Dominica: “Nature’s Island”

     Sailing to Prince Rupert Bay in Dominica on Thursday we caught sight of mountainous green peaks touching the clouds and small villages spread along the rugged coast. Before entering the bay we were greeted by Charlie in his long wooden boat “Charlie Love,” a member of the PAYS (Portsmouth Association of Yacht Security) with a friendly shout of “Welcome to Dominica!” After anchoring among boats from Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Canada, we shared a Carib with Charlie as he told us about tours of the mystical Indian River, a day-long taxi tour of the island, a Sunday night BBQ at a waterfront restaurant called the Purple Turtle, and the fact that the island celebrates Carnival next week. We assured him we’d be sticking around for Carnival and set up a taxi tour of the island for Saturday.

     As the day went on other men in boats approached, either other PAYS members, or individuals selling local produce and collecting garbage. Our guidebook has extensive coverage on things to do in Dominica and recommends giving business to the members of the PAYS as they have many links with other businesses on the island and are reliable and accountable as a group. They are easily recognizable from the names painted on the sides of their boats with a “VHF Channel 16” note alongside. The first day here we became familiar with other members, including Laurence of Arabia, Providence, Sea Bird, and Cobra—who greeted us as he pulled alongside in his colourful wooden boat shouting a loud and friendly “Cobra’s here!” 

     On Friday we made two trips into Portsmouth intending to hike to the source of the famed Indian River. It would seem the world didn’t want us to go hiking however, as our directions led us astray both times, but we did manage to familiarize ourselves with Portsmouth, find a bank, and buy fruits and vegetables from the small market by the town dock. Portsmouth has lively streets with lots of people lounging and enjoying the day, market ladies, dilapidated but colourful concrete houses with roofs made of rusty sheet metal, makeshift bars and restaurants, and lots and lots of interesting noises (music blaring, people shouting and talking, school children chattering like hundreds of little birds in a school yard).

     Amazing tropical vegetation grows freely in yards and gardens, tumbling here, there and everywhere. We encountered several men asking if we wanted tours of the Indian River, but it was easy enough to refuse them with the magic words: “We’ve planned tours with Charlie.” The ladies in the market spoke a form of Creole and little English, and since there was just a few stalls Mom felt she should buy one or two items from each lady to be fair. At the end of the day we returned to the boat with papayas, tomatoes, pineapple, a huge watermelon, lettuce, bananas, oranges, and grapefruits, all grown on this astoundingly green island.

     Here are some facts about Dominica that to help explain how magical a place it is and why I’ve wanted to visit it more than any other island in the Caribbean: It’s pronounced DOM-i-NEE-ka, not to be confused with the Dominican Republic, and is often called “Nature’s Island” for its astonishing natural beauty. The local economy is largely based on agriculture, with bananas as the most significant export, and has a developing ecotourism sector. The population is around 70 000 with a varied Creole culture. A small Carib population still remains on the island and has lands on the eastern side of Dominica (the Caribs originated from South America and lived on many Caribbean islands before being massacred by Europeans during the Colonial period).

     The national bird is a parrot, and palm trees grow wild all up the mountainsides (on other islands we’ve only seen palms concentrated around beaches). Dominica has seven potentially active volcanoes, 365 different rivers, several waterfalls, hot springs and the second largest boiling lake in the world. There is even a beach in the south where you can dive to experience hot bubbles boiling up from an underwater volcano. I’m pretty sure we’ve arrived in heaven on earth!

More to come soon,
Nicole.