Dominica continued.

Karinya
Tim And Vicki Schofield, Captain Cal 7 and Jess 4
Sat 29 Jan 2011 12:30
We are now back in Martinique, in a bay further south than before. On arrival it was clear sky which is a change to our continued bouts of very heavy rain. Ahhhh, we thought, so the kids and Tim went to shore and left me to clean the boat after many spilt and fallen items from our beat to get here. 20 minutes later, the heavens opened - again. quite a spectacular squall. I managed to utilize the rain water that was flowing into the cockpit, and cleaned the cockpit too (so resourceful I know!!)
Dominica was a beautiful inland. Our car hire day was such fun. We rented a small Suzuki jeep, which the kids thought was hilarious. Every time we went over a pothole, the car lifted off the ground and came down with a crash, not so good for the car, but great fun!!
During our excursion, we tried to find our first waterfall. This was rather tricky, as signposts appear to be non-existent. The map also does not correlate with the roads. So this let to a route through farming plots, of orange, Clementine and grapefruit trees. High high up in the rainforest. It was beautiful, gorgeous flowers, the tropical kind. Callum, needless to say was in his element with all the oranges. We managed to pick a few for the boat, but this was amid torrential rainstorms...muddy, and wet, we continued on our day.
Next stop was Roseau, the capital. After lunch and collecting our laundry, we went to find the Trafalgar Falls, which are meant to be the most spectacular falls to see. 2 falls, the base of which you can swim in when it is not raining and flowing fast (so not for us, too much rain). It was a 10 minute walk from the car park, and what a sight, as you shall see, although the photos don't do it justice. We climbed into the middle across a log and several big rocks to view. We got covered by spray, such an amazing sight. the falls are about 25 meters high. on our way back, we were going to see the Sulphur spring pools in the resort next door. Apparently they are fashioned into the rock pools. If you want a bath you get one - literally, a tin bath with a bamboo overhead dribbling sulphur water into it. Not quite for me. Or you can soak in a small hot tub size pool. WELL, we found the real thing. Natural hot springs falling from the waterfall on a bypass to join the waterfall river again after. About 4 pools, with waterfalls from one to the other. Warm, spacious and empty. We sheltered in one, that was under a rock while it rained, which seemed to be a long time, so as by this time we were hot, we moved. Into an open pool, great lying in the the hot spring, with the rain cooling your face.
A great day had by all. We couldn't get the kids out of the springs. And then we had to rush to get dressed before the next downpour, quite amusing.