Coasting down the Indian River, Dominica

     At 6:30 am we all leaped out of bed and hurried to get ready for our 7 am tour of the Indian River. Charlie was a bit late and we quickly ripped over the glassy water as roosters ashore had a crowing competition. Several rusted old wrecks sit along the shore of Prince Rupert Bay, evidence of the fury of hurricanes in these parts. One particularly rusty ship commands the entrance of the murky green river. Charlie soon shut down the motor and began to paddle and pole us at a relaxed pace along the shady waters of the tropical river.

     Along the calm water, three hundred year old bloodwood trees cling to muddy banks with huge folded roots. Charlie spoke to us of iguanas, small herons, parrots, and boa constrictors that frequent the river. Although the boas here only grow a few feet long and are not poisonous, he said they often climb trees and on occasion drop down into boats below. At one part of the river Charlie gestured to a gap where a shack once stood for the filming of a scene in the second “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie. 

     While explaining that his solid boat is made from the wood of a white cedar tree found on the island, Charlie pointed out an iguana perched in a tree and a red land crab along the shore. Further along the river the vegetation became denser and formed a canopy of dark green overhead. A sense of calm settled over the boat as we absorbed the tranquil surroundings and I found myself imagining us deep within the interior of Africa along the Congo River. Dominica is covered in plants of such huge size that you’d think there would be bugs and insects of similar proportions, but surprisingly this is not true. I didn’t see even one mosquito along the Indian River.

     As we rounded a corner where mud was silted up, a bright blue boat came into view with a man collecting bamboo. As we came near he held up an iguana for us to see and spoke to Charlie in a version of Creole. After he dropped the iguana in the water so it could swim off, we suddenly noticed that something else had found its way into his wooden boat. Tucked beneath several large pieces of bamboo was a boa constrictor, curled up and ready to lash out at the slightest provocation (which it did as we pulled right alongside the blue boat!) About six feet long, it snapped at us, opening its mouth so wide that I might have seen straight down into its belly if I wasn’t so busy trying to move as far away as possible. Luckily it stayed in the boat, but that didn’t stop my heart from pounding for a few minutes after. Charlie explained that the man was going to remove its fangs and wear it around his neck for the Carnival celebrations. I hope it doesn’t strangle him…I certainly wouldn’t trust it!

     After our exciting episode the trip up the river resumed its calm and the only sounds were doves hooting like owls and droplets of water falling around us as the breeze stirred. Eventually the river narrowed to the point of inaccessibility and we climbed onto a dock to begin a short hike through agricultural fields ripe with bananas, pineapple, papaya, cocoa, ginger, and passion fruit. Charlie plucked some grapefruits for us and we stood on the muddy trail eating the freshest fruit of our lives. What a treat that would be to walk into your yard in the morning and pick breakfast straight off a tree. Along the trail he pulled fresh ginger from the ground, peeled the bark from a cinnamon tree to smell and snatched a sprig of bay leaves to take back to the boat with us (when fresh it lends a lemony flavour to cold drinks and dried it makes a tasty tea). 

     The return trip was relaxing. We saw several small herons, iguanas and an egret. Back at the dock by the river’s entrance the man with the blue boat had his snake tied up with a frayed rope beneath an overturned boat. A group of locals stood at a safe distance and one lady said that she could sell its oil in Guadeloupe for a good profit. When a group of tourists gathered around they started charging money for pictures of the poor snake.

Nicole.

An Iguana- he threw it into the water just after this.

A boa constrictor, only 6 feet long though!

Fresh ginger root right from the earth.

Cocoa

Eating grapefruit right off the tree.