Dominica

We spent two days on the beautiful island of Dominica. Dominica is nestled in the Caribbean and most Americans have never heard of it. This is probably because there are no resorts on the island or direct flights from the U.S. It’s a more popular travel destination for Europeans and we did meet two Swedes while we were there.

Middleham Falls, Dominica
The two-day stop was much too quick and we only saw a tiny bit of this fascinating country. The first day we hired a taxi driver to take four of us, me, Julie, Bianca and Dustin - 2 other LLCs, to a large waterfall called Middleham Falls. I think it was about 150 feet high and beautiful. One of the women with us, Bianca, has never seen a waterfall. She said ever since she was a little kid she’s wanted to see a waterfall and a unicorn. I hope I get to be there when she sees the unicorn too.

Bianca, Dustin, Julie, and me in front of Middleham Falls

When we arrived at the parking lot the driver told us he would wait since it was only about 45 min hike each way. There were four of us and we were a bit slow so the round trip hike took us four hours. We stayed at the falls for a bit and I jumped into the pool in my clothes. No one else wanted to – I can’t imagine why. We took lots of photos, but the forest created a dark canopy that made photos difficult, even with the ISO set to 800.

Julie hoping on some rocks to keep her feet dry

When we returned our driver Charles seemed perfectly content that it had taken us so long. This style of waiting for clients is apparently quite common. On the drive home we stopped at a view over the city and Charles talked with us about Dominica and recent changes that are happening with the Caribbean as the Chinese get more involved in their economy. See Julie's blog for more on that topic.


Champaign Reef, Dominica

On Monday we went to Champaign Reef about 30 minutes south of Roseau near Point Michel. We were going to take the city bus, but Charles agreed to drive us there for the same price, $2/each. He dropped us off at Irie Safaris where we rented snorkeling gear for $12/set. There were five of us, but we just rented three sets to save a little money. The tourist office in town told us it was $4/set so we were a little surprised, plus one person wasn’t sure she was going to snorkel. We listened to a short orientation then walked down to the beach. The beaches in Dominica are covered in gray and black rocks so shoes are a must. It rained most of the morning so we nestled into a little cave-like overhang on the beach to stay dry. Julie, Alyssa, and I put on the snorkeling gear and waded in. Like my dad always says – it doesn’t rain underwater! The reef was amazing! We saw lots of fish and beautiful coral. There was one brain coral that was at least three feet in diameter. It must have been very old.

The brain coral

My favorite part was diving down to get closer to the coral. When you get closer the colors are much more vibrant and interesting. From the surface things look more blue and green, but when you get up close you see more variation. This fan coral was huge, about 2 feet high and swayed back and forth with the waves.

The fan coral

Me diving down to check out the reef up close

Our friend Raja had never snorkeled before and he did great. There was a funny moment though. At one point I got stung by something on my ankle. We were told there was something called sea lice that floats in the water and you can’t see it. It can sting if it’s touched, but isn’t very common. The sting was very minor and felt like an ant bite, but nevertheless I uttered a four letter word and Raja immediately wanted to know what happened. I reluctantly told him, reluctant because I knew he would want to get out. Sure enough he was swimming to shore so fast. For someone who wasn’t a good swimmer and had never snorkeled before he zoomed to shore so fast I couldn’t keep up. It was so funny. Needless to say he was snorkeling pretty well by then. The pain from the sting went away in a few minutes and I went back in for round three.

Julie & I snorkeling

We left after a couple of hours, but I really would have been perfectly fine staying for several more. I love snorkeling and diving. When I was a kid we had a pool in our backyard and I can remember snorkeling in circles around the pool for hours looking at every little variation in the tile. For me, it’s so peaceful and relaxing being underwater.

Our ship docked in Dominica

I look forward to the opportunity to go back to Dominica someday. Preferably to stay longer. It's a wonderful, beautiful place with kind, generous people.