Position 15:34.94N
61:27.85W
Date 2359 – 11 March 2011
Having had to anchor some way out last night we watched boats depart
this morning and made two moves further into the beach and closer to the Purple
Turtle Bar. This location I hasten to add is because the WiFi hotspot antenna
is on the roof of the bar and nothing to do with the bar itself. We now have a
good signal that supports good quality Skype calls.
Alexis, our designated boat man appeared and took us firstly to Customs
to clear and then to the ATM to top up the Eastern
Caribbean dollars. Next to the bank was this interesting example
of local government – we could only guess at its purpose (the inscription
over the arch is “Reconciliation and Deliverance Ministry”.
Dominica
is more basic than many of the islands that we have visited and houses are in
the main very simple. The people are however very welcoming and proud of their
beautiful country. Government has been very successful in attracting
development aid from all over the world. A new fish dock and market has been
built and funded by Japan, China is funding the rebuilding of the coast
road, Cuba has provided the
airport, the European Union can be identified in a number of major projects as
can Canada which has been
responsible for the cruise ship dock and much of the Fort Shirley
restoration.
The bay is littered with the remains of ships beached in hurricanes.
They do not exactly improve the scene, especially this large example that is
directly in front of the police station, blocking any view it has of the
harbour. Apparently a project to get a company from Pakistan to salvage the vessels
failed some years ago as the local government wanted too much in the way of
fees – worth another try guys!.
The afternoon entertainment was a dinghy ride across to the empty cruise
ship dock and walk around Fort Shirley and up the West Cabrits,
a quick 625 feet altitude. The area of the fort has over the last 30years been
cleared of the jungle that had overgrown it and a great deal of restoration and
rebuilding has taken place. The end result is a beautiful setting with beautiful
views over Prince Rupert
Bay.
Returning from our hike we made it to our first Happy Hour in the Big
Papas Bar. The view from the bar says it all:
