[ Main Index] [ Previous Day ][ Next Day ] [ Photo Gallery ]
 |
Name: Dominica Pronunciation: Do-mi-NIC-a Size: 290 Sq. Mi. Population: 71,000 Capital: Roseau Affiliation: English (drive on the left) Independence: 1978 |
Excursion: Syndicate Nature Trail
My back is still spasming this morning but nothing for it but to power through. It settled down some after breakfast at least.
This was my first attempt at breakfast on the ship. There’s apparently a place to get hot food but I didn’t see it. Some charcuterie type stuff, some VERY runny scrambled eggs (a bit runnier than you’d like it, sir) and some good bread and fruit.
There were no small tables to sit at, so I sat with Alanah, our tour guide. It was bold of me since I’m not a talker, especially in the morning, and we don’t seem to hit it off in conversation too well, but I did ok.
Then down to where we were to pick up the tenders to take us to shore. We met TK and Joe, a couple from Alabama who were also on our tour (but in a different group as it turns out and we didn’t see them again). We had a nice chat. She’s an artist (we’ve met a number of them on the trip) and a teacher (that too) and he’s a landscaper (design and implementation, not the guy who cuts your grass).
The tenders are cool little boats. A short trip from the ship to shore. Then through an official looking building where some official looking people eyed us, but we only needed to show our room keys. Then onto our buses. Ours was a brightly painted, open-windowed affair. I liked it. And on this excursion, headsets. Which I always like since you can hear the guide without having to be right on top of them, which makes it easier to take photographs without people in them. The inevitable struggle to make them all work for everyone ensued, but it wasn’t too bad as these things go.
Our guide on the bus is Elvira (I think). Pronounced El-veer-a. She told us about Dominica. And the first thing we learned is it’s pronounced Do-mi-NIC-a. Emphasis on the third syllable. I didn’t know that. And also, to not confuse it with the Dominical Republic (which we did not). About 50-70,000 people depending on who’s asking and who’s counting. We got different numbers from different folk. But it’s not a particularly large population and mostly along the western coast. (The western coasts of these islands tend to be where the most people are since the water is the calmest on the western side. the big waves come from the Atlantic side).
The island is volcanic. They have 9 ‘possibly active’ volcanoes. And three, count ‘em, three pitons, not two like those losers on Saint Lucia. I think their tallest mountain is taller than Saint Lucia’s as well.
The island ended up British. It changed hands 4 times with the French (St Lucia was 7). And they got their independence in 1978. A year ahead of Saint Lucia. 9 months later they were devastated by Hurricane David which wiped out 60 or 70% of the island. And in 2017 it was Hurricane Maria which wiped out 90% with 200 mile an hour winds. Our guide through the forest would tell us later that most foliage was stripped bare. But 7.5 years later you’d never know it. This was a common trend throughout the islands. A nice little paradise, then a devastating hurricane or two and start over from scratch. These people are VERY resilient.
We drove through the town of Portsmouth. And both Marion and I felt it was more ‘visually appealing’ than the towns in Saint Lucia but we couldn’t really put our finger on why we thought so. Still kind of shabby but in a prettier way. Then we turned left and headed up into the hills. Narrow twisty roads but nothing like Saint Lucia’s. Lots of forest. Not much population.
But as we turned into the Morne Diablotin National Park where the Syndicate Nature Trail we’d be walking was, the road got MUCH worse, more narrow and very steep. The bus really strained to get up it. And it sounded (to me at least) like the engine was going to give out and we were going to plummet backwards to our death. But we didn’t. Our driver (who for some reason very pointedly did not give his name to the guide when she asked) did an admirable job. And by now we were used to the crazy roads and the beeping as people in more powerful cars passed us heading into oncoming traffic.
There were a bunch of us (3 groups). We were in Group 3. Our guide (whose name I forget) was very knowledgeable about the plants in the forest and told us about many of them. Especially the trees. Dominica, very specifically, doesn’t cut their trees down (at least much). Versus, say Haiti, which did, and the place lost all its topsoil and is basically uninhabitable (despite all the people attempting to live there).
Some of the trees were quite large…
The local native peoples use one of the kinds of trees for dugout canoes. Big suckers with a really dense wood. Another kind gets used for coffins. And one kind for houses. Our guide said when Hurricane Maria came through, his mother’s house, made of this wood, survived. The roof came off but not the walls, where some cement houses didn’t make it. This wood is strong.
The most interesting trees were the ones with buttresses instead of roots. We’d come across this type of thing before, in Hawaii, Costa Rica and I think Cambodia. But it’s impressive. There were 400-600 year old trees with huge buttresses. They’re really cool looking.
But apart from the density of plants, there wasn’t a whole lot to see. The primary reason to come to this particular park is to see the Sisserou Parrots that are the state birds of the country. About 2/3 of the way through the forest we came to an overlook where they typically can be seen (*if* they can be seen). We waited a bit and nothing. Then the guide spotted a couple. They zipped around for a few seconds. I couldn’t get my camera to focus on them because they were too small. I got one very blurry shot with one in it (but you wouldn’t know it unless I told you) and off they went. And that was it for the parrots.
