Dominica Revisited.

On the 1^st day in Dominica we had a hire 4 x 4 so we went into Roseau , where there were three huge cruise ships in, so it was very busy with stalls and locals wanting to take us on tours, We went to the fruit market and stocked up on lots of grapefruit, and potatoes for Will. Then we headed of for the Emerald Pool but when we got there it was absolutely mobbed with taxi’s and busses, so we had lunch there as it looked like they were all leaving, but it was only to make room for the next wave of people. We decided to come back later and headed off to find the Carib reserve on the east side of the Island. We followed the instructions stuck to the dash board of the hire car and used the horn frequently especially round the tight corners where no-one wants to drive near the edges, because there aren’t really any-just a big drop and if your lucky an oil drum to show you where the edge had fallen off the hillside! The gardens of the Carib territories are all very neatly tended and the houses painted brightly (think there may have been a special offer on pink paint a while back) even though most of them are basically shacks on stilts. We went to a beach where Dougie used to swim and body surf as a kid, (Castle Bruce) but the breakers were massive so after a quick dip we thought it prudent to get out before someone was drowned. Will also made friends with a local cow which was tied up under a banana tree.

We then went to the Ocean Carib Heritage centre where we got a tour by a Carib guy called Kendrick, who took us around traditional huts and there were locals making clay pots, carvings and basket weaving. He also told us a bit about traditional plants and their folk law-not sure why some of the trees are so scary but one fruit in particular, called the ghost fruit, is bad luck but it stink like Dougie’s deck shoes (and that is bad). Apparently Australians eat it though and it has some medicinal purposes though I can’t remember what for(I think it may be full of healthy vitamins and minerals but like a lot of healthy things it doesn’t make it appetising) .

Duggie - The Caribs are the indigenous people of the Caribbean having first killed off the native Arrowaks, a peace loving farming and fishing tribe, about 1,600 years ago. The Caribs are of the same genealogical line as the American Indians or Amerindians as they are now called, having canoed their way up the Caribbean Islands from South America to settle them. They are exactly like American Indians in looks and skin tone, have delicate facial features and are a very handsome people. The Caribs were warlike and are more recently depicted in the Disney film, Pirates of the Caribbean - ‘Dead Mans Chest‘; though they were upset at being depicted as being savages, and cannibals to boot. I don’t know why, as the word ‘cannibal’ originates from them! If I remember my West Indian History correctly, they thought that Frenchmen were the best to eat as they had sweet meat. That is of course no surprise to me as the Frenchmen we have met are all rather sweet- just kidding, my mate Jack is French Breton and there is nothing sweet about him!! The Caribs were enslaved by the first Spanish settlers, brought over by the much hated Columbus (hated by the Caribs) but were quickly killed off with too much work and eventually genocide. The following British and French settlers brought over slaves from West Africa to fill the places of the fallen Caribs. The surviving Caribs today are descendants of those tribes who took to the hills and evaded capture. The current fortunes of the tribe are on their way up with an increasing population and the Carib lands increasing all the time. The latest area of land given over to them was in 1996. End of History lesson. We’ll be asking questions later!

We went back to the emerald pool after that and even though it was officially closed we got in. It was slightly on the cool side but we more or less had the place to ourselves which was great. Then, after this our wee walk through the rainforest which was good because we could hear lots of birds at this time of night. We set off back to the boat for dinner and a few episodes of Father Ted.

Yesterday we went for a walk up Scotts Head, which gives great views of the bay and the coral reefs just off it. It was hot walking up the hill but that was okay as there was a refreshing rain shower on the way down! After speaking to the owner of the Titanic (a small fishing canoe pictured in an earlier blog) we stopped off for some freshly squeezed lemon juice. We got some lunch (fresh local bakes with cheese, banana bread and coconut buns) and ate it in the botanical gardens under the watchful eye of a stray dog (who liked the healthy whole wheat crackers even if Dougie didn’t) with the Convent school that Dougie’s sisters used to go to in the background. (unchanged and in excellent condition - Douglas) We also saw a fresh water fish farm that Dougie’s father had built while he was here in the 70’s. Apparently it was great success growing local Talapia to the size of Salmon, but it’s no longer used for the purpose it was built. We saw some vandalism drawn into the concrete when it was still wet. It read ‘Joe Reid was…. no actually it read ’Jesus Saves 17/7/73’ There were some native Sisserou parrots in captivity but from the viewing distance they both looked the same-even though they are supposed to be breeding pairs. I’m not sure how that works when there is only 1 Parrot in each cage. Maybe they get prison visits! We then went round to the Botanical offices where a huge yellow, American school bus, was crushed by a tree in the hurricane of 1978. Duggie remembers the bus new, it was a gift from Canada and far too big for the streets of Roseau so was never used. The tree survived and as you will see in the photos, is alive and well but the bus isn’t.

Then we went to Victoria Falls where we had the same guide from last time, Jackson, who showed us a Preying Mantis on a leaf by the footpath and took lots of photos of us. He was also very good at getting me over all the massive boulders at the base of the falls which isn’t easy with short legs! The waterfall is very impressive and there may have been a bit of machoism going on with trying to swim under it (I tried too of course). It was quite cool but that was ok because there is hot sulphur pools too-which was just like getting into a hot bath. It was very nice and even when there was a torrential down-pore it was bliss-very nice with all the rain forest vegetation surrounding you. After this we headed back to the boat, tonight for chilli, cherry pie and Pirates of the Caribbean 2 (with boat-made popcorn) as tomorrow we’re heading for Portsmouth and going up Indian River which is also featured

the film, sadly I don’t think Jonny Depp will be there.

Bye for now,

Sarah.