused widespread flooding, washing away sections of road.
One of the many destroyed bridges.
Our first stop was Syndicate Falls, where misconduct can result in a $500 fine or 6 months in prison.
Steve and Bernd on one of the better sections of path
Syndicate Falls
We saw some of the island's agriculture - it's very fertile, sugarcane, banana, cocoa, coffee, avocado, grapefruit and of course coco nuts are abundant.
Cocoa and banana trees.
The island has an excellent National Park network and US$12 buys a week's entry to them all.
More waterfalls, but this time you could walk through them. It certainly made a change from the usual water economy showers on the boat!
Some of the wonderful plants that grow in the wild.
Fort Shirley in Cabrits National Park was well worth the walk uphill.
View from the Gun Battery over Rupert Bay. Fort Shirley, named after the then Governor, was built as a defence post by the British in 1774. It fell into ruins and was uninhabited for 150 years but has now been beautifully restored.
The Commandants House - unrestored and showing its age !
The trees are definitely winning the battle in this part of Fort Shirley.
The view from the highest gun battery over Rupert Bay on the right.
This hut was built for one of the Pirates of the Caribbean films - apparently it was the witches house.
There was plenty to see on Dominica (particularly if you like waterfalls). It is also home of the worlds second largest hot spring, called the Boiling Lake - we didn't visit it on this occasion, but Dominica is certainly an island that merits a second visit.
For now, we need to head for Antigua as there is some strong wind forecast and we need to find a sheltered anchorage and be in the right place for my sister Rose Anne's visit next week.
Next stop: Antigua and Barbuda
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