As it turned out, there was a hawk (forget the name) that feeds on the parrots that showed up. And the parrots, not being stupid, go hide in the trees when that happens. The hawk finally gave up and we gave them another 10 minutes or so but no luck.
So, back to the bus. And back down the narrow road we came up on. I don’t know how anyone passes anyone on this road. There must not be much traffic. We were behind a pickup truck, and they stopped at a stream that crossed the road to fill water bottles. There was no way to get around them, so we waited. (The water coming down from the hills is very clean because no one lives up there).
On the way up we had passed a farm with lots of beautiful flowers planted along the fence along the road. On the way back down, we pulled in there to ‘have refreshments’. Which turned out to be a glass of juice. I got a ginger/lime which was kind of good but the ginger was REALLY strong. Almost burning.
The place with the drinks overlooked a valley and was a very pretty spot. On the other side of the road there were more flowers planted. Someone was really into flowers at this place. There were 3 or 4 of the black/green hummingbirds we saw at the hotel in Saint Lucia flitting about in the flowers.
Then back to Portsmouth and the dock to get our tender. But also docked there was a big 2-masted sailing ship. And by ‘sailing ship’ I mean like in a pirate movie. There was a guy on board at the railing, so I talked to him briefly. It’s a cruise ship of sorts. They take on passengers and go around the islands. But it’s also a training vessel. They teach people how to sail (and sail that kind of ship). It takes 50 people to sail it! Not sure where they all sleep. The actual boat part didn’t seem all that big. He said they also do some kind of school. I wasn’t clear if he meant sailing school or if students came on board for some other kind of educational experience.
He also said once a year they sail over the Atlantic to Europe. I’m guessing that time is sometime before hurricane season. And they do everything under sail (at least as much as possible, they do have engines). Pretty cool.
Back to the ship and it’s time for lunch. Our first foray to the ‘main’ restaurant. It’s very nice. We mostly did the buffet portion anyway – the starters, salad, and bread. But I also had some tuna. They covered it in olives (gross!) but I managed. Putting enough lemon on it cut the nasty olive taste. Mostly.
A review of the upcoming excursions was presented in the auditorium, followed by instructions on how to use the zodiac life preservers (much smaller/easier) and then the allocation of the snorkel equipment.
We’ve reviewed the excursions many times so we didn’t really need to hear it again but there are apparently a few folks on board who either aren’t part of the Smithsonian or didn’t book or whatever. But it was good to hear it again and see a picture. Because it convinced me not to do the ‘hard’ hike to the waterfall. They had a picture of the waterfall, and it wasn’t anything special (despite being the ‘most beautiful in the Caribbean’ per the description in the excursion). It started sounding like another slog through the rain forest with nothing to see. And especially with my back being questionable, it looked less and less like a good idea. So I changed to the 7 hour(!) tour of Grenada which I’m hoping (fingers crossed!) will be more to my liking.
The life vests are simple and the guy who did the presentation was mercifully quick. But then, line up for your snorkels, masks and fins. Everyone on the tour (140 of us) needs one, so this is going to be an adventure. Although it went relatively quickly all things considered. As always with me and my weirdly shaped face, it’s hard to find a mask that fits. My Cro-Magnon (I guess) forehead ridge keeps a mask from getting too close to my cheeks and my narrow face means the edges are too wide and water leaks in. They started me on the largest. And I ended up with the smallest. Hopefully it will work. And of course, flippers for my different sized feet. I ended up with a too tight one for one foot, so that the other wasn’t too loose. I need custom snorkel gear (for the 3 times in my life I’m going to snorkel).
This evening was the captain’s gala where we needed to dress up. The event that caused all the clothes consternation during preparations. I felt like it was going to be too hot to wear the sports coat, but I looked dorky without it so I put it on. I’m glad I did since most people had one. I didn’t want to stand out. Plus, I hauled it all the way there, I might as well wear it.
We were giving off our ‘don’t talk to us’ vibe I guess. We’re not part of any cliques yet. So we sat around staring off into space until the captain came to introduce all the senior staff. The people we met from Alabama asked us to join them for dinner, which was nice, so we had dinner with them (Joe and TK) and their friend Mark who’s a personal injury lawyer from New York.
We learned Joe grew up in Bolivia with his missionary parents. His father was shot with an arrow by the indigenous people at one point (along with 2 of the other 3 people with him)! They ended up contacting the local cocaine producer to borrow his helicopter to fly them out for treatment (at $5000/day). Pretty exciting stuff. And apparently I’m not the only one that prefers not to have someone’s religion foisted on me.
After dinner, it was time for the Motown extravaganza. Motown hits with a French accent. And the 3 dancers dancing along. It was pretty good actually. And mercifully short since I was ready to head back to the room after the lengthy (and not particularly to our liking) fancy chef’s dinner.
[ Main Index] [ Previous Day ][ Next Day ] [ Photo Gallery ] [ Top ]