Today we were in Dominica (pronounced Dom-in-EEK-a). Known as the Nature Island of the Caribbean, it’s all about waterfalls, rainforests, and mountains wrapped in mist. We last visited here in 2012 when J and JG went on a private family tour with H.O.T. Pepper Tours and we were trying to repeat that. But things have changed a bit since then. Hurricane Maria struck the island in 2017 and devastated many businesses. Pepper is still in business, but he doesn't offer private tours any more, only 'smaller' group tours. We ended up having a group of 14 being packed in tightly in his Nissan van. A group of eight people had been picked up from a Royal Caribbean Ship and then he picked up six of us from the Caribbean Princess. I was in the middle in the back (fourth) row in the van on some very windy, steep roads. It took lots of concentration to face forward and not think about the turbulence in my stomach!
Some 30 minutes later we were at the Emerald Pool. At the top of the list of places to see in Dominica is the Emerald Pool — one of the island’s most visited attractions. (Read very, very busy). Emerald Pool is located within Morne Trois Pitons National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Pepper drove fast to get us to the Emerald Pool as soon as possible, but we did encounter loads of group tours from the ship as we were leaving the Emerald Pool, after a refreshing dip in the water.
We then went to a Black Sand Beach which we think is called Mero Beach for 45 minutes. Some folks rented loungers under a shade canopy for $5, some folks swam, some folks ate. J and I walked down the beach to explore. J explained white sand beaches are made from coral, and black sand beaches are made from volcanic debris.
We then made a trip in town to return the eight guests to the other ship. That became much more comfortable in the car with just six of us, plus Pepper. We then went to Trafalgar Falls. The Father and Mother Falls that make up the Trafalgar Falls are separated by a steep cliff face. The distance between the two falls is approximately 200 - 250 feet. Both falls are located on the upper course of the tributaries of the Roseau River.
The source of the larger fall, called the Father Fall (125 feet tall) comes from the Freshwater Lake through Ti-tou Gorge. The Mother Fall (75 feet tall) comes from the Breakfast River which flows from the Trois Biton Forest. The water from both falls join and end up meeting River Blanc (Wotten Waven). The vegetation around is a secondary rain forest.
We then went to the River Rock Cafe & Bar - where we had pre-ordered our meal of shrimp, veggies and rice. I was starving by 3 pm when we ate this - so really appreciated the meal.
After lunch we went to Ti Kwen Glo Cho Hot Water Spa (not a clean and shiny spa, rather an earthy sulphur fed spa). There were two pools - a warm pool (like a bath tub temperature) and a hot pool (too hot for me, but not too hot for J!)
As we were about to leave Ti Kwen Glo hot pools, Pepper got a flat tire! We were now about 4:45 pm and knew we wouldn't make our assigned dining time of 5 pm. Luckily another driver had a tire inflator to resolve the situation in a matter of 15 minutes - and shockingly, the tire held the air! Pepper says he gets about 12,000 km on a set of tires in Dominica!
Once we got back into the city, Pepper drove us through the Botanical Gardens and pointed out a lasting testament to the damage from the hurricane. The school got a brand new school bus in August of 2017 and the hurricane hit in September 18, 2017.
This was the damage inflicted by a tree on that brand new school bus!
Then we returned to the ship about 5:25 pm. We showered and headed up to the Lido Deck for our first dinner at the buffet. It was really tasty. It was a German theme and we got to eat spaetzle! And for dessert we had delicious vanilla ice cream with bananas Foster. We had a most interesting conversation with some seasoned cruisers at a table beside us. They got tired of packing dress clothes for cruises so they dress casually and always eat in the buffet!
We watched the Theatrical Production Show, Bravo, put on by a new set of singers and dancers and they did a solid job! It was a great show!
Tomorrow we visit St. Lucia! Thanks for reading along!
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